The San Angelo Restaurant Association (SARA) in partnership with the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo held the annual barbecue cook-off Saturday.
Two lots of full of smokers, about 50 in all, some of them very complex contraptions, and most of them portable only as on a fixed trailer hooked to the towing hitch of a pickup or RV, filled the air of the rodeo grounds with the smell of smoked meat of four kinds: Brisket, sausage, chicken, and ribs. A fifth, preliminary contest was for the best Jalapeño “poppers,” bacon-wrapped stuffed peppers.
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Above: Poppers (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
Barbecue contests are popular in west Texas and many of the contestants travel to compete in rodeos, county fairs, or stand-alone cook-offs all over the state. The Terlingua barbecue cook-off in Texas’ Big Bend is among the most infamous and longest running.
At the San Angelo rodeo, contestants from all over the region, including the Midland/Odessa area, rode in with their barbecue pits and RVs to hold a party on the rodeo grounds. In fact, the barbecue contest was the life of the rodeo party Saturday afternoon. Each contestant pitched in a $400 entry fee, a large portion of its proceeds dedicated to SARA’s culinary arts scholarship program.
Spectators who had access to the carnival fairway were invited to tour the armada of smokers and taste for themselves the competition-class barbecue recipes for donations. All of the donation money went towards the scholarship fund.
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Above: Republic Services Grillmasters. That's George Gutierrez in the white shirt. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
We caught the Republic Grillmasters, comprised of all employees of Republic Services, preparing their Jalapeño poppers and chicken for the competition. Their patriarch of all things barbecue, master welder George Gutierrez, who also crafted the Republic Grillmasters’ smoker, leads the team. George was busy preparing the team’s entry for the best-tasting chicken.
What’s his secret?
“You know what? I know nothing about chicken,” he demurred, trying to keep his secret process secret.
Finally, after some cajoling, he relented. “You know what, I cut the chicken in half, marinated it a little, wrap it up and put it in the smoker and forgot about it for an hour. Now it’s ready to go,” he said.
The chicken tasted really good but ultimately didn’t win, but Republic won the competition for best poppers.
The Republic team is donating all of its food to San Angelo residents who are less fortunate through the food bank or Salvation Army. There was a great quantity of tasty barbecue George and team cooked Saturday.
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Above: George Gutierrez, head of the Republic Grillmasters, prepares barbecue chicken for the contest. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
The Uno Mas barbecue team arrived in style in a huge RV towing a smoker. They’re all close friends: Randy Barron, Grady Glyn Sudduth, and Marcus Herrera. The in-shape Herrera bills himself as the ‘Richard Simmons of the oil patch.’ Well, maybe his buddies do.
How does Herrera stay healthy during these barbecue contests? His buddies swear it’s his special menudo recipe. They cooked it up for extra credit, and it was the best menudo you’ll ever taste. The contest didn’t have a category for menudo, unfortunately. Like everyone on the lot Saturday, Uno Mas had a grand time and placed 5th and 4th overall in the ribs and chicken categories respectively.
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Above: The Uno Mas team prepares a rack of ribs for the judges. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
Rolling in from Midland was an RV kitchen from a landmark restaurant.
Roy and Tami Gillean own the famous Barn Door Steakhouse in Odessa. They arrived in San Angelo in a massive, rolling commercial kitchen used for catering.
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Above: Roy and Tami Gillean in their rolling kitchen. Bernay Sheffield of Zentner's Daughter Steakhouse is to the right. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
What’s special about Midland’s Barn Door Steakhouse?
“We’re that steakhouse where we serve the big block of cheese,” Roy said. “It’s served with warm, fresh homemade bread,” Tami added. The block of mild cheddar cheese with bread is their signature, free appetizer tradition that began about the time the restaurant opened in 1963.
The Gilleans also own another Midland/Odessa culinary landmark, Johnny’s Barbecue. It has been open since 1952.
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Above: Inside the Barn Door rolling commercial kitchen. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
Their Jalapeño poppers featured a whole grilled shrimp with a tasty stuffing and was delicious. Their team, Asleep at the Grill, didn’t place, but the contest wasn’t their only objective. The husband and wife team was there to showcase their massive commercial kitchen on wheels, the centerpiece of their popular catering business, and to support the SARA scholarships.
By the end of the day Saturday, the winners were announced. They are:
Beer Money Barbecue won Overall Grand Champion, scoring a 28 across all types of barbecue judged. They are led by Bo Richards and sponsored by The Barn.
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Above: Bo Richards with Beer Money BBQ. He won top brisket and first place overall. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
The Nobody’s Cooking BBQ team won Reserve Grand Champion (or second place overall), just one point behind the 1st place winner. They are led by Darrel Jarrell and sponsored by Leland Key.
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Above: The Nobody's Cooking team from Midland won second overall. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
The Riverbank BBQ team earned third overall. They are led by Jimmy Martin and sponsored by the Mitchell Automotive Group and Cam Safety.
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Above: The Riverbank Barbecue team, 3rd place overall. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
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