Barbeque cookoff takes center stage

Fifteen pounds of ribs and a two-hour limit to turn them from cold slabs of flesh into succulent, mouth-watering servings to make your mama proud—that was the challenge facing contestant Saturday night during the traditional Taste of the Marianas barbeque cook off.

Fifteen pounds of ribs and a two-hour limit to turn them from cold slabs of flesh into succulent, mouth-watering servings to make your mama proud—that was the challenge facing contestant Saturday night during the traditional Taste of the Marianas barbeque cook off.

At table one was Samson Tan, a tall quiet man ready for business. Ketchup, onions, garlic, salt and BBQ sauce jostled for attention inside his large plastic mixing bowl, liberally covering the raw meat. He tossed and mixed, set aside and started on the seasoning corn.

Dawn Crystal Kenney and sister Melia Kenney cut tomatoes, green onions and avocados while their ribs sputtered in a boiling pot. “This is garlic and cilantro for the vinaigrette,” said Kenney, pointing to the green paste.

At table three, Socrates Danigra, the fourth and final contestant, carefully marinated his ribs. “It’s all garlic,” he said stabbing the huge chunks of white. “It’s to taste better. Grill it and the garlic smells good.”

After an hour, the participants began slapping their meat onto the flames, sending strong wafts of aroma into the air. The judges watched while the cooks snapped their metal tongs and turned the sizzling meat. Tan hovered over the smoke and backed away, casually sipping bottled water. “I love to cook,” he said. “It’s good to relax here with a lot of people.”

Ed Johnson worked with colleagues to organize the cook off. “It’s part of the local culture. It allows visitors to come and experience…for people to come and have some good BBQ ribs,” he said.

Soon the pressure was on. “Two minutes, we got two minutes,” said master of ceremonies K.C. Lancheru. “I can’t wait to taste those ribs,” he said.

The crowd watched in anticipation as the cooks scrambled to garnish and make their presentations. Tan placed flowers beside an artful plate—ribs featuring red pepper and corn relish. He even accompanied the creation with white wine. The Kenney sisters set three plates for each judge—small gleaming ribs atop a potato pancake. Danigra offered a simple setting, the ribs aligned just right with lemon on the side.

The judges then went to work, sampling each creation and muttering among themselves on the various points and merits of each entry. They graded on presentation, taste and consistency.

Ed Salas, one of the judges, said, “I love ribs. I eat a lot of ribs. They choose the right person.”

Glenn Abergos, the second judge (who works with Tony Roma’s), echoed this, saying, “It all tastes good. Each has its own distinctive taste.”

However, as this was a contest, there has to be rankings and, in Saturday night’s case, the third place was awarded to Danigra, while a tie was held between the Kenney sisters and Tan. The top prize was $100.

The judges were not the only lucky ones to get a taste of the delectable concoctions, as Johnson walked around offering members of the audience some of the contestants’ creations.

“Next week we are doing an eating contest,” he said. “Our goal is for total community participation.” (Cassie Hamman)