Barbecue was a favorite Saturday night, as Brayden Fauss, 22 months, eats a forkful from his mother’s plate. (Photo by Kristen Waggener)
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Diners get the rub on tasty barbecue
By Kristen Waggener, kwaggener@miconews.com
“We’ll take tickets!” Kaylene Kern shouted into the crowd milling about at Legion Park Saturday night.
Offering up samples of sausage, pork and chicken with a little bit of sweet barbecue sauce, Kern, the face of Buckmaster BBQ at the Louisburg National Night Out contest, does her best to sell the team’s unique flavors.
Her goal: convince as many members of the public to give Buckmaster their little blue tickets, so she and team members John and Sarah Lohse and her husband, Bryan Kern, could win the people’s choice competition.
And that they did.
Among the more than 200 people who cast ballots in the people’s choice, Buckmaster took the majority of the votes, winning the top prize in their second straight competition.
“It’s a good feeling,” Kaylene said with tears in her eyes after hearing the news of her team’s victory. “It justifies all the sleepless hours of teamwork. It’s the most rewarding thing, that even though we didn’t win first place in everything, the people like us.”
The group of hobbyist barbecuers just started entering competitions. They won the first competition they entered in Mound City in June.
And Kaylene gives the credit to the homemade sausage she bragged about to each visitor at the Buckmaster tent.
“Would you like to try some sausage? It’s our specialty,” Kaylene tells Louisburg residents Oletta and Jake Ross.
Buckmaster was one of the couple’s last stops on their tour around the barbecue area before deciding on their favorite.
“That is very good,” Oletta said. “I love summer sausage.”
Down the walkway from Buckmaster, Lee Watson and daughter Ashlyn, 6, stood amid the barbecue smoke serving up tastes of sausage, ribs, brisket, pulled pork and beans.
“It’s just for fun,” Watson says with a smile as Ashlyn serves up a few pieces of brisket to Larry Ziegler of Louisburg.
Competing under the name “Rose Belle Smokers,” the Linn Valley family joined more than 20 other teams for the contest.
“Mmm. It’s good and tender, it’s got a good flavor and I didn’t have to put any sauce on it,” Ziegler tells Watson as he tries the meat.
“It’s because we do it with love,” Watson says.
Though Watson freely admits his specialty is his pulled pork smothered in a home-made rub, what really stood out Saturday was his children’s involvement in the process.
Ashlyn was front and center, while Madison, 9, stayed in the background, making sure everything was stocked.
The two are the namesake of their father’s hobby, Watson said.
“I wanted to use their middle names,” he said. “Rose is Madison’s middle name, and Belle is Ashlyn’s.”
Across the way and down a few tents, the CCC Ranch team from Mound City worked hard to get the attention of the public, who were voting on the people’s choice winner that night.
The group — James Carter, Jeff Carter and Jay Dunn – stood proudly behind their meats, and their unique sides.
“It’s our first year here, but we’ve competed at a lot of places,” James said. “We’ve placed every time we’ve entered this year.”
The specialty at CCC Ranch, which is named after the ranches in Linn County and Johnson County, is pork.
“It’s the rub and the sauce,” James said. “And our ribs are pretty good, too.”
The trio served cheese potatoes, smoked potatoes and a vegetable medley in the open sides category — some of the more unique entries.
The group traveling farthest to compete in Louisburg, organizer Joe Wood said, was the Road Kill Cafe, from Dighton, Kan., which is about a six-hour drive.
The trio of Jeff Wells, Reuben Zimmerman and Jake Wood used one of the more unique cookers.
“It cooks from the top, and it’s kind of like a Dutch oven,” Wells said.
The cooker, which they got from an old shop that was going to throw it away, helped win the team honors in the open side and chicken categories.
“I think everybody liked it,” Wells said, as he showed there wasn’t much left after the crowds did their taste tests.
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Offering up samples of sausage, pork and chicken with a little bit of sweet barbecue sauce, Kern, the face of Buckmaster BBQ at the Louisburg National Night Out contest, does her best to sell the team’s unique flavors.
Her goal: convince as many members of the public to give Buckmaster their little blue tickets, so she and team members John and Sarah Lohse and her husband, Bryan Kern, could win the people’s choice competition.
And that they did.
Among the more than 200 people who cast ballots in the people’s choice, Buckmaster took the majority of the votes, winning the top prize in their second straight competition.
“It’s a good feeling,” Kaylene said with tears in her eyes after hearing the news of her team’s victory. “It justifies all the sleepless hours of teamwork. It’s the most rewarding thing, that even though we didn’t win first place in everything, the people like us.”
The group of hobbyist barbecuers just started entering competitions. They won the first competition they entered in Mound City in June.
And Kaylene gives the credit to the homemade sausage she bragged about to each visitor at the Buckmaster tent.
“Would you like to try some sausage? It’s our specialty,” Kaylene tells Louisburg residents Oletta and Jake Ross.
Buckmaster was one of the couple’s last stops on their tour around the barbecue area before deciding on their favorite.
“That is very good,” Oletta said. “I love summer sausage.”
Down the walkway from Buckmaster, Lee Watson and daughter Ashlyn, 6, stood amid the barbecue smoke serving up tastes of sausage, ribs, brisket, pulled pork and beans.
“It’s just for fun,” Watson says with a smile as Ashlyn serves up a few pieces of brisket to Larry Ziegler of Louisburg.
Competing under the name “Rose Belle Smokers,” the Linn Valley family joined more than 20 other teams for the contest.
“Mmm. It’s good and tender, it’s got a good flavor and I didn’t have to put any sauce on it,” Ziegler tells Watson as he tries the meat.
“It’s because we do it with love,” Watson says.
Though Watson freely admits his specialty is his pulled pork smothered in a home-made rub, what really stood out Saturday was his children’s involvement in the process.
Ashlyn was front and center, while Madison, 9, stayed in the background, making sure everything was stocked.
The two are the namesake of their father’s hobby, Watson said.
“I wanted to use their middle names,” he said. “Rose is Madison’s middle name, and Belle is Ashlyn’s.”
Across the way and down a few tents, the CCC Ranch team from Mound City worked hard to get the attention of the public, who were voting on the people’s choice winner that night.
The group — James Carter, Jeff Carter and Jay Dunn – stood proudly behind their meats, and their unique sides.
“It’s our first year here, but we’ve competed at a lot of places,” James said. “We’ve placed every time we’ve entered this year.”
The specialty at CCC Ranch, which is named after the ranches in Linn County and Johnson County, is pork.
“It’s the rub and the sauce,” James said. “And our ribs are pretty good, too.”
The trio served cheese potatoes, smoked potatoes and a vegetable medley in the open sides category — some of the more unique entries.
The group traveling farthest to compete in Louisburg, organizer Joe Wood said, was the Road Kill Cafe, from Dighton, Kan., which is about a six-hour drive.
The trio of Jeff Wells, Reuben Zimmerman and Jake Wood used one of the more unique cookers.
“It cooks from the top, and it’s kind of like a Dutch oven,” Wells said.
The cooker, which they got from an old shop that was going to throw it away, helped win the team honors in the open side and chicken categories.
“I think everybody liked it,” Wells said, as he showed there wasn’t much left after the crowds did their taste tests.