Top grilling team in the country takes first and second places in Door County BBQ contest

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·2 min read

WASHINGTON ISLAND - The cream − er, the barbecue sauce rose to the top as the top-ranked grilling team in the country won one day of competition and placed second in the other at the 11th annual Death's Door Bar-B-Q held Aug. 25 and 26 at Washington Island Airport.

Brad Leighninger, right, leader of the Gettin' Basted barbecue team from Branson, Missouri, accepts a plaque and first-place check for winning the Grand Championship on Day 1 of the 2023 Death's Door Bar-B-Q competition on Washington Island. Shown with Leighninger are, from left, Bill Gage of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, which sanctions the event, and Death's Door organizer Dick Jepsen.

Led by Brad Leighninger, the Gettin' Basted team from Branson, Missouri, outgrilled 28 other teams from across the country to win its second Death's Door Grand Championship on Day 1 with a total score of 700.5256, a new record for the event. The team, which currently leads the Kansas City Barbeque Society national points standings overall and in the KCBS pork ribs and brisket categories, earned its previous Death's Door championship in 2017.

Second place and Reserve Grand Champion honors on Day 1 of the KCBS-sanctioned contest went to Dustin Reeves and the Hogline BBQ team from Owatonna, Minnesota, while 2021 Grand Champion Can Country Outlaw from Windsor, led by Jason Halterman, placed third.

Those three teams also dominated the Day 1 individual categories, with Gettin' Basted winning the One Meat Rib Contest, Hogline winning in chicken and Can Country winning both pork ribs and brisket. The Shiggin & Grinnin team from Delano, Minnesota, took first place in the pork competition.

Shiggin & Grinnin and head chef Jeff Vanderlinde came back on Day 2 to win their first Death's Door Grand Championship, preventing runner-up Gettin' Basted from sweeping the two-day event. Hogline BBQ followed its second place on Day 1 with third on Day 2.

Shiggin & Grinnin also won Day 2's pork ribs competition, with Gettin’ Basted winning the chicken category; Jankey Leg of Benton, Illinois, winning pork − they were first in pork and second overall in KCBS standings coming into Death's Door − and Nectar of the Hogs out of Minneapolis winning brisket.

The 2024 Death's Door Bar-B-Q is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 23-24. For complete 2023 results or more information, visit deathsdoorbbq.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: Top grill team in the country places first, second in Death's Door BBQ