CAPE TEAM HITS THE (BBQ) SAUCE

Sizzle. Drip. Munch.

Grill guerrillas converged on Arena Park Saturday for day two of the sixth annual Cape BBQ Fest.

Competitors came armed with aprons and tongs, not to mention pounds and pounds of ribs, pork steaks and burgers to toss on the grills.

The object of the contest was to determine the best backyard barbecuer in the region, said Linda Minner of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. The contest is sponsored by the chamber's agribusiness committee.

Top honors went to the team from Davis Farms in Southern Illinois. They received a $200 prize and the Charles E. Knote Grand Champion Trophy. Knote, who died last year, founded the barbecue contest.

Barbecuing, from stirring up the sauce to firing up the grill, is not a subject taken lightly by competitors.

"These people mean business. But they have a good time," Minner said.

So what's the real secret to great barbecue?

"We're not going to tell you that," said David Woods of Bardwell, Ky. Woods was part of the Backwoods Bar-B-Que team, which has grilled competitively "just about anywhere they've got one of these contests," he said.

The team has competed at Memphis in May, Kansas City, Mo., Des Moines and Las Vegas, Woods said.

"Some of them we win. Some of them we lose," he said.

Plenty of samples were available.

"Common sense is our secret. True backyard barbecue, nothing fancy," said Darryl Maschmann, grill guru of the defending championship team from Thorngate Ltd. Maschmann and team won the overall championship last year.

"The secret is patience. Trial and error and patience," said Gary Sprenger of Heuer and Sons Implement Co.'s grill team.

Sprenger's sons, Garrett, 7, and Gregory, 5, lent a hand shaping hamburger patties and blending spices Saturday afternoon.

This was the first time Sprenger had entered the competition. "We thought about doing it many times, and this year, we just said, why not?" he said.

"Slow cooking is the key," said Ken Koehler of the Fireside Pork Boys. "You need to cook slow and at low temperatures, otherwise you burn the meat dry. The other secret is in the ingredients, but we don't tell you that. Otherwise it wouldn't be a secret."

Koehler and teammates have been competing at the Cape cook-off since it started, he said.

Some teams took a more philosophical approach to barbecue.

"We feel the barbecue. We feel the sauce," said Bob Pasley. "That's about it." His team represented the Associated Electric Cooperative in New Madrid.

Twenty-three teams signed up for this year's event.

BARBECUE WINNERS

Hamburgers

1 - Cape Electric Rib Men

2 - Pigsburgh Stihlers

3 - Bob's Deli

Beef strip steaks

1 - Hogs-R-Us

2 - Davis Farms II

3 - Seepwater Cookers

Beef kababs

1 - Davis Farm II

2 - Thorngate

3 - Ribs and Butts

Pork steaks

1 - Bluff City Sweetloin

2 - Ricky Rover Rooter Roasters

3 - Bob's Deli

Pork ribs

1 - Pigsburgh Stihlers

2 - Bluff City Sweetloin

3 - Ricky Rover Rooter Roasters

Pork butts

1 - Mercantile Bank

2 - Hogs-R-Us

3 - Fireside Pork Boys

Grand champion

Recipient of the Charles E. Knote Grand Champion trophy and $200

Davis Farms II