It takes more than a little rain to keep folks away from good BBQ! On Saturday, June 3, a large crowd gathered in the small town of Oconto for the annual Blowin’ The Doors Off BBQ.

“Despite two rain showers we had a very good attendance of 1,180 people, which is an increase from 1,115 in attendance in 2022,” said Brett Eggleston, one of the organizers of the event. “The evening band, Borderline, was moved indoors due to the rain. The crowd, however, stuck around and enjoyed music and dancing throughout the night.”

The 2023 BBQ featured eight grill masters: 10-4 BBQ, Buk-N-Pig BBQ, Nelson BBQ, Limp Brisket, Ribzilla, Slow Poke BBQ, Double D’s BBQ and Busch Wacked. Judges were: Dave Schroeder-KRVN Radio Lexington; Adam Smith-KRVN Radio Lexington; Morgan Smith; Brit Williams; Andrew McKenzie-Grocery Kart Broken Bow; Tim Reith-NTV; Shawn Jacobs-NWS North Platte; Mike Wendorff; Hunter Thomas- Thomas Livestock; Cory Clay-Custer County Emergency Management; Steve Fowler-Grocery Kart; Brandon Benitz and Andew Tickle-Mills Hardware.

When judging was completed and all points tallied up for the individual categories, the overall 1st place-winning grill master was Limp Brisket. Coming in

2nd place overall was Buk-N-Pig, and 3rd place went to Double D’s. Category winners were as follows:

Specialty

1st - Limp Brisket - Smoked Armadillo

2nd - Nelson BBQ - Bacon Brownies

3rd - Buk-N-Pig - Apple Cheesecake

Pulled Pork

1st - Limp Brisket

2nd Buk-N-Pig

3rd Double D's

Beans

1st - Limp Brisket

2nd - Double D's

3rd - Buk-N-Pig

Pork Ribs

1st - Limp Brisket

2nd Buk-N-Pig

3rd Busch Wacked

Sauce

1st - 10-4 BBQ

2nd - Buk-N-Pig

3rd Limp Brisket

Beef Brisket 1st - Buk-N-Pig

2nd - 10-4 BBQ

3rd - Double D's “There are no words to express our gratitude for the support of our community and the many volunteers who worked countless hours to make this event a success,” said Eggleston. “We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2024!”