By Aelynn Hyten
Special to The 830 Times
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, but recently at Del Rio High School, the smoke led to good eating and hopefully the start of a new tradition.
On Feb. 17, Chef Adan Cortez and his Smokin’ Rams BBQ Team held the first Intercampus BBQ Competition at Del Rio High School.
Despite the frigid temperatures and harsh winds, 11 BBQ teams competed, each with an adult mentor. Each team had its own “station” with tables, grills, and firewood, which, along with the meat used in the competition, were provided by the Smokin’ Rams BBQ Club. Stations were set up in three rows, with four stations in each row and enough space in between to allow spectators to walk through and observe the grillers as they worked.
Teams were judged in five categories: pork chops, fajita tacos, half chicken, pork ribs and chili. Every hour starting at noon, teams would bring the plates for each category into the school. There, Cortez cut the meat into pieces for each judge and assigned each team a letter to hide the team’s identity.
There were 17 judges which used a rubric given by the National BBQ Organization, ranking the meat based on safety/sanitation, execution, appearance, and taste, with a rating of up to 100 points per judge. Certificates, made by Education and Training teacher Linda Corbell, were given to the top three in each category. Medals made by Cybersecurity teacher John Reed were awarded to the first, second, and third place teams overall.
Third place was awarded to Dixie Chicks, with Ella Jensen, Ariana Martinez, and Lucinda Roman. The second-place winners were Watts Cookin’ with Diego Meza, Jose Perez, and Jimena Mendoza. The “Grand Champions” of the competition were Spicy Pepper BBQ, an all-girl team featuring Amanda Aguillon, Ana Gabriela Zapata, and Isabel Bustamante, mentored by Sergio Aguillon.
“The competition shone a light on our growing program in our inaugural year,” Cortez stated. “It really helped bring the community together and show our district what potential our young grillers have.”
This event, promoted by the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Culinary program, was created to give the Smokin’ Rams some more practice before their competition in San Antonio on March 23, in addition to shedding some light on the culinary program during CTE Month.
There are hopes to continue this tradition in Del Rio by making this a bi-annual event by the next school year.
