Kids Cooking

Since time began, mothers have been teaching their daughters to cook. In modern times, fathers tend to teach their sons how to cook on the backyard grill. We saw all that taken further Saturday at the kids bbq cook-off at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City. We watched the competition begin and these girls, ages 10 and 11, choose spots right in front of where we were standing. They were assisted by their dads and used supplies and recipes provided by an aunt who owns a barbecue restaurant and was participating in the larger competition nearby.



The meat was brought in for the contestants.



There were really good-looking steaks for contestants 11 and older.



And ground beef for the younger entrants.



Adults were there to assist, but they were not allowed to touch the meat. If they did, the child they were helping would be disqualified. The adults help set up, used sharp knives to cut and chop, and lit the charcoal with large blow torches.



Some of the children seemed to really be into the event, wearing appropriate (?) clothing.





We saw several, anxious to get started, preparing their presentation boxes with lettuce leaves or parsley before they even received their meat.



Soon, the burning coals were place in each grill.



And it was time to prepare the meat. The 11-year-old girl in front of us injected a butter mixture into her steak.



Other steaks were covered with a rub or other coating.



Burger patties were formed.



The butter-laced steak received a topping of chopped onion and was placed on the grill.



We didn't stick around for the rest of the competition, but there really is hope that the younger generations will keep the barbecue restaurants of the country in operation.

BBQ Gone Wild

We've watched lots of cooking shows and cooking competitions on TV over the years. When we get a chance, we like to check out BBQ, chili, salsa and chuck wagon cookoffs as we travel. This weekend the American Royal World Series of Barbeque is being held in Kansas City. We couldn't wait to attend. Today 100 teams participated in the invitational event. Participants were selected after winning other events. Tomorrow, 500 teams are taking part in the open competition.

The smoking and cooking is done in all sorts of BBQ equipment. We saw some new ones for sale and others have been used for years. Click on the collage to see the cookers more clearly.



The teams have very creative names. With over 500 teams here, such variety is necessary. Sometimes you read them on signs, other times on shirts.



There was something for everyone. Cowboys with lariats.



A climbing wall.



Barbecue sauces of every flavor imaginable.



Supplies for the competitors and the food vendors.



In case you haven't noticed, cooking and cooks are very popular these days. There are 2 cable networks devoted just to that, as well as programs on Travel and PBS. Two celebrities were at today's event. Myron Mixon, owner of Jack's Old South Barbeque, was a competitor today. He is often a judge on televised competitions, as well. When all entries had been submitted, he came out to greet his fans and sign autographs.



Guy Fieri is a huge star on the Food Network. He and Rachel Ray have a program with children cooking. He showed up at the kids competition today.



Every half hour from about 11 am on, competitors came to turn in the entries. There is a 10-minute window for each turn-in time, from 5 minutes before the time to 5 minutes after. Come late and you get no score. Categories are dessert, beans, chicken, ribs, pulled pork and brisket. People lined up to turn in their entries.



With 100 entries every half hour, people were passing each other, some with full containers, some with empty carriers.



As the deadline neared, they moved faster.



Preparing the entry for the judges takes time. The brisket, for example, is sliced, examined and tested.



These folks cooked 2 different briskets and tasted each to see which was best. Look at these thin, even slices.



Each slice is carefully placed in the box.



And everything cleaned up just so.



Since the competitors cook way more food than they need to submit to the judges, Kookers Kare collects the extra food and distributes it to those in need in the community.



The food is distributed through Harvesters.



Several of the contestants also take their cooking rigs to scenes of disaster to feed the disaster response personnel.



Later in the afternoon, there was also a kids BBQ competition. This blog is already long enough (too long) so I will save that for another post.

Real BBQ

For regular Food Network viewers, the notice of a BBQ cook-off Saturday in Queen Creek, south of Mesa, said that is where we would go that day. We have watched various BBQ and chili cook-offs on TV and were anxious to attend one in person. John had been to one in Houston in the mid-80s. I had never attended one before.

The first thing we noticed were the signs with names of the teams.











Then there was the BBQ equipment. These folks even had a computer attached to the smokers. We asked what it was for. Apparently, the smokers had gauges inside to check the temperature. At some point, the computer would tell the fans or heat to come on. That way, the cooks could get some sleep overnight!



But there were other set-ups, as well.



And some were rather simple.



These were called green onions, I believe.



As we started wandering between the booths, we watched this guy prepare his ribs for presentation to the judges.



This is a box of barbecued chicken.



The way the meat looks in the box is very important, from all we have seen on TV. These people were too busy getting their entries ready to spend time talking to us.

And here are the judges, sampling some of the entries.



These lucky volunteers were able to sample the leftovers as they cleaned up after the judges had tasted the entries. That's were I would like to help out.



Of course, we went to the cook-off to taste the food, not just look at the signs and equipment. Our entry fee included two tasting tickets each and we bought an addition three each, at a cost of $2 a ticket. Here you see two of the booths where we tasted their food.





We enjoyed samples of chicken, brisket, pulled pork and ribs. In the past, our favorite has always been brisket. But we discovered we also enjoy ribs when they are moist, falling off the bone. And I am really partial to sweet tomato-based BBQ sauce.

Many of the contestants put a lot of effort into decorating their booths. They seemed especially partial to pigs.









It was a fun day. And we learned a few things. First of all, it would be good to wear dark brown or black shirts to eat BBQ. And more of the food is ready to eat if you come a little later in the day, after all the entries have been submitted. Now we are looking for a chili cook-off.