Saturday 10 local area barbecue aficionados stoked up their smokers and mixed up their secret runs and sauces to compete in the Ron Skinner/Colliers International Amateur BBQ Competition. The event, in its second year, was part of the Rhythm ‘n’ Ribs festival held at the Yorkton Exhibition grounds as a fundraiser for The Health Foundation.
The combatants in the amateur competition cooked up racks of ribs which were then presented to a panel of judges including representatives of each of the professional barbecue trucks attending the event. The judges scored the entries on presentation, and flavour with the total determining the winner.
And when the numbers were tallied Jared Ruf of In Good Taste Food Service at Togo, SK. had defended his 2017 championship by taking top spot again.
“Beyond the word good I don’t have much else to say,” Ruf told Yorkton This Week when asked how it was to win back-to-back trophies, then added “amazing.”
After being presented the championship on the stage, Ruf said he hopes the event continues to grow.
“If you figure you can cook a rib come on out,” he said. “We doubled it this year (entries), let’s see if we can again next year.”
When it came to Ruf’s ribs he said he stuck with the same recipe that won in 2017, cooking up a half dozen racks, then selecting the one he deemed best to go to the judges.
“It came down to the third rack, that was the one,” he said.
As for a secret to winning Ruf said simply “it’s the flavour, 100 per cent:” and then added “texture” as a factor as well.
In terms of flavour it is a combination of the spices used in the rub, and the sauce used on the ribs, said Ruf. He added he has tried to create a middle of the road flavour, not too spicy, not too hot, not too sweet.
“As a caterer … we try to make all food be appealing to most of the people,” he said.
RCM Safety Services, the team of Ryan Monette and Bruce Monette of Yorkton took second in the competition.
Team Sacred Heart placed third, with commercial cooking instructor AnnaLee Parnetta teaming with Drake Myrowich.
Parnetta explained that Myrowich, a Grade 10 student, earned a bronze medal at the Skills Canada (Saskatchewan) competition in April.
When Myrowich returned from the event Parnetta suggested they team up for the amateur event. She said she believes it is important for students to be involved in the community.
And, people also get to see “youth involved in the community.”
Myrowich said the experience was “new. I hadn’t tried anything like this before.” But he added he barbecues a lot at home, so it came together rather quickly.
As for the recipe used, Parnetta said they used a basic spice available at Home Hardware who sponsored their effort, “then we tweaked it.”
While Parnetta said she dug through some cookbooks, she noted, “Drake has a good knowledge of taste,” that was a big help.
Parnetta said she hopes Sacred Heart puts a team into the event again next summer, and Myrowich, with two years of high school remaining, said he would be interested.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
