Citizens sink their teeth in to inaugural Smoke Show

Keegan Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·3 min read

May 1—The smell of mouth-watering, perfectly-cooked meat filled the air at the 4th annual Foodstock in downtown Somerset on Saturday. Attendees only had one rule: don't leave hungry.

While Foodstock has been held before in Somerset, a new event was christened Saturday called the "Smoke Show" in which Kentucky barbecue legends battled it out in a challenge of smoking the best rack of ribs in all of Appalachia.

The show featured 12 cooking teams. Four cooked on a Weber grill, four on a Traeger, and four on a Big Green Egg.

JC Phelps, food-writer and blogger of JCPEats.com, emceed the Smoke Show.

"This has been so exciting. I love tourism, but it's even more fun when it's in my backyard," said Phelps.

Phelps said that contestants would compete based on the strict Kansas City Barbecue regulations, whose stiff guidelines include standards in appearance and texture of the meat, and sportsmanship of the teams.

One rule of the Kansas City regulations is that nobody's having any of this "fall-off-the-bone" business.

"That would be called too tender," said Phelps. "You should be able to take a bite and see your teethmarks... the judges went through a pretty great briefing."

The first team introduced was Just Blowing Smoke. A father and son duo, the pair included Alex Wilson (the son) a novice in grilling and Terry Wilson an award-winning BBQ master.

Beaux's BBQ and Cajun was the next team featured. Chris Weddle, Gayla Weddle, and Missy Houston comprised the team. Pitmaster Chris Weddle had two decades of experience and has a wide array of grilling awards and bona fides.

BBQ'n Barrett's consisted of Drew Barrett, Brandi Barrett, Dave Barrett, and Jackie Barrett. This was the team's first competition, and they were ready to have some fun. The team was rounded up by the brains of the operation, 10-month-old Maddux.

The Bluegrass Southern Smokers saw Jason, Jalyn, and Addison King compete. Jason King is the father of Jalyn and Addison, and, like all dads, enjoyed a bit of show-boating at the competition to the chagrin of his daughters.

Team Loko BBQ was the next team. Keith Kasmeki and Logan Bates both work at the local Hyundai. This was their first competition.

I do BBQ, Madison Hatfield and Jordan Deborde, were a pair of fiancés who were a match made in heaven. As they put it: "He loves to eat and she loves to cook."

Slow your roll with Paul Underwood and David Phelps believe smoke makes the meal.

PorkStars consisted of Wes Daulton and Billy Bittle. They came prepared with a whole posse wearing matching pink t-shirts. To go with their suggestive name, "I like my butt rubbed and my pork pulled" adorned the back of the tees.

Back Country Q had Braxton King, Angela Powers, and John Bryant. This was their first competition, but had 16 years of grilling experience.

Brian and Renate Dopp took up Hill Country Smoke BBQ. Hailing from San Antonio, TX, the duo keep a strict policy of what makes a good brisket. They make brisket for Kentucky because they believe nobody in town makes it like they do in the Lone Star State.

Joey's BBQ with Joey, Daniel, and Justin, took first place in a Glendale competition in 2021.

Team Faubush BBQ Boys consisting of TJ Halcomb and Dan Johnson brought up the rear. TJ Halcomb is a 30-year active volunteer firefighter.

Team Loko BBQ took the crown. They said they couldn't believe their victory and were shocked. They contributed their success to their flavor.

"Got to have a little bit of sweet and a nice little kick," they said.

And to celebrate? They planned to just go get something to eat.

It's unsure whether another smoke show will be held at next year's Foodstock, but JC Phelps was confident it would be, saying that this year's was a big success.