Indian River County residents continued their fervor for food last weekend, this time whetting their appetites with finger-licking-good barbeque at the Rotary Club of Vero Beach’s inaugural Indian River Twisted Tail BBQ Cookoff – “Where the Beer is Cold, the BBQ is Hot and the Competition is Fierce.” The fragrant aroma of smoked and roasted meats wafted over the Indian River County Fairgrounds, luring in hungry crowds to the Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event.
Things kicked off Friday evening with a pre-competition preview, where folks could chow down on some seriously good BBQ and wash it all down with beers from Southern Eagle Distributing or various non-alcoholic libations. Two great bands – the Tom Jackson Band on Friday and the Crooked Creek Band on Saturday – kept the crowds entertained as they munched on their messy, mouthwatering meats.
The main event took place Saturday, when 25 teams of professionals competing for bragging rights and a total contest payout of $10,000 prepared their very best four meats –chicken, ribs, pork and brisket – for the judges. A total payout of $2,000 was on the line for the 7 Backyard teams, who competed with chicken and ribs. Russell Twiss, event chair and Rotary Club president-elect, credited farrier Tom Curl with the concept of the fundraiser and inviting KCBS, the largest competitive barbeque organization in the world, to be its sanctioning body.
Many attendees were surprised to learn that unlike most of the local cook-offs, only the judges got to sample the actual dishes prepared for the competition. But not to worry: There was no shortage of vendors selling all variety of food, including plenty of BBQ to go hog wild over. Hand-washing stations were a welcomed and well-used idea, but additional garbage receptacles and places to sit and enjoy the delicious fare would make it even better.
This was serious business for the professionals, who came from as far away as Michigan and Wisconsin. Even the judges were predominantly professionals, said Twiss.
“We have 35 judges; 31 professionals qualified by Kansas City Barbeque and four amateurs to help judge the backyard teams. They’re mostly from Florida but some are flying in from other states,” Twiss explained. “There are 25 professional teams with one judge per team plus one table captain for each six teams. It’s a double blind tasting; they don’t know who’s judging them and the judges don’t know who they’re tasting. They’re judged on taste, appearance and texture.”
The Vero Beach Rotary Charities Foundation was donating proceeds from the event primarily to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County. The Rotary Club of Vero Beach, which meets at noon every Thursday at the Vero Beach Yacht Club, celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.