OKTOBERFEST RIB COOK-OFF
Brawley Elks Lodge serves up a mouth-watering good time
RAWLEY — Brawley Elks Lodge’s second annual Oktoberfest Rib Cook-Off event Saturday afternoon brought out fierce competition and more than 200 slabs of tender ribs for guests to enjoy.
Held outside the Elks Lodge on South Plaza Street, 10 teams competed to see whose ribs could best win over the judges’ taste buds.
Taking home the $1,000 first place prize was Good Timin’ Fern. The team of Hidalgo Society won second place, with a $500 prize, and Big Boys Barbecue finished in third with a $250 prize.
The People’s Choice award went to Brawley Elks Lodge 1420.
“We had really good competitors here this year and a lot of homemade sauces and a lot of homemade spices,” Brawley Elks Lodge trustee and event organizer Carlos Weir said. “We had some guys that were real experienced, and it was nice to see a couple teams that it was their first time coming in.”
To prepare for the event, teams started setting up their booths in the area at 5 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, competitors got off to a 5 a.m. start in preparing a mandatory 20 batches of ribs using their own unique styles.
Guests purchased tickets good for a sample-sized basket of ribs from each competitor’s booth. Teams could prepare as many batches of ribs as they liked as long as they met the minimum, Weir said.
The event also featured an Oktoberfest craft beer vendor. For younger guests, the event included a pumpkin patch area filled with interactive games.
This year’s Cook-Off saw a growth in participation, as only seven teams competed last year.
“We were able to just grow on everything we did last year,” Weir said. “So far with the support we’ve had today, it looks like this could be a bigger event next year, too.”
Weir estimated this year’s event will bring in a little more than what last year’s event raised, which was approximately $20,000.
The Elks Lodge donates the funds raised to three organizations, including the Elks’ veterans charity, which benefits veterans locally and nationwide.\
Earlier in the day, the lodge held a Hero’s Honor 5K run in support of the veterans charity. The run was held at Rotary Park in Brawley and served as a prelude to the Cook-Off.
The other two charities benefiting from the Cook-Off are the California-Hawaii Elks, which helps provide therapy for handicapped children locally and nationwide, and the Elks National Foundation, which provides scholarships locally and nationwide.
Last year, the Brawley Elks Lodge awarded about $9,000 in scholarships to local students.
Weir said he hopes the Cook-Off will continue to expand into an event that the local community looks forward to each year.
“The group that we have on the Elks committee, they really want to see it to grow,” Weir said. “They’re willing to put in the hard work to watch it grow. I think with the support from the teams and the community, it’s going to continue to grow.”