Jeff Robinson checks the temperature of his meats on Friday evening. “We love it we do it every year, always fun hangout with family and having friends come out,” he said.
What started four decades ago as a barbecue competition between 12 contestants has turned into one of Johnson County’s biggest summer events.
The 41st annual Great Lenexa BBQ Battle this past Friday and Saturday drew an estimated 9,000 visitors to Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park to watch 169 teams from across the country all striving for the title of “Grand Champion.”
In the end, a local team — Damn Fine Beef and Swine from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, led by chef Ryan Cain — took home the top trophy.
Damn Fine Beef and Swine of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, awarded the Grand Champion prize Saturday. Photo courtesy city of Lenexa.
The Reserve Grand Champion this year was Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Rub from Kansas City, Missouri, led by Tom Elder.
In third place overall: Damn Yankee Texas BBQ, from Van Alstyne, Texas, led by Shane LeClair.
“We had a great success out here this year. We were lucky with beautiful weather. While warm, we still had no rain,” said Lenexa’s assistant parks & recreation director Mandy Danler. “So teams really got to enjoy the weekend and cook their meat and have their parties.”
In addition to the overall winners, ribbons were given to the top 10 teams in each of seven categories, including beefsteak, brisket, chicken, miscellaneous, pork, pork ribs and sausage.
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Here are some more scenes from this past weekend’s action.
Sarah Slattery fabricates a pork butt at the Lenexa BBQ Battle on Friday, June 23, at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park. Slattery competed as a member of the team Judas Feast. While Slattery is a professional chef, the rest of the team are amateurs competing for fun. “They’re all old college buddies and I come down from Nebraska every year to compete,” Slattery said. The team has competed at the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle for the last six years. Photo credit Kylie Graham.This year nearly 170 teams entered in the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle competing in seven different categories including brisket, pork ribs and sausage. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Seven-year-old Carson Hernandez gets his face painted at the festival on Friday evening. Along with the smoking, the Great Lenexa BBG Battled offered face painting, balloon animals, bouncy houses and a ball pit for children. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Judas Feast has been competing at the Lenexa BBQ Battle for the past six years. Last year the group took third in the brisket category. Photo credit Kylie Graham.One-year-old Della Taylor plays with cornhole bags on Friday, June 23. Photo credit Kylie Graham.The team Smoke On the Water and Fire in My Eye proudly display some of their past seasons’ wins. “We hope to add one or two this year,” Jeff Robinson said. Robinson is taking over as head chef this year and enlisted the help of Patrick Young. Photo credit Kylie Graham.Aaron Swarts (front) and Mike Slattery, members of Judas Feast cook on Friday evening. The team is made up of old college buddies who compete for fun. Photo credit Kylie Graham.
Kylie Graham is a Johnson County native and graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who does freelance photography around the Kansas City metro.
