The 1^st Annual Rib and Chicken Cookoff was held on Sat., Aug. 10^th at C F Bar and Grill in Ashton. The competition was set up to benefit Warner-Northwestern wrestling. Organizers stated that they were happy with the turnout, which was larger than the town’s population.

The seeds for the event were planted by a few community members. Head wrestling coach Jackson Metz said that he opted to do a fundraiser in Ashton because it’s his home, but also, “There’s something about this community.” He noted that a lot of his wrestlers and potential future wrestlers were from the Ashton area.

Eleven teams of 2 entered the competition. The entry fee was $100 per team. Most teams brought their grills to the site, but a couple opted to cook their meat at home. Gary Carlson, co-owner of the bar with his wife Wanda, said that the rule was that each team’s product had to be turned in by 5 p.m. for judging.

The teams were given ribs as well as chicken the night before the competition. The chicken was used as a tie-breaker only. The ribs were donated by Binger Meats of Mellette. The chicken was donated by C F Bar and Grill. Competitors could put up tents, in case of rain or heat. Someone from Northwestern Energy set up the meter so they wouldn’t have to use generators for all of the needed electricity.

Carlson said that some curious spectators arrived around 4 p.m. The crowd picked up for the 5 p.m. tasting. After the judges did their tasting, the ribs were available for public purchase. Side dishes were made by community members and family members of the wrestling team. There was also a silent auction, as well as a gun raffle. A bean bag tournament took place during the wait for the meat to cook.

Competitors brought their finished products to the judges in plain white styrofoam boxes. Each box held a rib for each judge, as well as chicken in case of a tie. The judges were chosen for their impartiality. Carlson said that Keith and Linda Siebright, bar regulars, were asked to judge. The other judge, Eva Proeschl was new to barbecue food. She was visiting from her home in Vienna, AUT.

The judges were impressed by the entries. The Siebrights said that they liked to grill but were far from experts. Proeschl said that she’d like to try more barbecue. She also said that she was surprised by the variety. Linda Siebright stated that they judged the entries by 3 qualities: appearance, tenderness, and flavor. The judges didn’t completely agree on everything, but were able to come to a consensus.

Winners of the blind tasting were: 1^st place ($200), Jackson Metz and Saven Lechner; and 2^nd place ($100), Nate Frericks and Jake Groft.

Community engagement is essential to keeping small towns alive. Gary and Wanda Carlson, who have owned C and F Bar in Ashton since January, understand this. Gary Carlson explained that he’d been coming to the area for 20 years, to hunt and to help with harvest. “We like to bring the community together.”

One bar patron said “We’re so fortunate to have them (the Carlsons).” Proeschl said that things were different back in Vienna, a large city. In Ashton, one could go to the local bar and meet people. It wasn’t that way in the big city. She said that people “don’t talk to each other, and aren’t so open-minded” as they were here.

Many participants and spectators stated the importance of bringing the community together. Carlson stated that they wanted the bar and grill to be a place for people to gather. He said “When me and my wife decided to buy the bar, we wanted it to be a family-friendly bar. We listened to some of these younger kids who had heard about the chicken feed, but they never got the experience. So we kind of got started talking to a bunch of locals about the old style stuff they were doing. We thought ‘We can bring that back here. Get these kids involved, get families to come in that live probably 5 miles down the road, but there’s so busy wrapped up in their home lives and stuff.’”

The bar has held a few events this year, with a breakfast and a possible street dance coming up in Sept. Carlson was keen on benefitting the community, including fundraising. Many children were running around during the event. A potential next fundraising goal could be for new playground equipment. Several people had this in mind. That’s how projects get going.