TRES PINOS, California -- Dueling Bubbas (Don Grissom) dominated the field in the West Coast Barbecue Championship at San Benito, winning or placing in all five categories and claiming the Grand Championship.

Dueling Bubbas tied for first place (and won the tie-breaker) against Out of This World (Gary Tackett) in Tri-tip, finished second behind Coyote Road Kill (Dan Cannon) in Chicken;  finished third behind Pork Belly Bandits (Roger Cole and George Baroody) and Coyote Road Kill in Pork Ribs;  finished third behind Out of This World and Mojave Hot Stuff (Tom Chilton) in Pork Shoulder;  finished first in Brisket;  and won the Grand Championship.

Pork Belly Bandits was named Reserve Champion, and Mojave Hot Stuff tied for third place and won the tie-breaker against Out of This World.

With its stunning and overwhelming victory, Dueling Bubbas rose to an all-but-insurmountable lead in the race of the Team of the Year honors.

Fifth Annual Championship

This was the fifth annual West Coast Championship, and it was organized by Frank Boyer, with the assistance of Roland Cook and Jim Mehl.  This was the first year in which the contest was sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), and this was the first contest which was represented by KCBS Representatives.  Joe O'Connell and Gene Goycochea, who both live in Southern California, served as the KCBS Reps.  Roland Cook and Jim Mehl acted as KCBS Representatives in Training. 

Farewell, Belly

The barbecue community suffered a great loss with the death of Billy "Belly" Maynard, of Glen Rose, Texas.  Billy served as one of the Qmunity's greatest friends, always willing to share his love of barbecue with a great love for life.

Billy's life was remembered by the teams and judges, all of whom knew him personally or by his presence on the Internet.

Judges Dinner

The contest weekend began with a Santa Maria barbecue dinner.  The dinner was hosted on Friday night by scbbqa, and the volunteers and judges cooked the dinner for the cooks and friends.

The dinner was a feast.  Bill Wight grilled the tri-tips to perfection, including three that were hand selected at Harris Ranch.  Side dishes included Tom Chilton's fantastic salsa, Don Grissom's sister's special beans, slaw and potato salad by Joelle O'Connell (who could not make the trip with Joe but who celebrated Bastille Day with her special dishes),  Gary Tackett's wife's garlic French bread (heated by Paul Larson, of Smoke House BBQ), with watermelon and drinks by Carl Kaun.

Everyone, especially the cooks, agreed that scbbqa should make the Friday night dinner a regular feature at future contests.

Pork Belly Bandits are back

George Baroody joined his wife and Roger Cole on the Pork Belly Bandits team.  George had not competed in some time, and everyone welcomed his return.

The team cooked on a bright red rig which included a great pit, as demonstrated by their win as Reserve Champions.

Blue Grass Festival

The barbecue contest was held in conjunction with a blue grass festival, just on the other side of the highway (and accessible by a 'secret' tunnel under the road).  Frank Boyer invited one of blue grass music's great personalities, Cuzin Al, to be a celebrity judge.

Cuzin Al knows great barbecue and has judged many previous events.  In addition to serving as a barbecue judge, Al was the DJ for a live radio broadcast of the blue grass festival.

Every Sunday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, Al hosts the most widely listened-to Internet radio program, "Cuzin Al's Blue Grass Show", on KPIG radio. 

Judging

Judging at the West Coast was significantly above average.  Frank Boyer gathered a panel that included only KCBS Certified Barbecue Judges and/or veterans of many contests, including Memphis in May events.

An analysis of the scores showed that the judges were consistent in their scoring:  when one judge awarded 9s, most of the others did as well;  and when one judge scored 7s, other judges did too.

Winners and Awards

Five scbbqa teams traveled to the West Coast Barbecue Championship, and these five teams brought home all the trophies and top three finishes in every single category.

Dueling Bubbas won almost everything, placing first, second or third in every single category.  Also earning top five finishes (and thus Team of the Year points) in every category were Pork Belly Bandits (which captured the Reserve Championship) and Mojave Hot Stuff (which finished third overall). 

The other two scbbqa teams did almost as well.  Out of This World finished in the top four places in all categories except Ribs, and it placed fourth overall, winning Team of the Year points.  Coyote Road Kill won a first in Chicken and second in Ribs, and it placed fifth overall. 

The detailed scores are available here.

Team of the Year points

Dueling Bubbas all but sealed the Team of the Year contest with its win at the West Coast.  After the contest, the team has amassed 72 ToY points, 24 points ahead of Mojave Hot Stuff.

The detailed standings are available here.

Outside Chance

There remain at least two scbbqa teams which could (at least in theory) change the current ToY standings.  Both Out of This World and BBQ'n Fools intend to compete in out-of-state events before the end of the ToY contest on August 31.  Under the ToY rules, a team which finishes in the top five places at an out-of-state contest may earn ToY points.

Thus, for example, if Out of This World competes at the Speedway Contest and wins a fifth place in Chicken, it will earn 3 ToY points, which would be enough to overtake Dueling Bubbas for Best Chicken of the Year.  Similarly, the team could win the Best Brisket of the Year with a third place finish (and 9 points).  In fact, it is possible (though perhaps not likely) that Out of This World could earn 30 ToY points at Speedway, in which case it would overtake Dueling Bubbas for Team of the Year.

Gene Goycochea had planned to travel to Kansas City for the Speedway Contest and to compete on David Klose's team.  However, Don Grissom himself suggested that Gene convince David to compete under the Out of This World banner, with Gene as Chief Cook.  In this case, Gene's team would be eligible to earn ToY points.

This is another illustration of the camaraderie of scbbqa members - that Don Grissom would should Gene Goycochea how to beat him!

Cook's Report

Tom Chilton, Chief Cook of Mojave Hot Stuff, gives his perspective of the contest.