Barbecue blitz
<p>Tim Franey of Spirit Lake moves some samples around on one of his Madera wood fire grills he and his Pit Tenders teammates used to cook up tasty meats for the 2014 Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association contest, "Smoke on the Water," Sunday in McEuen Park.</p>
<p>Bill Mason of Tacoma, Wash., cleans the ashes out of a barrel Sunday afternoon in McEuen Park after his team, the "Powder Hogs," participated in the weekend-long barbecue competition.</p>
<p>Gary Bye of Rathdrum enjoys a pork rib tip sample from the award-winning Post Falls team Limp Brizkit.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Visitors to downtown Coeur d'Alene may have seen smoke on the water through the weekend, but there was no fire in the sky.
But plenty of smoke was in the air while the fires were contained in grills and smokers as nearly 30 teams competed for a chunk of the $5,000 prize purse at the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association's Idaho State Championship, the 14th annual Smoke on the Water barbecue competition.
The cook-off took place Saturday and Sunday in a new location this year, spreading canopies and cooking tents across the lawn of McEuen Park.
"It was a great first-year event," said Jay Bremner of Post Falls, owner of Limp Brizkit BBQ. "I think it went great, it was awesome. I wanted to do it just because. It's the first year at McEuen."
Teams from near and far competed to woo judges with their unique, bold, spicy, sweet and savory recipes in categories of pork butt, brisket, chicken and pork ribs. Presentation, tenderness and finesse also counted to earn points and bragging rights.
Gary Bye of Rathdrum sampled a pork rib tip from Limp Brizkit and called it "the best in the West."
"That was amazing," he said. "I must say, it was the best one I've tasted here."
Bye said he is a fan of barbecue and appreciator of the craft who will be returning to the competition next year.
"I think it was great," he said. "Way to break in the new park. I can't wait until the 15th annual Smoke on the Water."
Hundreds of barbecue enthusiasts weaved throughout the park through the weekend, led by their noses and/or hungry stomachs. The competition was held in conjunction with the Panhandle Parks Foundation, which organized live music, vendors, a beer garden and a bouncy house for kids. Debbie Wilson, executive director of the Panhandle Parks Foundation, said the plan is to make the competition an annual event at McEuen.
"It was great," she said. "The competitors loved the venue. People loved tasting the food, the beer garden has been full both days and perfect weather."
Jack Freeman of Post Falls builds wood stoves at Kuma Stoves in Rathdrum. He and his Pit Tenders teammates used the wood pellet grills to cook their contest entries. This was Freeman's second year competing in the event.
"About midnight we put on the bigger cuts of meat," he said. "It's an all-night event, cots are out here, getting up every couple hours to check things, make sure temperatures are right. The real heat of it happens midnight Sunday morning and goes until right about now."
Freeman's brother-in-law, Tim Franey of Spirit Lake, said they've been steady with their competitive barbecuing about two years, but it's also a family pastime.
"We of course grew up on barbecue," he said. "When I was (young), running around playing and dads were cooking and we'd all have barbecues ... mostly what I actually enjoy a lot more than the competitions is cooking with family, having family time. Just sitting around on the porch, putting something good on the grill and enjoying it all together. This is fun, doing the cook-offs, but family time is what I enjoy about the barbecue."
Results for the competition will soon be released on the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association's website, www.pnwba.com, and Wilson said they should soon also be on the Panhandle Parks Foundation website, www.panhandleparksfoundation.org.