Memorial Day weekend may be the considered the unofficial start of summer for many people, but for those serious about smoking meat, it’s also the start of barbecue season. In Wyoming, that means a summer of experimentation, tweaking and attention to the most minute details for those who covet a spot at the Wyoming State BBQ Championship in Worland come the third weekend in August.
Rod Gray knows this annual cycle of barbecue. The pitmaster from Kansas City, Kansas, knows the sacrifices it takes to produce championship ’cue, and for him that includes a stop in Worland.
The stars were still out bright over north-central Wyoming last August when Gray began his day at the Wyoming state competition.
It was 2 a.m. and Gray, representing team Pellet Envy, had just lit his stick burner, a wood-fired pit offset used to smoke meat. As the rest of the world slept, he began preparing four types of meat.
By 3 a.m., his pit was at temperature, and he was ready to begin thehourslong smoking process that would give flavor to his meat. The select cuts would be done by 10:30 that morning, giving him just enough time tostart presenting his barbecue to the judges.
Before retiring and becoming the CEO of the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), Gray was a champion pitmaster and dedicated to serving the best barbecue possible. Beginning each year in Florida, he had traveled the circuit, elevating his meat to the highest level as he competed in contests sanctioned by the KCBS.
KCBS Master Certified Barbeque Judge (MCBJ) Tony Abestetar is another barbecue competition addict, but his goal has always been to eatthe best barbecue on the planet. He’s there to judge pitmasters like Gray,and the only way to do it is to sample each entry.
Even the tiniest details often can be the difference between winning some serious money and bragging rights and not even placing.
Abestetar grew up in a butcher shop surrounded by meat, so it was a natural fit to sit at a table and be an official taster for the best of the best. He had taken the qualifying classes and earned the rank of master.
“Grandpa came from Germany and made cold cuts before Oscar Meyer was around,” he said. “I helped, and we did all our own sausage.”
This background helped prepare Abestetar for the world of barbecue and the nuances of judging meat. He said that events like the Wyoming state championships are not your average backyard barbecue, and he can tell instantly if an entry has been prepared by a professional or amateur.
On average, he judges about 30 teams at a competition, and each — such as Pellet Envy — submits meat in four main categories: chicken, pork ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket.
The Pitmaster
Those who think they’re good enough to barbecue with the best have to learn some basic lessons, Gray and Abestetar said.
There are many rules to follow at sanctioned events, the most important one being that nobody “barbecues” at these competitions.
“Barbecue is not a verb, it’s a noun,” Gray said. “We cook. We smoke. We don't barbecue. Barbecue to us is grilling.
“And while there's plenty of space for grilling — and of course any outdoor cooking is amazing and we support it — we use barbecue as a noun.”
Gray describes the arduous process of perfecting his recipe for chicken and the lengths he will go to make sure that he has cooked it just right it so that it is soft and perfectly seasoned.
Then he said he just crosses his fingers in hopes that all five judges agree his chicken deserves high scores. Then he repeats the process.
To win a master series barbecue contest, the cook must present six boxes of each of the four meat categories, one for each of the six judges.
“I'm submitting barbecue to 24 strangers and hoping, ultimately, that 20 of them can agree that the product I turned in that day is outstanding,” Gray said.
’Cue The Judges
Judges consider appearance, taste and tenderness, rating entries on a scale of 2-9; with a 2 being “bad” and 9 “excellent.” Each individual score stands alone for the entry in the three judging criteria giving a range of 6-27 from the worst to best.
It is a tough job, but Abestetar that truly exceptional smoked meat begins before the pitmaster does anything to it. It begins with the quality of meat being used by the team.
“They don't go down to the local grocery store and buy their meat,” Abestetar said. “Most of these people have sources.”
Abestetar has helped bring in certified judges to Worland for the Wyoming state competition, which as a sanctioned Kansas City Barbeque Society event draws teams from all over the country.
The winner not only gets bragging rights and a cash prize, but most importantly qualifies for the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue.
To say these teams take their barbecue seriously is a serious understatement.
“We had a cooker here from Illinois, and he would drive up to Minnesota to a packing plant and hand-pick his briskets, Boston butts and ribs before every competition,” Abestetar told Cowboy State Daily.
Every cooker has a different technique he or she swears gives them an edge. Sauce is not a requirement for good barbecue, some swear by their own secret dry rubs.
At every event, Abestetar will judge an average of six plates of chicken, six plates of ribs, six plates of pulled pork and six plates of brisket.
Sometimes, an event will not have enough professional teams so they will allow some backyard teams as well.
Those who think they have what it takes to barbecue with the top dogs are often humbled, Abestetar said.
“All you got to do is pick up the meat and put it in your mouth,” Abestetar said. “Within 1 second you can tell that it's a backyard team. It's not the quality.”
Presentation is just as important as the food itself. It is the judge’s first impression of your barbecue. (Courtesy Kansas City Barbeque Society) 
Presentation is just as important as the food itself. It is the judge’s first impression of your barbecue. (Courtesy Kansas City Barbeque Society) 
Presentation is just as important as the food itself. It is the judge’s first impression of your barbecue. (Courtesy Kansas City Barbeque Society) 
Presentation is just as important as the food itself. It is the judge’s first impression of your barbecue. (Courtesy Kansas City Barbeque Society)
Making The Best BBQ In The World
Those who come from all over the country to Worland will begin their preparation long before starting their smokers.
They have spent the winter months searching for the perfect meat to cook and perfecting recipes on their lucky family and friends. A good pitmaster is picky.
“You don't just look into a case and grab whatever you want,” Gray said. “You're looking for some specific details. You want meat to cover all the bones of the ribs, and you want your brisket to be as thick as it can be. You want great marbling in your pork butts.”
Each team has its own special technique and rubs. Some make their own sauces and others combine manufactured sauces to make their own signature blend. It’s all about achieving a delicious and consistent taste profile.
The Evolution Of Barbecue
Gray and Abestetar have both seen the world of barbecue competition change in the 20 years they have participated in the sanctioned events.
In Wyoming, there used to be four KCBS events, and then it went to only Worland hosting the state championships. Abestetar is excited to see that Laramie has brought its sanctioned event back, so there are now two in Wyoming.
For Gray, what’s changed over the years are the techniques.
When he first started, he used a pellet cooker, which was new in the early 2000s. He would have to start cooking his meat at 7 p.m. on a Friday night and it would not come off until nearly 11 a.m. the next day.
He progressed to using a stick burner and would not start cooking until 3 a.m. to be finished by 10:30.
“The difference was simply I was now cooking at a hotter temperature,” he said. “Nowadays, a lot of teams cook on drums or cans, which are 55-gallon food-grade barrels that have been altered.”
These barrels have an air intake, exhaust and racks inside. They cook even hotter and faster than Gray was able to do so they don't have to light them until as late as 7 a.m. Saturday morning.
Another change is that there is more training for aspiring pitmasters.
“In the old days, we just fumbled around until we stumbled across something that worked,” Gray said. “Then I started teaching classes, and now the best pitmasters in the country will host in the off season, barbecue classes, and basically show everyone in the class all their secrets.”
Another change that Gray has witnessed is the popularity of self-contained trailers.
“When I started competing on the circuit, which was 2001, I immediately bought a small trailer when a lot of people were still cooking under tents or canopies,” he said. “I was one of the few around here that had an enclosed, self-contained trailer.”
Gray cooked on the circuit for 20 years, and when he stopped in 2019, his trailer was still the same but was among the smallest on the circuit. Most of the professional pitmasters had gone to 40-foot trailers and had invested a small fortune in their equipment.
“These guys are a little nutty, like I was,” he said.
World Class Worland
This year will be the 21st year for Worland’s KCBS sanctioned barbecue event.
Abestetar said it’s vital to have certified judges at these competitions whoknow their barbecue. The first year at Worland, the judges weren’t trained, and he said that was not fair to those competing.
“I felt so bad because I'd been in the food business my entire life,” Abestetar said. “It's not fair to a guy that drives all the way from Texas to northern Wyoming and cooks his barbecue and spends a great deal of money on his food to have some guy there that doesn't know where brisket comes from, you know, is it from a pig?”
He clarified that brisket is beef and comes from a cow.
Because the Worland event is sanctioned by KCBS, it attracts competitors trying to qualify for invitationals. The goal at a Kansas City Barbeque Society event is to win and be entered into one of four invitationals such as the Jack Daniel’s.
Since it is later in the season in August, Worland’s event attracts competitors from all over the country who still need a win to qualify for the invitational. They are willing to pay extra to make the long trek to the small Wyoming town.
Each state gets one representative sent to the Jack Daniel’s Invitational, which is notoriously hard to get into.
In states that have several contests, winners are entered into a drawing. Because Worland was the only sanctioned competition in Wyoming for many years, the winner was automatically entered into the Jack Daniel’s. This has brought the best teams from across the U.S. to compete in the small town.
Gray traveled to Worland twice in his career.
“It's incredibly hard to win a barbecue contest,” Gray explained. “It takes some luck and a lot of skill.”
As for Abestetar, it is his love of barbecue that convinced him that being a judge is the perfect hobby.
“I got into it because it was all about good meat and food,” he said.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
