Fayette County Brisket Picked 3rd Out of 242 Teams in Houston
La Grange barbecue master Curt Harbers won third place in brisket at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) Barbecue Cookoff, which took place Feb. 24-26 at the NRG Center in Houston.
Harbers said the experience validated the team’s win at the last Houston cookoff in 2020.
Harbers’ team, C.C.’s Country Barbecue, won an invite to the HLSR cookoff in 2020 as the Fayette County Go-Texan cookoff champion. His team won grand champion in Houston that year and earned a return invitation in 2021, but the event was canceled last year due to COVID-19. HLSR extended his invitation to this year’s cookoff.
“We had a great cook all the way around,” Harbers said. “We hit all of our temperatures, all of our times, and it worked out great. Sometimes the judges agree with what you’re turning in. Sometimes they don’t.”
The weather was cold and wet in Houston that weekend, Harbers said. Despite the bad weather, the team finished 32nd overall out of 242 teams. Their chicken placed 64th and their ribs came finished 160th.
“(The judges) liked our chicken,” Harbers said. “The ribs, not so much. They were looking for more of a dry rub. Of course, our brisket speaks for itself.”
Harbers said the team learned they were a finalist in brisket but they didn’t know what place they earned until they were called to the stage.
“When we got on stage and they called us for third place brisket, that was huge,” Harbers said. “It was validation of us winning it in 2020. We’re not just one-and-done. We deserve to be out there.”
Harbers’ teammates included his wife Casey Harbers, his brother Ryan Harbers, Arthur Bosque, Monica Romero, Kevin Caldwell, Laura Caldwell, Chris Stone and Lesley Stone,
“It took all of us,” Harbers said. “As bad of weather as it was, we had to watch things closely. It took all of us to get it done.”
Harbers’ father-in-law, Charlie Schulz, led the Go-Texan team that represented Fayette County this year. His team, BYOB Cookers, finished 123rd overall. Schulz was a member of Harbers’ team that won overall grand champion in Houston in 2020.
“We finished in the middle, I was happy with that,” Schulz said.
“You don’t know what the judges are going to want, because you have so many people from different places there,” Schulz said. “Different seasonings, different mops, different glazes. You just hope you fall on the right table where the judges like your food.”
Schulz and his crew will next compete at the Best Little Cowboy Gathering Cookoff in La Grange on March 11-12.
The members of Schulz’s BYOB Cookers were Gina Miller, Timmy Machala, Mario Rodea and Crissy Ramirez.
“We want to thank all of our sponsors,” Schulz said. “We want to especially thank Jimmy Rohde’s band The Bandits and The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.”