I love watching BBQ competition shows like BBQ Pitmasters. I am amazed every competitor has his or her own unique technique for what they feel is THE perfect smoked or grilled meats, and everyone has a different idea of what works best. I thought it would be fun to experience one myself.

Well, this weekend, I finally got my chance. It wasn’t a large-scale TV show production, but it was still fun!

It was a family affair, with my parents, husband and daughter attending the eighth annual Hammondsport Fire Department Smoke on the Water Competition in Hammondsport, New York.

When we arrived around 1 p.m., the aroma of wood smokers already filled the air. I was excited as soon as we saw all the smokers set up! We weren’t sure how the whole event worked, so we had to ask someone who looked official. He informed us we could purchase a wristband to taste all the competitors’ entries, and then he gave us a ticket to vote for our favorite in the People’s Choice category. I was thrilled we were actually able to participate in some judging. As we made our way from stand to stand sampling entries, we could see contestants in the back feverishly tending to their smokers, preparing their meats to perfection. The competition ran from 12–8 p.m., and we were there early in the day, so we mostly tasted the chicken entries. Each competitor had to prepare chicken, pork, brisket and a mystery category determined by the committee that day. After they submitted each entry for judging, they then served small samples to the public. I wish I had known the times for each meat to be submitted, as we would have gone a little later to taste the brisket! And I never did find out what the mystery entry was. But now that we have experienced it, I marked it on my calendar for next year, and we’ll show up later for those categories.

Since Hammondsport is in the heart of the Finger Lakes, of course there had to be some local beer and wines available. I had a glass of Chardonnay-Reisling from one of my favorite wineries, Dr. Frank’s, and my husband enjoyed a beer tasting flight from Brewery of Broken Dreams. We purchased fresh local produce and some cinnamon maple syrup, that the vendor, Schweigart’s Sugar Shack, described as “French toast in a bottle,” and, after a small sample, we agreed!

Congratulations to this year’s Smoke on the Water winners: Practical Smokers (1st), Shady Pig (2nd) and Uncle Pauly’s (3rd). We enjoyed them all!

— Tracey Cullen, art director