08/31/2026
We had a blast at the SAL Rib Cookout at the American Legion Thomas Hartung Post 1977 in New Lenox, IL, and came away with some great results.
We learned shortly after setting up that the judge pool was going to be 100% local folks, mostly members and supporters of The Legion.
Mr. Freak understood the assignment -- this was not the place to throw down our typical hyper-flavored competition recipes. We needed to tone it down and try to deliver a flavor profile that met our judges expectations for great BBQ.
So he called an audible and headed to the local Berkot’s to resupply.
The plan was to bring back whatever BBQ sauce was taking up the most room on the shelves, and it wasn’t even close. There was a whole WALL of Sweet Baby Ray's, with more varieties that we even knew existed.
He came back with a $3 bottle of the Original Recipe stuff, and it was just the ticket, helping him to a 2nd place walk for Baby Backs and a 3rd place for Spares. We passed a few out, after turn-in and got to hear those words we live for … “Best rib I ever had!”
Ms. Freak made a slight sauce adjustment as well and came away with a 10th in Baby Backs.
Shout out to Don Peterson, Mark Naber (perfect score!) and Michael Gard on your wins and thanks to Tim Craft and crew for putting on a great event with support for our veterans and lots of public interaction.
And most of all, props and gratitude to Dave Raymond for coming up with the most universally loved sauce to ever hit the grocery store shelves. This was the first time we’ve ever used it in a competition, but probably won’t be the last.
