By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Del Rio High School’s BBQ teams are sending a team to a national competition in their second year of existence after they came home with the best ribeye in Texas.
Competing May 2–3 in Burnet, Texas, DRHS was represented by three teams: The Smokin’ Rams, The Blue Flame and Certified Delicious.
“This is a huge moment for our program,” said Adan Cortez III, the school’s Culinary Arts Instructor who founded the team. “It’s only our second year competing, and we’re already heading to Nationals. We couldn’t be prouder.”
Cortez said getting to the state competition took months of preparation and successful showings at two regional qualifiers—Del Rio High School Regionals and St. Gregory the Great Regionals in San Antonio.
This past weekend, the teams faced off in six judged categories: grilled cheese, ribeye, chicken lollipops, chili, ribs and brisket.
Despite early mornings, long hours and strong winds, each team delivered its best. The Blue Flame led the pack, finishing first in ribeye, 13th in chili and ribs, 28th in grilled cheese and eighth overall out of dozens of teams, officially qualifying for the national championships.
Next stop is Kansas City, KS where “The Blue Flame” student cooks will take their smokers/ grills—and their skills—to the national stage.
The 2025 National High School BBQ Championship, known as “THE SLAB,” takes place from June 3–6 in Kansas City, KS. This year the competition will feature 112 high school teams from across the country, all vying for top honors in various barbecue categories.
All the hurdles are cleared except one, the team has to raise the funds to finance part of their trip to Kansas City.
“The district is being real good to us and taking care of a lot of the fees, but we have to plan for practices and fundraisers over the next few weeks,” Cortez said. “We’re also selling Smokin’ Rams T-shirts in royal blue, heather navy, black and gray with sizes ranging from youth small – adult 5XL for $18 each; for those interested in showing their support for our nationals bid.”
Anyone interested in a shirt should text Cortez at 956-241-2601.
They are looking at a fundraiser in the next two weeks at Five Points Market at 300 Margaret Lane, Cortez said.
