ASBEE World Kosher BBQ Competition is Sunday
Kosher and barbecue: two words you don’t normally hear in the same sentence. But here in the barbecue capital of the world, those two words have been coming together for over three decades.
On Sunday, the Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth (ASBEE) Synagogue will host their 30th annual ASBEE World Kosher BBQ Competition and Festival, an event they tout as “The Greatest Kosher BBQ Competition in the World.”
“This event started as a fundraiser 30 years ago when the laws changed and we could no longer host bingo nights,” explained event chairman Eric Mogy. “It has grown into a wonderful community event not only for the Jewish community, but for all of Memphis.”
Forty-two teams will be competing this year and close to 1,000 guests are expected.
Just like at events such as the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest and Memphis Italian Festival, friends create teams, practice their recipes, decorate their booths and enjoy a day of fun while cooking their — hopefully — award-winning barbecue dishes.
With team names like “5 Cooks of Moses”, “Motley Jew” or “The Jew-Rassic Park,” it is obvious participants have a lot of fun with this competition.
There are four judging categories at this event: beef ribs, beef brisket, chicken drummies and beans. Teams can compete in one or all four.
“The more categories you compete in, the better chance a team has to win Grand Champion,” explained Mogy, who has been chairman of the event for the past 10 years.
Teams that compete are members of not only the ASBEE congregation, but from synagogues across town.
“I heard from a friend that the Temple Israel team was practicing their brisket last weekend. They said it was the best they have ever made,” added Mogy.
The winners are decided through blind judging. The judges’ panel is a mixture of local media personalities, chefs and professional judges.
“We try to have a good mix of people who know about food,” said Mogy. “This year we have Kelly English of Restaurant Iris, Aldo Dean of Bardog Tavern and Aldo’s Pizza Pies and Josh Steiner of Strano by Chef Josh as judges. We also have a few people who judge the Memphis in May contest.”
To be considered Kosher barbecue, ingredients must contain no pork, and milk and meat can never touch.
“We also consider the raising and treatment of the animal. With everything, we want it treated with the utmost respect,” Mogy explained.
To ensure the competition is 100-percent Kosher, organizers control every aspect of the food preparation process. Teams order their ingredients through ASBEE and, when they arrive on Sunday morning, all their ingredients are waiting for them in their booth.
“We have a Kosher kitchen they can use and we maintain all the grills,” added Mogy.
Knowing that attendees will be hungry for barbecue, the ASBEE Sisterhood will be selling barbecue and other homemade kosher goodies. The TapBox Mobile Beer Garden will be on site so attendees can get a cold brew to wash it all down.
This family-friendly community event also includes a basketball tournament. For the past 19 years, the ASBEEGrizzlies 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament has been a fun activity for kids of all ages. The Grizz crew stops by and there are appearances expected from University of Memphis and Grizzlies basketball players.
Little ones will enjoy the kids’ area that includes a moon bounce, facepainting and a petting zoo.
“You don’t have to be Jewish or keep kosher to come join us. You just have to love BBQ and fun times,” Mogy added.