Graue Inc. Invitational BBQ contest May 3

[April 15, 2014]  Chris Graue, general manager of Graue Chevrolet Buick Cadillac in Lincoln, has announced that the Graue Inc. Invitational BBQ contest will be on May 3 at the Graue dealership on North Kickapoo Street in Lincoln.

The event is to increase awareness of competition barbecue and allow local people who are not certified barbecue judges to try what the competition barbecue teams are presenting for a contest.

The idea was presented by Ken Tappendorf, a local barbecue cook who has participated in "Up In Smoke on the Square" all three years.

"Ken approached me last year and posed the suggestion to hold the event here at the dealership to draw traffic to Graue Inc.," Graue said. "We decided to ask local teams that the general public would be familiar with. One of the requirements to participate is that you've had to either compete in either 'Up In Smoke on the Square, KCBS,' or the 'Backyard' contest to be invited to participate."

There will be two lines of judging -- a people's choice award and Kansas City Barbeque Society-style blind-box judging. The people's choice will allow the general public to sample chicken or pork loin and vote for their favorite. A small contribution for voting will benefit the Humane Society of Logan County. The KCBS-style voting will be done similar to a sanctioned KCBS contest, where the competitors submit entries in a "blind box" to be judged by certified judges.

Teams will set up on the Saturday morning of the contest, and there will be a cooks' meeting at 7:45 a.m. The general public is invited to come out, vote on their favorite team and talk barbecue cooking with the best in Logan County.

"We hope to have eight to 10 teams," Graue said.

Currently, the following teams will be participating:

• Ken Tappendorf

• Dave and Wade Kaesebier

• Lynn Turner and Rod Schleder

• Brad Luckhart

• Tom Payne

• Chris Graue and Jim Bishop

• Doug Ritterbush and Duane Petty

• John Goldsberry

There will be no admission charge, but for those wanting to sample and judge, for a contribution you will be able to judge a sample from each team. A $5 donation gets you eight samples of either chicken or pork loin, or $10 for both.

All proceeds go to the Humane Society of Logan County.

[Text from news release from Graue Chevrolet Buick Cadillac]