Teams get fired up for expanded Redneck BBQ

SIKESTON -- Fire up your grills and start mixing your sauces: the Redneck BBQ is back.

The cooking contest originally held on the Saturday of the Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo each year has grown and become its own event.

Scheduled for Sept. 15-16 at the Rodeo grounds, this year's Redneck BBQ will feature both sanctioned and non-sanctioned cooking contests, according to Missy Marshall, executive director for the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce.

On Sept. 15, the non-sanctioned barbecue contest will kick things off.

"The winner gets $100, second place $75 and third place $50. Judging will start at 7 p.m.," Marshall said.

That evening, Good Humor-Breyers will sponsor the "Wuz-zat" competition.

"That can be anything from ice cream to road kill and everything in between," Marshall said. "It will be judged by local judges who are up to the challenge of sampling the unknown."

On Sept. 16, a contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society will be held. "That event will take place all day on Saturday," Marshall said. "It will be our first year to be sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and we're very excited about that."

KCBS sanctioning has been something the SACC's barbecue committee has considered for a number of years, according to Marshall.

"The committee decided this year it was time to sanction it," she said. "So many of our participants were of that caliber already. ... About half the teams that competed last year in our contest participated either in KCBS previously or in Memphis in May."

Judging for the sanctioned event will start around noon. Winners will be announced between 3-4 p.m.

There will be four categories for Saturday's competition: chicken, pork ribs, pork (shoulder or Boston butt) and beef brisket.

"You have to compete in all four categories in order to get the grand champion reserve prize, which is $1,000 and a trophy," Marshall said.

The will be other prizes for category winners, Marshall said, with a total of $3,600 in prize money. "And then we're also giving out trophies, plaques and ribbons," she added.

The sanctioned contest will use certified judges. "It's handled by professionals," Marshall said. "It makes it a lot easier on everyone involved."

With both non-sanctioned and sanctioned events to compete in, the Redneck BBQ is great opportunity for any group that wants to try at a barbecue contest, she said.

"You do not need to be certified to compete in our contest. All you have to do is fill out a form and turn in your entry fee -- and anyone is welcome to participate," Marshall said. "We have some new teams coming in this year who have never competed in Kansas City Barbecue."

Marshall said SACC's barbecue committee selected the Sept. 15-16 weekend to coincide with the Second Annual Sikeston Jaycee Horsepower Festival at Rotary Park on Sept. 16.

"We thought it would be a great idea to have the barbecue at the same time as the car show," she said. "We thought it would be a great way to have two activities in the area so people would have a great way to spend a Saturday."

Also, being held in September instead of August should make for a more pleasant event, Marshall said. "Hopefully the weather will be a little cooler," she said.

Holding the event at the rodeo grounds means that not only can they accommodate the RVs used by many cook teams, there is also even more space for the "kids stuff," Marshall said.

The Redneck BBQ will still have games for the young ones, a petting zoo, jumping space, and even a few crafters and food vendors.

"We're going to have everything we had before -- it's just going to be in a different location," Marshall said. "We do encourage the public to come out and make a day of it."