JCF Days Backyard BBQ Contest Adds Pork Belly to Menu

The annual John C. Fremont Days festival is known for many things, with great food being one of the main attractions for the tens of thousands of attendees.

For those looking for meaty treats, the JCF Days Backyard BBQ Contest returns for another day of smoked meats and fun on Saturday, July 13, said contest director Daniel Cech.

The competition, which kicks off at 3 p.m. and will take place in the parking lot behind the LA Fireproof Door Company between Third and Fourth streets, will feature three meat categories this year, including chicken drumsticks, the ever-popular rib class and a new meat for 2024: pork belly.

Cech also said cash prizes have been increased for 2024, with the overall champion cooking team taking home $1,000 for first place, the second-place team receiving $750 and the third-place team receiving $500. Each meat category winner will receive $250 each, and the team with the most creative pork belly dish will receive a $100 cash bonus, he said.

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“Honestly, we have more meat this year than we did last year. We have three meats. We have chicken drumsticks, obviously. We have ribs. I mean, those are two staples that you see at almost every barbecue competition that we do,” Cech said.

“This year we’re going to do pork belly and my only condition for the pork belly was that it wasn’t going to be regular burnt ends. I don’t want just regular burnt ends that you can buy at any restaurant or whatever,” he said. “I want people to get creative. I’ve seen people make cinnamon rolls with pork belly. I’ve seen people do things for pork belly ribs, you know, where they kind of make the pork belly like ribs.”

The most creative pork belly dish, Cech said, will receive a stack of $100 in cash from his or her own wallet.

“I’ve seen a lot of things happen with pork belly and I want to see you get creative and that’s what I’ve tried to do in the past, you know, my third meat is something that people can get creative with,” he said. “I decided I’m going to take $100 out of my pocket and go around and see which pork belly is the most interesting or the most creative. And then I’m going to give $100 cash to someone for getting creative with their pork belly.”

The 2023 competition included a third meat dish, meatloaf, which Cech said, while very tasty, created some problems for the judges’ selection because many dishes dried out over time.

“Last year we had meatloaf, but when it came to the customer selection, the meatloaf dried up a little bit,” he lamented. “It wasn’t as good as it could have been, but it was something interesting and people, you know, last year someone made meatloaf with macaroni and cheese.”

Cech said the organizers’ decision to include pork belly as one of three meats served was a simple one.

“Because there’s so much creativity that can be put into it,” he said. “This year, the barbecue contest is well-known enough that we have a team from Kansas City.”

As of Thursday, July 3, a total of 11 cooking teams have registered to participate in this year’s competition. In 2023, there were 17 participants in total, but two teams were unable to make it to the festival and only 15 teams competed.

Cech said he would still accept teams until Monday, July 8, which he said was the deadline for participants to register due to logistical issues.

“We’ve extended the deadline to July 8, postmarked, but that’s going to make it a little bit difficult to make sure we get enough meat,” he said. “But we’ve done it before and we’re going to get it done.”

According to Cech, one of the unforeseen obstacles faced by participants this year was the extremely severe weather in Nebraska and neighboring states, which he said caused chaos in the lives of the cooking teams and participants in the regular barbecue competitions.

“I think part of the reason we’re having a hard time putting teams together this year is just the fact that all the weather that’s been going on, people have been so bombarded with weather that they don’t know what they’re doing day to day and they haven’t signed up yet or they just can’t participate because their city is underwater,” he said.

Another change for 2024 is that the barbecue competition is moving to “independent” status, Cech said. That’s due to the dissolution of the South Dakota-Iowa-Nebraska Barbecue Association, which helped coordinate the 2023 event.

“The association dissolved, so we don’t have any connection with them anymore,” Cech said. “I kind of decided to go it alone. But (barbecue expert Ashley Sandbulte) is coming back this year. She helped us out, you know, with the judging and everything.”

“She did it all very smoothly. She will instruct the judges on how to judge. She has the experience, she has hosted many barbecues,” Cech said. “She will instruct the judges on how to taste it, how to taste it, what to look for on it.”

Cech said the three winning teams of the People’s Choice Award will share half of the ticket proceeds, with the remaining 50 percent going to a law enforcement charity.

The contest judges include five officers from the Omaha Police Department, five deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and one officer from the Fremont Police Department. These law enforcement judges will also decide which charity to donate 50 percent of the ticket proceeds to.

Supporting police and law enforcement is a strong belief of the John C. Fremont Days board and organizing team, Cech said, and he feels blessed to be able to help first responders who may need it.

The JCF Days Backyard Barbecue Contest opens at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, with tickets priced at $5 per meat per person. One ticket will allow one participant to get one meat from each participant. To get all three meats, the cost is $15 per person.

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