BBQ lovers can head to Washington Island for Kansas City-sanctioned grilling contest
WASHINGTON ISLAND - Barbecue fans can smell it in the air − grilled meat and competitive juices. And they can be on hand to taste the results.
Thirty grilling teams from nine states will come to Washington Island this weekend for the 11th annual Death's Door Bar-B-Q, a competitive barbecue event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). They'll compete not just for bragging rights but also for more than $8,000 in prize money and other awards to be distributed among the winners.
The cooking contests take place Friday through Sunday, Aug. 25 to 27, but the public is welcome to visit Saturday, Aug. 26, to watch the chefs at work and talk with them. And most, if not all, of the competing barbecue teams and other vendors will sell grilled meats, as well as rubs, sauces and other grilling items to the 2,000 to 3,000 visitors who annually come out.
The contest will be judged by KCBS-certified judges in chicken, beef brisket, pork and pork ribs with winners in each category as well as an overall grand champion, all following KCBS rules and regulations. Besides money and prizes, grillers also earn points toward the society's 2023 Team of the Year standings in the individual meat categories as well as overall.
Grilling teams are entered from as far away as Florida, Tennessee and Missouri, along with Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. Returning to defend their 2022 Death's Door Grand Champion title is Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ from Des Moines, which also won the chicken and brisket categories last year and was the Day 2 Grand Champion in 2019. Also back is 2021 Grand Champion team Red Rock Cafe of Amasa, Michigan, hoping to improve on its third-place result last year.
Other top teams from out of state competing in Death's Door, according to event organizer Dick Jepsen, include last year's second- and fourth-place teams, Shiggin & Grinnin from Delano, Minnesota, and The BBQ Bus of Elmhurst, Illinois. Jepsen also cited Extra Mile BBQ out of Cincinnati; SmokinGhost BBQ LLC of Chillicothe, Illinois, currently eighth in the KCBS pork rib standings; and Pig In and Pig Out of Moore Haven, Florida.
Headlining the teams defending Wisconsin's grilling honor are Sturgeon Bay's Tom McIntosh of T-Mac Smokin, a three-time Death's Door Grand Champion (2012, '15 and '18), and Can Country Outlaw of Windsor, which won the Day 2 title in 2021 and currently is 11th in the KCBS chicken rankings. Seven other state-based teams are scheduled to take part.
Returning to the contest this year after a successful debut in 2022 is the One Meat Rib Contest, a KCBS-sanctioned cookoff taking place Friday afternoon where amateur teams or individuals can grill ribs against the pros without having to compete in the other three meat categories. The society says it's a way for individuals or newcomers to barbecue contests to dip their toes into the sauce and learn about the world of competitive barbecuing. The same KCBS rules and judging apply, and the winner will receive $500 and a trophy.
Returning on Sunday for a fifth time is a Steak Cookoff Association-sanctioned steak grilling contest, a double-cookoff with each team entering two steaks. 2021 SCA World Champion Scott Nardi is scheduled to compete.
Along with steak, the Sunday of the competition also has a dessert contest and a cocktail contest using Dancing Goat Brandy, all under SCA sanction. Entries are open for the steak, dessert and cocktail contests, as SCA membership is not required with cash prizes for the winners and entry into the SCA World Championship.
Besides the chance to try professional barbecue and stock up on grilling items, Saturday visitors also can take part in a raffle to win a Traeger Pro Series 22 smoker valued at $800, a 2,000-watt Yamaha generator and other prizes. A 50/50 raffle also will be held. The winning tickets will be drawn immediately before the awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
Children's games will start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and live music is provided Saturday by Door County favorites Lynn Gudmundsen and Tom Beckman in the morning and Fox Valley-based classic rockers Mason Street Band in the afternoon.
The public is invited to Death's Door Bar-B-Q from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Washington Island Airport, 1535 Airport Road. The island is accessible by the Washington Island Ferry, and for those who don't want to drive from the dock to the airport, a free BBQ Train will run from the ferry dock to the airport and back during the event. Admission to the barbecue and parking are free. Proceeds go to Unity Hospice and the Washington Island Community Health Program/Food Pantry.
For more information, visit deathsdoorbbq.com or the "Death's Door Barbeque" Facebook page. For more on Kansas City Barbeque Society or Steak Cookoff Association, including contest entry information, visit kcbs.us or steakcookoffs.com, respectively. For ferry information, call 800-223-2094 or visit wisferry.com.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: BBQ lovers can head to Door County for national grilling contest
