Pit Boss Competition announced alongside Cruisin’ for a Cause
In conjunction with the Park Hills Senior Center’s Sept. 15 “Cruisin’ for a Cause” event to benefit the center’s meals on wheels program, the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce has announced a Backyard BBQ Pit Boss Competition.
Chamber Executive Director Tammi Coleman said the chamber wanted to support the senior center’s event, and were afforded the opportunity to do so with the BBQ competition.
“The Cruisin’ event was started by the senior center,” Coleman said. “They had several different things on their list that they wanted to have happen at the event and the chamber, of course, want to be a part of it. We think it’s going to be a really, really cool event. Of those things, we chose the BBQ event because we have a little bit of history with barbecue, with our Hump Day Barbecue that e held for many, many years. We thought it would be an event that we could do well.”
The event, sponsored by multiple local businesses and organizations, will be focused more on the everyday, amateur barbecuer, rather than professionals.
“We put together a committee that decided to look at it and see what we could do,” Coleman said. “We decided we wanted to do a backyard, amateur-type event because there’s a lot of professional stuff going on. Even the following weekend, there’s a big professional event going on in Farmington. We wanted our focus to go more toward the local, ‘my barbecue is best’ guy, because we know there are a lot of those around.”
The competition will consist of pork steak, chicken and Pit Boss prize categories, with entrants needing to participate in both the pork steak and chicken categories in order to be eligible to win the title of Pit Boss Champion.
The entry fee is $25 for one of the contests or $35 for both, with a maximum number of 20 contestants.
On the day of the contest, contestants can begin setting up their booth and cooking equipment at 8 a.m. and may begin cooking at 10 a.m. Pork steaks will be judged first, and must be ready for presentation at noon, with chicken judging taking place at 2 p.m. For judging purposes, contestants will need to prepare 10 separate servings (suggested size of 2 to 3 oz. per serving) per category. Both pork steaks and chicken will be judged on the criteria of appearance, tenderness and taste.
All of the prizes in the contest will be awarded at 3 p.m. One contestant will be named Pit Master Pork Steak Champion and will receive a $50 gift certificate courtesy of Park Hills Save-A-Lot. One contestant will be named Pit Master Chicken Champion and will also receive a $50 gift certificate, courtesy of Park Hills Save-A-Lot. One contestant will be named Pit Boss Champion and will receive a 40-quart Orca cooler ($350 value) courtesy of Cape Electrical Supply, a $100 gift certificate courtesy of Country Mart and a custom barbecue utensil set, chef’s hat and apron. Again, contestants must compete in both the pork steak and chicken contests to be eligible to be named Pit Boss Champion.
Registration for the competition will open Monday, Aug. 6 and will close after the 20th entry or on Sept. 7.
Coleman said that more than just a fun addition to the Cruisin’ for a Cause event, the Backyard BBQ Pit Boss Competition will help support a valuable service in the Park Hills community.
“It’s always good to support the community and the town,” she said. “The meals on wheels program is definitely one that we need in this area very, very badly. I know that the senior center struggles to feed all of the folks that they need to feed. This even will really make sure that program stays here and make sure that those seniors who need meals will get them. What better way to do that than to participate in an event that’s going to benefit that?”
The event is sponsored by Cape Electrical Supply, Park Hills Save-A-Lot, Hart of the Wash, LLC, Country Mart, First State Community Bank, the campaign of St. Francois County Presiding Commissioner Candidate Linda Dickerson-Bell, Parkland HealthMart Pharmacy, Unico Bank, Buckley Towing and Pharmax Pharmacy.
For more information or to register starting Aug. 6, contact the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce at 573-431-1051, or visit www.phlcoc.net.
Local amateur barbecue masters are being called to put their skills to the test in the first-ever Backyard BBQ Pit Boss Competition, hosted by the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Park Hills Senior Center’s Sept. 15 Cruisin’ for a Cause event.
Jacob Scott is a reporter with the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616 or at jscott@dailyjournalonline.com.
