Smoke from barbecues filled Second Street Southeast in Yelm on Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, as 13 different teams prepared for the annual “Amateur Andy” competition at the fifth manual Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally.
Team “Hogs, Hens and Heifers” prepared the required samples of brisket, chicken, pork shoulder and pork ribs and placed first in the chicken, rib and brisket categories to be crowned the overall grand champion. The Brown Family Rib Ticklers were crowned reserve champions after placing first in the pork shoulder, third in the pork ribs and third in the beef brisket competition.
Former “Amateur Andy” competitor Liam Macomb, who competed in the second annual event and was one of the original organizers, was one of this year’s judges after becoming certified through the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association. He said each of the competitors is “pretty well versed in barbecue and what they do when they come to a competition.”
Of the four meat categories presented during the event, Macomb said his favorite selection of meat would probably be ribs but that the competition is more than throwing a piece of meat on a smoker. Rather competitors are chasing perfection, not their personal preferences as a grill master.
“That’s what they’re striving for,” Macomb said. “They’ve been here for close to 24 hours now, perfecting what they’re doing.”
He added that it’s incredibly hard to determine a winner in the annual “Amateur Andy” competition due to the quality of meat presented to the judges. He said all the meats were prepared “so perfectly,” and that the margins are always “very slim.”
“It’s a great community event. It brings the community together, and everybody has a lot of fun. The barbecue culture is awesome, and seeing how it brings people together, kind of like a supportive family despite the competition, it’s awesome. It’s a lot of fun,” Macomb said. “It’s something that everyone is familiar with. This event has really brought together the community. We’ve seen how there can be a competitive side of the event, and how it can also bring the community together.”
The defending grand champion from 2023, Cody Leslie with team BBQ ICU, said he returned to the competition to defend his title. Leslie said he began to compete in sanctioned competitions to gain more experience.
“I’ve been doing some competitions outside of this one. Last year was my second competition ever, and this year I’m probably sitting at seven or eight competitions. I’ve got some more practice under my belt,” Leslie said. “I’m trying to be more precise with my barbecue, but I’m also trying some new things out here. It seems like barbecue in this area is great. It seems like there’s more in this area than the rest of Thurston County, as far as I can tell. There’s a couple places up towards Olympia, which is where we’re at. Down here, it seems like it’s kind of thriving.”
Leslie added that the Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally is a great event for competitors and barbecue enthusiasts. He noted that all of the meat he smoked for the competition was purchased from Stewart’s Meats in McKenna.
“The turnout for the competition was great this year,” Leslie said. “We only had eight or nine last year. We have a lot of good competition here, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Aaron Brown and Alisha Bartlett-Brown, members of the Rib Ticklers, have performed in three total barbecue competitions – including last year’s “Amateur Andy” event. Aaron Brown said Saturday that the process leading up to the event was busy and detail oriented.
“We’ve had no sleep. We’ve been out here watching temperatures like you couldn’t believe. We’ve been enjoying the fine weather and taking advantage of some of these good vendors being out here,” Brown said. “Many have eaten Brown’s Backyard Barbecue, few have died. So here we are. Lots of barbecuing at the lake, people seemed to enjoy it. So I figured I’d give it a shot.”
He added that the Rib Ticklers from Brown’s Backyard Barbecue specialize in the rib category, and use a family recipe that’s “been around for some time” for the ribs. He said the timeline of preparing a successful meat is key to barbecuing and presenting at competitions.
“You have to keep an eye on what needs to happen and when, or else you’ll get hung up pretty bad,” Brown said. “This is a great, great event. I see a lot of people out here having a real good time, and we hope it continues. We can see a lot of good things happening here.”
Bartlett-Brown added that the social aspect of competing in different barbecue competitions is one of the best parts of attending these types of events.
“Meeting the competitors and seeing people over and over again at competitions and asking them ‘hey, how are you?’ We always meet new people,” she said.
