As we pulled into the parking lot of the High Desert Event Center (formerly known as Victorville…read moreFairgrounds), temperatures soared close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We decided to wait in the air conditioned car until the gates opened for the High Desert Music Festival & BBQ Showdown and until the line of music and BBQ fans died down in the high noon sunshine. Once we opened the car doors, the aroma of smoked barbeque meat permeated the air. As we entered the BBQ Village, you could see all of the Teams working their magic as the Kansas City BBQ Society sanctioned competition was well underway. Teams had timetables to turn in their chicken, pulled pork, brisket, and ribs. Unfortunately, nothing would be served to the public until after 2pm so that the teams could concentrate completely on their entries. There were a few outside vendors that were selling food which was a good thing.
Heavenly Delights gave out samples of their pipin' hot cobblers. We sampled the Peach Delight with Pecans. It was definitely pipin' hot and right out of the oven. The peaches were baked perfectly so they were not too mushy and held a familiar peach texture so you knew what kind of fruit was being used. It had just the right amount of sweetness. The pecans added a crunchy texture to the mix. I can imagine that it tasted really good with a scoop vanilla ice cream on top.
Pig on a Twig amped up our appetite with fresh smoked turkey legs. All the barbeque competitors' smoking & grilling made us crave meat and a turkey leg was the closest we could get to it. The skin was smoky and crispy. The meat was tender and had an excellent smoky flavor. The turkey had a great amount of flavor so I assume it was marinated or brined before smoking and cooking. It definitely hit the spot for lunch!
Lemonade Shakers also helped with the heat of the day with flavored lemonade and iced teas. They had a great deal that if you kept your cup, you would save $2 on refills. It was well worth it as we drank 6 between the two of us. The lemonade was fresh lemon juice squeezed, shaken with the lemon peels, sugar, ice, and your choice of flavor: plain, cherry, mango, or strawberry. They were fantastic! It would have been great to have a sugar-free option of Splenda or stevia as an alternative.
After feeding our appetite, we walked over to the Car & Bike Show presented by All N All Car Club (SoCal Chapter). Atomic Orange Metallic Corvette, 1938 Chevrolet Master 4-Door Touring Sedan, and tricked out kitted roadster (straight out of a ZZ Top video) were among the cars on display. I thought to myself, "My Camaro would have made great addition."
Uncle Tim's Best West Barbecue Sauce gave out samples of their line of barbecue sauces. Depending on your spicy level, there is Mild, Medium, and Habañero. The Habañero was actually not all that spicy, but you did feel the heat in the back of your throat after eating. But it was not uncomfortable so you could actually taste the flavor of the habañero pepper which goes really nice with the barbecue sauce itself. We actually got to meet Uncle Tim and he's great guy who loves BBQ. What a better place to be than at a BBQ Showdown!
At 2pm, we started our sampling of BBQ that some of the competitors were giving out. All samples were given out with tickets purchased at the gate at $2 each. The first place we tried was Real Texas Style BBQ showcasing their pork ribs. The ribs had an excellent bark on the outside with beautiful dark pink smoked meat. The ribs were a little on the dry side, but flavorful. I'm not sure how they scored as "Real Texas Style BBQ" was not their competition name.
Tropical Heat BBQ from Ventura County, CA entered all of the competition categories. We tried their brisket and requested the fatty end. The outside had a caramelized bark. The meat had a thick, dark pink smoke ring and was succulently tender. The marbling of this cut helped to keep it tender and juicy throughout the cooking process. They came in #13 out of 29 competitors with a score of 162.8228 in the brisket category.
Master of Disaster "A Completely Unprofessional BBQ Team" from Santa Ana, CA provided samples of their pulled pork. It tasted more like carnitas with a little bit of smoky flavor. I'm not sure if they entered this into the competition unless they had a different competition name. They were also selling a bunch of different BBQ plates for pretty good prices.
We decided to hide out in the shade for a while to check out the music festival. Tessie and the Calico Cats from Victorville, CA got our toes tapping to some classic country music. Tessie's father, Frankie Flash, is an awesome harmonica player and also won The Gong Show in 1988 (the show came back from hiatus from 1976-1978). Their music whisked us back to days of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers. Imagine yourself on a horse in cowboy attire with Dale and Roy singing on either side of you.
