4/3/2011
By TIM UNRUH Salina Journal
As his brethren from throughout Kansas toiled outside tents and campers, Nick King did his part at a picnic table in Oakdale Park.

"Eating is better than cooking," said King, 28, a Salina firefighter on Saturday as he sampled 13 tiny mounds of pulled pork barbecue. His votes helped determine the People's Choice awards in the first-ever Kansas Fire and EMS Barbecue Championship.

"They're all pretty different," said King, who was flanked by his girlfriend, Sarah Quaas, 26.

"It's all pretty tender," she said. "No. 2, I think, was really good."

Raising funds

Lauren Hulteen, 25, wondered if "seconds" were allowed. Her husband, Patrick Hulteen, 24, a Salina firefighter, and King, volunteered at the event.

"I've tried a little bit of every one. I ate all of No. 8. I think No. 4 is second," Lauren Hulteen said.

Dozens of people lined up to pick up foam trays filled with the entries. Some of them had numbers pinned to their shirts. Those who competed in the Fools Day 5K and Mile Fun Run could sample for free. Others paid $5.

The event raised $1,050 for the American Red Cross.

"I like the moist one," said Joan Brockway, a former cook at Salina Central High School. She shared a sample platter with her husband, Laverne Brockway, a former Salina fire chief and fire marshal. Their son, Greg Brockway, is chief of Salina Emergency Medical Service.

Seated under another shelter in the park were 12 judges -- Greg Brockway included -- sampling barbecue pork, chicken, brisket and rib dishes. It was their job to decide the individual and team trophies.

Smokin' Jake's, a team from Olathe, won the overall title, and Three Bill Grill of Salina took first in the People's Choice category. Barnard Bighead Barbecue, of Barnard in Lincoln County, was judged the best pork barbecue. Smokin' Jake's boasted the best brisket and ribs. The chicken crown want to Smokin' Firehouse Hunks, of Jefferson County.

Ryan Lange, 28, of Salina, won the 5K race in 19 minutes, 8 seconds. Levi Holcom, 14, of Culver, was fastest in the mile run, 6:23.

A fellowship

More important than the trophies may have been the fellowship on a great spring day.

"We do it to relax," said Lt. Kendall Thompson, of the fire department in Conway Springs, population 1,500.

Those barbecue aficionados were attending their first competition and learning a lot from the Greg Barnes, chief cooker on an Overland Park team that occupied a post next door.

But the Conway Springs group is tops at home, where they have hosted barbecue feeds for three years. They've raised $50,000 for a new fire station that's under construction. The building will cost more than $360,000.

"It's going up 100 percent volunteer," Thompson said.

More than 240 people attended the barbecue tasting and competition, said Chris Rios, a Salina firefighter, who coordinated the event for the Salina Professional Firefighters Association Local 782 and the Red Cross.

The event will continue next year, he said, but with some changes.

"I definitely would not try to run the show and compete again," he said.

The barbecue he prepared with Jared Jones, a Marquette firefighter, was entered as Redneck Firehouse Barbecue, the name of their catering company, which placed third in People's Choice and in the Pork Category.

"Overall, it was a good time," Rios said.

Most memorable was Friday night, when all of the competitors gathered to "hang out."

"It's more of the camaraderie for this event," he said. "But there's always gonna be braggin' rights when you get a bunch of guys together."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by email at tunruh@salina.com.

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