Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A ribbing at the racetrack

Pitmasters dish it up at the state BBQ

A rib at the Del Mar BBQ State Championship, grilled by Spring Valley spot Cali Comfort.
A rib at the Del Mar BBQ State Championship, grilled by Spring Valley spot Cali Comfort.
Place

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar

The Del Mar BBQ State Championship brought 47 grillers and smokers from around California (and Arizona) to compete at the racetrack on Sunday, July 17. While a panel of Kansas City Barbeque Society judges did the grueling and delicious work of scoring each dish behind the stage setup for the racetrack’s summer concert series, all race attendees had the opportunity to get in on the action out front.

Many of the pitmasters participating served sample sizes of their ribs, brisket, chicken, and/or pulled pork in a food-festival atmosphere, complete with a people’s choice vote. Guests could buy tokens at four for a dollar, and for the most part one token could be traded in for one small serving of meat.

Sponsored
Sponsored
A certified judge gets to work on some BBQ pork shoulder.

Not surprisingly, long lines developed at every BBQ booth, making it tough for the casual visitor to get every first choice, not that there was a lot of local name recognition. While some of the booths represented actual restaurants — including Spring Valley’s Cali Comfort BBQ, which helped organize the contest — most of the competitors consisted of dedicated grilling teams who are just in it to win it at regional contests such as this.

That’s the case of the grand champion of the event — Rhythm ’n’ Que, out of Phoenix, Arizona. The reserve champion, the competition team of Big Poppa Smokers, represents a line of grilling equipment based in Coachella. Those were the overall winners of the judged competition, which awarded individual prizes for the best pork ribs, pork shoulder, chicken, and brisket (you can find a full list of winners here). I got a peek of the judging in action, where dedicated eaters scored entries based on appearance, tenderness, and taste.

The guys from Rub Your Meat, People’s Choice winner.

As for the people’s choice, I did my best to try all I could. I made a conscious decision to focus on pork ribs. One, because ribs are awesome. Two, because how often to you get to eat ribs prepared four ways?

I did manage to try ribs from the eventual people’s choice winner: Rub Your Meat, a catering company out of Phoenix. I’ve gotta go with the vote on this one. The dry rubbed, charred black ribs were delectable and the best thing I tried all day.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Scott Peters aide gets free travel and hotel from Big Pharma

Todd Gloria sucks up money from Big Billboards
Next Article

Timken museum among best in world

Balboa Park is such a pleasant place, it can almost seem a waste to spend time indoors
A rib at the Del Mar BBQ State Championship, grilled by Spring Valley spot Cali Comfort.
A rib at the Del Mar BBQ State Championship, grilled by Spring Valley spot Cali Comfort.
Place

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar

The Del Mar BBQ State Championship brought 47 grillers and smokers from around California (and Arizona) to compete at the racetrack on Sunday, July 17. While a panel of Kansas City Barbeque Society judges did the grueling and delicious work of scoring each dish behind the stage setup for the racetrack’s summer concert series, all race attendees had the opportunity to get in on the action out front.

Many of the pitmasters participating served sample sizes of their ribs, brisket, chicken, and/or pulled pork in a food-festival atmosphere, complete with a people’s choice vote. Guests could buy tokens at four for a dollar, and for the most part one token could be traded in for one small serving of meat.

Sponsored
Sponsored
A certified judge gets to work on some BBQ pork shoulder.

Not surprisingly, long lines developed at every BBQ booth, making it tough for the casual visitor to get every first choice, not that there was a lot of local name recognition. While some of the booths represented actual restaurants — including Spring Valley’s Cali Comfort BBQ, which helped organize the contest — most of the competitors consisted of dedicated grilling teams who are just in it to win it at regional contests such as this.

That’s the case of the grand champion of the event — Rhythm ’n’ Que, out of Phoenix, Arizona. The reserve champion, the competition team of Big Poppa Smokers, represents a line of grilling equipment based in Coachella. Those were the overall winners of the judged competition, which awarded individual prizes for the best pork ribs, pork shoulder, chicken, and brisket (you can find a full list of winners here). I got a peek of the judging in action, where dedicated eaters scored entries based on appearance, tenderness, and taste.

The guys from Rub Your Meat, People’s Choice winner.

As for the people’s choice, I did my best to try all I could. I made a conscious decision to focus on pork ribs. One, because ribs are awesome. Two, because how often to you get to eat ribs prepared four ways?

I did manage to try ribs from the eventual people’s choice winner: Rub Your Meat, a catering company out of Phoenix. I’ve gotta go with the vote on this one. The dry rubbed, charred black ribs were delectable and the best thing I tried all day.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The ups and downs of Cel Cerro on a bike

Best outdoors times
Next Article

Lost Abbey finds a new way

Best drinking in San Diego
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader