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Community Corner

BBQ Is A Serious Competition

Eighteen teams competed to have their chicken wings and pork ribs named the best at this year's Westford Rotary Pig 'N' Pepper Fest.

At the Nashoba Valley Ski Area, smell of sweet, savory barbecue lingered in the air at Westford Rotary Pig'N'Pepper Festival on Sunday afternoon, as did the smell of competition.

While at least 12 contestants were expected for the Pig'N'Pepper Fest Tailgate Barbecue Challenge, festival organizers were surprised to see that 18 contestants ready to share their wares from the grill.

Competitors submitted their pork ribs and chicken wings to a group of judges who then proceeded to give scores on in categories such as visual appeal, taste, texture, and its comparison to established norms of what the dish is expected to be.

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Frank Plankey has been judging these competitions for 15 years. He is a certified judge by the New England BBQ Society(NEBS) and the Kansas City Barbeque Society. As a judge, he focuses his scores on appearance, taste and tenderness.

"I smell (the meat), I pull it apart," said Plankey. "We use all of our senses to judge the food."

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One of the biggest pitfalls Plankey’s seen over the years is an over reliance on one of the most well recognized items related with barbeques: barbeque sauce.

"It's a meat contest," he said, noting that the Pig’n’Pepper’s ribs were slightly above average. "It can't just taste like sauce."

According to NEBS officials, tailgate competitions are usually for people who are just beginning to barbecue competitively. In more traditional competitions, there are usually more categories, including chicken, ribs, pulled pork and brisket.

That was the case for Pete and Betsi Mandrioli, co-owners of a supermarket in Concord. Mandrioli barbecues for a hobby and this was the first time he did so a competive atmosphere.

“It was a lot of work to compete,” he said. "But, if we we win, we'll do it again."

And yet, despite the less intense emphasis on competition, contestants began their work far before fair goers arrived to the ski area, with some competitors such as Lunenburg resident Mitchell Bixby cooking well before 6 a.m.

Bixby’s been barbecuing for 10 years since he got his smoker, and he hopes to open a catering business soon. But as far as the Pig’n’Pepper goes…

 "This is a labor of love," said Bixby, who finished in eighth.

Even though the event may not have been as high stakes as some other competitions, organizers of the event such as NEBS spokeswoman Michelle Taft believes that events like this are good for people who enjoy barbecuing because they have the chance to see what people really think about their food.

"They're being judged by people who aren't friends or relatives," Taft said. "It's great bragging rights."

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