On Saturday, May 10th, the Queen Mary was taken over by pitmasters. They were not there to pillage and plunder the old ship, but rather showcase their skills on the grills at the West Coast BBQ Classic.
Ribs, brisket, pulled pork and more were flying off the grills and into the mouths of men, women, and children who were at the event to enjoy competition, support their family, and find new friends. The event featured all styles of barbecue, including Memphis, Texas, Southern, and wild combinations of the different types. Pitmasters used rubs, smokers, special sauces and more in their fight to be number one.
One such family at the West Coast BBQ Classic was that at Mad Dawgz BBQ. Mad Dawgz BBQ is an award-winning competition barbecue team located in Santa Clarita, CA. The BBQ by Mad Dawgz was passed down from one generation to another as Larry Adkins, the Pitmaster, shared his barbecue secrets with his son Kyle. Kyle uses Mad Dawgz BBQ to share his father’s recipes with Southern California. The Mad Dawgz team is made up of lots of the Atkins family members with the addition of Larry’s wife, Stacey, and other son, Sean. At the West Coast BBQ Classic, Mad Dawgz received an award for their pork barbecue.
As the host of the event, Long Beach shared some of the top pitmasters such as that at BigMista’s Barbecue. BigMista’s Barbecue is owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Neil and Phyllis Strawder. The line at BigMista’s Barbecue was one of the longest lines at the West Coast BBQ Classic. BigMista’s also did not have a short in their supply as so many of their competitors did. When Strawder received the award for one of the top pork barbecues, the line extended almost to the stage.