Carson City BBQ Co. walked away with the Best Sauce award at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cookoff last week in Sparks. The Carson City catering company received $500 as well as bragging rights.
The six-day event drew 24 barbecue teams and hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the country to Victorian Square, according to John Ascuaga's Nugget spokesman Michael Traum.
In announcing the winners, Nugget COO Stephen Ascuaga said this year was the biggest in the event's 21-year history.
According to early estimates, more than 500,000 people attended and more than 100 tons of ribs were served. Preliminary sales indicators show a substantial year-over-year increase. Saturday appears to have been the biggest single day in the event's history.
Carson City BBQ Co. was awarded $500 for its Best Sauce award.
The top prize winners were: First place, Desperado BBQ & Rib Co., Hinckley, Ohio., $7,500; second place, Bone Daddy's BBQ, Midland, Mich., $3,000; third place, Kinder's Custom Meats, Concord, Calif., $2,000; fourth place, Bourbon Q, Westport, Ky., $1,000; and fifth place, Porky N Beans, Port St. Lucie, Flor., $500.
The People's Choice Award went to last year's first-place ribs winner, Bone Daddy's BBQ of Midland.