Pit masters were busy Saturday morning readying their entries and hoping for the best during the 27th annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau.

Travis Bickings with Shot in the Dark BBQ from Oran — one of 45 teams contributing to the aroma of barbecue on the west side of the city — said he and his team participate in about 20 competitions a year and it requires “weekly preparation.”

Bickings said routine tasks include cleaning the grills, a day each dedicated to mixing sauces and rubs, flavor injections and prepping and trimming the meat.

Almost all teams were participating in all four categories Saturday, he said, “because the big payout is on the grand champion and reserve grand champion.” The chance to win requires submissions in all categories.

Returning grand champions from last year, Mark Cooper and Jason Halterman are with BYO Grill of St. Louis.

From left, Poppy Clardy, 3, Taelyn Clardy, 8, and Lawson Camp, 3, all of Jackson, eat a snack with Mason Oliver, 10, of Jackson, not pictured, Friday during the 27th annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

“We’re hot and fast cookers,” Cooper said while layering a side of ribs with a concoction of sugars other ingredients for the grill.

“If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” Halterman said. “Barbecue will tell you things are broke when it’s not; and it’ll tell you things are good when they’re not. One of those roulette wheels.”

Making the drive from St. Louis, Cooper said they started preparing the meat and finalizing sauces and injections Tuesday.

Halterman said he sees his participation as more of celebrating a “family homecoming,” with relatives in New Madrid, Dexter and Bloomfield, Missouri.

And when they win competitions, he said the prize money keeps their hobby funded.

“It’s an expensive hobby,” Halterman said, describing their entries as “sweet with a little heat.”

“But those are far and few between,” Cooper said. “We won Cape last year, we didn’t win another one until last weekend in Springfield, Missouri.”

Halterman said, “Taste is the most important thing, and that’s the most subjective. That’s what makes barbecue crazy and fun at the same time.”

BBQ Fest chairman Jeff Branch said Day One of the event Friday garnered roughly 1,500 attendees and said overall he was pleased with the event over.

“Any teams I’ve talked to that have come to competition before, they seem to really enjoy it. We get a lot of repeat teams that come back every year,” he said. “I feel that we put on a good contest for them.”

Trophies were presented to the teams who bested their opponents in four categories: chicken, pork ribs (loin or spare), pork (shoulder/butt/picnic) and brisket (beef).

The festival’s grand champion this year was Outlaw Hawgs BBQ of St. Louis, receiving $2,500. The team had the highest accumulated total score from all four categories.

The event’s second-place winner — also know as the “Reserve Grand Champion” — was Heavy Smoke of the St. Charles, Missouri, area.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Cape Jaycees’ annual Toybox program, a charitable foundation that provides families with toys during Christmastime.

The event is partnered with not-for-profit organization Kansas City Barbecue Society.

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