Hill City was smokin’

The Hill City Wine, Brew and BBQ drew a huge crowd to Hill City this past weekend. The event featured an adult masters competition as well as a children’s “kids que” contest.

Sarah Baker, who competed with her husband Brad on team “Honey do BBQ,” came over from Hermosa to participate in the event. Like other entrants, the Bakers were hoping to win the best overall award with a chance to make it to the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Lynchburg, Tenn.

The “Jack” draws barbecuers from all over the country and has been taking place for over 30 years. The Hill City stop is an automatic qualifier for the larger southern competition.

The Bakers have competed locally, most recently in the Custer County Fair.

“This draws a lot of community,” said Sarah. “There’s an underlying competition in the world of barbecue.”

The competition judges entries in four categories: chicken, ribs, brisket and pork shoulder.

For the Bakers, like other barbecue afficianados, cooking the pork shoulder is the hardest to get right.

“There are a lot of elements that go into the shoulder,” Brad said. “There are so many muscle groups.You can pull three different muscles out of one shoulder.”

Timing is everything. Unlike pulled pork, which is the easiest to cook, the shoulder requires intricate precision. The Bakers have to time things just right and pull the meat off before it starts to break down. 

Custer’s Tom Veigh is a first time competitor at the Hill City event. Barbecuing is in Veigh’s blood.

“My grandmother and step grandfather had a place at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri,” said Veigh. The restaurant was around for over 30 years. “They knew more about hunting and fishing than anyone I know.”

Veigh wanted to honor his heritage by continuing the tradition. He knows the competition  circuit is fierce.

“There’s a couple of big contests across the country. American Royal  Kansas City is one of them. You can only get an invitation if you win one of them, either grand champion or  reserve grand champion at a sanctioned event,” he said.

The American Royal is in fact the largest barbecue competition in the world.  The first BBQ event was in 1980 and has drawn over 340 competing teams in its heyday. It also serves as a fundraiser for the larger American Royal event, which features a rodeo, livestock and equine exhibitions.

The Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ event hosted a children’s barbecue event again this year. Twenty children competed in two categories. The 11-15 year olds had pork chops to cook while the 5-10 year olds used ground pork. Children were judged in three categories: taste, tenderness and appearance. Children could receive a 0-9 in each category and taste scores are doubled.

Zander Dent from Miles City, Mont., came all the way to Hill City for the event. It was the 10-year -old’s first time competing in the Hill City event.  His first competition was in Worland, Wyo., two weeks ago. He chose to make pork wontons because it looked like the best option. Zander explained his process.

“I cook the pork and grind it all up and then I put it in an eggroll and put cheese on it and fry them,” he said.

 His grandmother Fidele thinks the competition is incredible.

“They needed at least one more when we were in Worland and  we had no equipment, nothing, and they threw him in. He’s never even made a hamburger patty before and he got to do a hamburger patty,” she said.

Zander likes the smokiness  of the process.

Eleven-year-old Cory Ronish of Hill City was making a family recipe for pork chop. He started barbecuing at age 5, inspired by a family friend named Bob who taught him “always keep your secrets.” He enjoys all the prep work that goes into barbecuing.

“It’s fun to just get my grill up and running,” he said.

Reagan White of Colorado was visiting the region for the first time. The 7-year-old was making Hawaiian sliders in a pineapple sauce.

“I like that you can compete,” she said.

White placed third in a recent Wyoming competition and second in Hill City.

The Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ is one of the community’s signature events, according to Janet Wetovick-Bily, the executive director of the Hill City Chamber of Commerce. 

“Every year we have people tell us how much they look forward to attending,” she said. “The barbecue has grown each year in reputation, competitors, wine and brew participants, music and in attendance, and has become one of those festivals for which Hill City is known.”

For both children and adults alike it’s a chance to explore the world of smoke, seasonings and flavor and to share as one community.  At the end of the kids que the children have a chance to  share what they’ve made.

As local John Knapp bit into Zander Dent’s wontons he said, “It’s very good. It has a nice flavor. A little bit of spice. He did good.”