Colorado asserted cooking dominance this weekend, when one local barbecue team took the grand prize and two other in-state teams finished in the top 10 at the inaugural Colorado Rockies Invitational BBQ Championship.
Superior-based GQue, helmed by cook Jason Ganahl, nabbed the grand championship, scoring more than 700 points and winning nearly $12,000 for their meat turn-ins.
Held during the Rockies-Pirates series Friday and Saturday, the event drew roughly 500 attendees to Coors Field, and showcased top-notch chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. (Fans indulged in all-you-can-eat pork butt for $8.) Twenty teams culled from the best 30 cooking powerhouses ranked by the Kansas City Barbeque Society gathered to show off their cuts and vie for a purse that totalled roughly $40,000.
“We’ve got good cookers here in Colorado,” event organizer Charles Lankford said.
“It’s a monster win,” Ganahl said Monday. The local cook’s team includes his wife, four children and a family friend. “The creme de la creme was here in Denver. Then, on top of it, the Denver team won it.”
KCBS reps ran the competition, with 24 KCBS-certified judges making the calls. Rockies owner Dick Monfort helped out at the judging tent, too. “I think he was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food he got,” Lankford said, noting that the meat at the event was four to five notches above restaurant-quality barbecue.
Master judge Cathy Cartwright, who adjudicated with her husband, said they critiqued blind submissions based on taste, tenderness and appearance.
“As with anything you cook or bake, you have a good day and you have a bad day,” Cartwright said. “All (Ganahl’s) meats came out the way he wanted them to come out.”
To win, Ganahl said he focused on cooking the meat “as perfect as you can possibly imagine.” His team doesn’t get caught up in recipes, rubs and sauces, he said.
“I focus on cooking a piece of chicken where the juice runs down your wrist after biting into it,” Ganahl added. He strives for symmetrical bites in ribs, pork that’s nice and tender without being mushy, and textured brisket that falls apart in your mouth with little effort.
Historically, Colorado isn’t closely associated with the competitive barbecue scene, but both Lankford and Ganahl hope the Rockies-sponsored event and Ganahl’s win help bolster the state’s relevance.
Lankford worked closely with Monfort to whip up the first iteration of the event. Next year, Lankford wants to expand the competition to include around 50 teams.
Sean Fitz-Gerald: 303-954-1211, sfitz-gerald@denverpost.com or twitter.com/srkfitzgerald
