4th Annual BBQ Cook-off

The Bison Commercial Club held their 4th Annual BBQ Cook-Off at the Lions Club Park on Saturday, September 10th bringing contestants in from Dickinson ND, Jamestown ND, Circle Mt, Bismarck ND, Scranton ND, Prairie City SD, Bison SD, Richardton ND, and Opelika AL. This year we had contestants setting up the night before, with some firing-up their smokers that evening for the brisket competition and spent the night in their lawn chair or pickup. At 6:00am Saturday morning they were allowed to put “Heat to their Meat” for the remaining meat categories. We all enjoyed the delicious breakfast sandwiches and pastries galore made by the Red Barn Bakery, along with delicious treats form Grandma’s Chocolates & Homestead Freeze Dried Treasures. Returning for a second year was the BBQ Wing Master Competition, which took place from 11:00am-1:00pm. The Smokers all put their own tasty twist on chicken wings, and the public was able to sample 1 wing from each smoker and then cast their vote(s) for the contestant(s) of their choice. Our People’s Choice Wing Master Champion was Don Erickson from Jamestown ND. Also returning for year two, was the NAJA Brewers of the Mystic Shrine. They brought 9 different styles of their home brewed craft beer all specially named after the town of “Bison”. We can’t wait to have them back next year! For just $20, one could purchase a cup and enjoy their bottomless craft beer all day long. The beer garden also featured a red beer bar and domestic beer. This paired well with yet another new addition to our Cook-Off, The Occidental from Isabel SD, owner Ryan Maher. They provided our guests with a huge variety of cigars, cutters, and humidors. If you were one of the many that were excited to see this addition, you’ll be excited to hear that they will be back next year! Many enjoyed several games of Bingo in the early afternoon, followed by a Cornhole Tournament: 1st Place: Arne and Marci Barber from Piedmont, 2nd Place:  Lonnie Krause & Max Matthews from Bison.  Then it was time for the meal! Each contestant’s pork entry MUST reach 145 degrees before going to a panel of judges. Each meat category had a separate panel of anonymous judges who judged based on flavor, tenderness, and juiciness with an unbiased palate, as they had no knowledge of whose meat they were tasting. Once the judging was complete, it was time for the public to eat dinner and cast their votes. The public was able to go from smoker to smoker and sample their entries in brisket, pork ribs, pork butt, beans, and cobbler and finish off with a juicy pork butt sandwich, fresh coleslaw, and a bag of chips. The crowd was then able to participate in voting for People’s Choice. AND…THE RESULTS ARE IN! The winners of the Brisket category are as follows: 1st Place- “TIE” Bill Butterfield & Jacob Nichols (Brisket Champion Apron & $250 each), 2nd Place- Dalton Fuchs($200 & Banner), 3rd Place- Brian Kolb($100 & Banner), People’s Choice- Brian Kolb($150 & People’s Choice Brisket Apron), Pork Rib category are as follows: 1st Place- Nita Weikum (Rib Champion Apron & $500), 2nd Place- “TIE” Don Erickson & Dalton Fuchs (Banner & $200), 3rd Place- Bill Butterfield (Banner & $100), People’s Choice- Terry Hafner (People’s Choice Rib Apron & $150). Our Pork Butt winners were as follows: 1st Place- Don Erickson (Butt Champion Apron & $500), 2nd Place TIE: Bill Butterfield & Jacob Nichols (Banner & $100 Each), 3rd Place “TIE”: Greg Voller & Dustin Drews (Banner & $100), People’s Choice: Greg Voller (People’s Choice Butt Apron & $150). 1st Place People’s Choice Beans: Tracy Hafner (Banner & $100 added purse). People’s Choice Cobbler: Tracy Hafner (Banner & $100 added purse). The awards were followed by a VERY entertaining game of Cup-In-Hand Kickball and the trophy standing two feet tall was awarded to the Lemer Trucking team. 

We would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to the following people for helping us make the 3rd Annual BBQ Cook-Off a success: Bison Area Men’s Club & The Occidental - sponsorship, Smokers/Contestants, Meat Judges, City of Bison – park clean-up,  Lonnie & Becky Krause – cornhole tournament, Terry Shinabarger – Kickball Ump, Luke Clements – maintenance of the field, ALL of our amazing Vendors, the Bison Bar, NAJA Brewers of the Mystic Shrine, Beer Garden Volunteers, Dakota Silk Screen – aprons, cups & banners, Food Servers/Helpers, and of course everyone who came out and supported our event! Thank you to anyone else who helped out in any way... the list is long, and we hope we didn’t miss anyone. We appreciate you all! Thanks for supporting the Bison Commercial Club! We look forward to seeing you at our 5th Annual BBQ Cook-Off on September 9th, 2023!