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As the smoky scent of ribs, chicken and pork wafted from the Middletown Square Shopping Center May 22, Brian Ferguson and his wife Megan Kradzinski sat anxiously awaiting the results of the Middletown BBQ Cook-off.
Having just submitted their beef brisket, the duo, which made up the barbeque team Finn’s Finest with friend Doug Cooper, hoped the judges would appreciate their mix of “heat and sweet.”
“It’s all about cooking low and slow for us,” Kradzinski said. “We try to be patient and not get too crafty.”
Finn’s Finest, a Middletown team, was just one of 42 teams from across the tri-state area competing in Middletown’s first barbeque competition Saturday, hosted by the Dutch Country Farmers Market and sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.
“It’s been great,” Ferguson said. “It’s all friendly competition.”
At the end of the day, several teams, including Finn’s Finest, took home top awards, but it was husband and wife Jack and Jenny Windsor of Severna Park, Md., that smoked the competition.
Their team, Black Cat, was named the grand champion in the event and will be entered into a lottery to compete in the Jack Daniels Invitational in Lynchburg, Tenn.
The couple said they owe this win to many of their fellow competitors who helped them along the way.
“We never expected to win,” Jenny said. “There’s a ton of top teams competing that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. It’s just a great bunch of people.”
Jenny said her team likes to mix the hot and sweet, and it’s their homegrown peppers that make their chicken recipe.
“You never know what the judges are going to think,” she said.
Mark Cassel, a certified judge for the event from Collegeville, Penn., said teams were judged on overall appearance, taste and texture of each of their dishes, and he personally thought each team delivered amazing pork and brisket.
“It was a great event,” he said. “It was well organized, and having it at the Farmers Market doesn’t hurt, either.”
As the smoky scent of ribs, chicken and pork wafted from the Middletown Square Shopping Center May 22, Brian Ferguson and his wife Megan Kradzinski sat anxiously awaiting the results of the Middletown BBQ Cook-off.
Having just submitted their beef brisket, the duo, which made up the barbeque team Finn’s Finest with friend Doug Cooper, hoped the judges would appreciate their mix of “heat and sweet.”
“It’s all about cooking low and slow for us,” Kradzinski said. “We try to be patient and not get too crafty.”
Finn’s Finest, a Middletown team, was just one of 42 teams from across the tri-state area competing in Middletown’s first barbeque competition Saturday, hosted by the Dutch Country Farmers Market and sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.
“It’s been great,” Ferguson said. “It’s all friendly competition.”
At the end of the day, several teams, including Finn’s Finest, took home top awards, but it was husband and wife Jack and Jenny Windsor of Severna Park, Md., that smoked the competition.
Their team, Black Cat, was named the grand champion in the event and will be entered into a lottery to compete in the Jack Daniels Invitational in Lynchburg, Tenn.
The couple said they owe this win to many of their fellow competitors who helped them along the way.
“We never expected to win,” Jenny said. “There’s a ton of top teams competing that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. It’s just a great bunch of people.”
Jenny said her team likes to mix the hot and sweet, and it’s their homegrown peppers that make their chicken recipe.
“You never know what the judges are going to think,” she said.
Mark Cassel, a certified judge for the event from Collegeville, Penn., said teams were judged on overall appearance, taste and texture of each of their dishes, and he personally thought each team delivered amazing pork and brisket.
“It was a great event,” he said. “It was well organized, and having it at the Farmers Market doesn’t hurt, either.”
