CENTRAL POINT, Ore. -- The Jackson County Expo’s Director Helen Funk predicts between 5,000-8,000 people came to the Southern Oregon BrewFest over the weekend. Central Point’s Coordinator for Special Events Nikki Petersen says about 2,500 people came to Battle of the Bones.
15 teams competed against each other to hold the titles of Best Tri-Tip, Ribs and Chili.
The Smokin' Hooch BBQ team turned the barbecue competition into a fun, family affair.
"It’s a thing that we enjoy doing all the time and we actually did really well this year so we're excited this year, really excited about it," said Ken Johnson.
The team is no stranger to beefy competition. In the first two days of Battle of the Bones, the team took home the first place prize for three out of the four available categories. They won People’s Choice for best tri-tip and ribs and Judge's Choice for best ribs.
The team’s favorite category is People’s Choice.
"That's why we do it. We do it because of what the people say,” Ken said.
"We've had several people come back every year and say ‘we've voted for you for the last three years here,’" his wife Trish Johnson added.
They smoked out 14 other teams for those awards and prize money, winning more than $3,700. It’s going right back to the people that have their (baby)backs.
"We’re going to [reimburse] ourselves for all the money we spent for this," Ken said.
"And divvying it up amongst the team and the family, everyone who helped us. It's getting split," Trish added.
