Organizers gearing up for Idaho State BBQ competition this weekend in Blackfoot
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BLACKFOOT – A professionally sanctioned barbecue competition is happening in Blackfoot this weekend and its bringing participants from all over the U.S. and Canada.
On Friday, 31 teams will gather at the Blackfoot City Airport for the Smoke-N-Wings Idaho State BBQ Competition, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts.
Each team will grill four different meats — chicken, beef ribs, pulled pork and brisket — in hopes of advancing to the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational in October, as well as the American Royal Invitational in Kansas City.
“They’re huge events. It’s very desirable to get that invitation,” event organizer Steve McClellan tells EastIdahoNews.com. “A state can have more than one state competition. If a state only has one competition, you get an automatic invitation if you win it. We’re the only state in the U.S. that has an automatic invitation.”
A team of judges will award first, second and third place winners. The grand champion will move on to the world tournament.
A kid’s tournament will get underway on the tarmac at 3 p.m. Kids in two age categories will make hamburgers for cash prizes.
The adult tournament will start at 4:30 p.m. Awards will be presented at 6 p.m.
Contestants will be selling food to the public from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will also be a live band performing and a silent auction benefitting the Blackfoot Mayor Scholarship Fund. Prizes include a guided VIP tour of the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg, a ride in a World War II-era plane, gym memberships and more.
“Some of the bigger barbecue companies have donated grills,” McClellan says. “We’ve got a lot of stuff in the auction. There will be something for everybody.”
The tournament will continue on Saturday, but is not open to the public.
Though McClellan has held similar events at the airport for the last three years, this is the first year it’s a professionally sanctioned tournament.
He works as an anesthesiologist full-time, but he also enjoys barbecue and loves to fly. That’s why it’s called Smoke-N-Wings and is being held at the airport.
“I have a hangar here at the Blackfoot airport and I have a plane. We have a gem of an airport here in Blackfoot and every year … I’ve tried to do things over here to get the public to be more aware of the airport,” McClellan says.
The amateur BBQ competition has become increasingly popular and that allowed him to have a sanctioned event this year.
He promises a good time for those who attend and he’s encouraging people to support the contestants.
“I would absolutely love to run out of barbecue and to tell people, ‘It’s gone,’ rather than send participants home with food they intended to sell. They’re trying to offset some of their expenses (to travel here),” says McClellan.
Additional information is on the event’s website. You can also send an email to smokenwingsbbq@gmail.com.
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