Competition heats up on the waterfront

This isn't your everyday barbecue - these guys are intense.

“It's incredibly competitive,” Tom Zurlo, a member of Big Daddy's BBQ team, said. “It's all about bragging rights.”

Zurlo doesn't mess around. If barbecue sauce drips on the Styrofoam presentation container, he wipes it clean. It's a matter of precision, he said, right down to the sprig of parsley.

Thirty-four teams set up camp at Lions Park for Bristol's annual BBQ on the River competition Saturday. About 12,000 people came to watch teams from as far as Texas, BBQ Chairman Mike Vogt said. The competition will award $6,500 in prizes.

At first glance, the crowded parking lot looked and smelled a lot like a tailgate, except for the huge ovens that sat between the teams. The food was cooked for hours before judging, with many teams taking sleeping shifts through the night Friday to cook the meat.

The categories - ribs, chicken, pulled pork, brisket and chef's choice - were judged based on taste, tenderness and presentation, BBQ Judge Bob Devine said. “I'm a tough judge,” said the 52-year-old Devine, who has been cooking since he was 16.

The crowd of barbecue teams was varied. Rookies set up next to veterans, who proudly displayed trophies they'd won in previous competitions.

Butch's BBQ is one of the stars. The team is scheduled to appear on The Food Network's “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” in June.

“Of course, we think we're going to win,” team member Mike Bingey said. “We've won all over the country.”

Bingey, of West Newton, wears a meat thermometer clipped on the collar of his T-shirt. He said although the competition is intense, the teams get along well with one another.

“There's a lot of camaraderie here. Everybody knows each other,” he said. “We'd do anything for each other - except give away our secrets.”

Secrets, it seems, are what the teams thrive on. Each has its own style, its own touch of pizzazz, to make the meal special. They have to give it a little extra oomph, they said - enough to catch the judges' eyes.

“We try to throw in a little something extra to make it memorable,” Derek Finch, of Smokey T's Pit Crew, said.