What better way to kick off your summer, than to enjoy the beautiful Rocky Mountains, live music, beer, and of course—BBQ!  This Memorial Day Weekend, the Stanley Hotel [1]has partnered with Colorado State University to do just that.  They will be hosting the First Annual CSU Rocky Mountain BBQ Showdown[2], which is a BBQ Competition with grills and cash prizes valued at over $10,000.

“We are so excited to offer this opportunity in Estes Park to Coloradoans and enthusiasts from our neighboring states,” said Dale Woerner, associate professor of Animal Sciences[3] at CSU. “We expect this event to be filled with BBQ, music, sun and a lot of fun. Grilling and BBQ is our passion and we look forward to engaging with the community while also tasting great BBQ.”

CSU Rocky Mountain BBQ Showdown

Starting May 27, fun and competition begin and roll on into the weekend with the launch of the CSU Rocky Mountain BBQ Showdown [4]– a 24 hour BBQ competition/party open to the public and hosted on the front lawn of the Stanley Hotel.

“We think of this as summer camp for BBQ fans,” said Ron Morin, general manager of the Stanley.  “It’s all about a community coming together to celebrate food, family and our favorite summer past time.”

Stay at the Stanley

BBQ Competitors enrolled in the CSU Rocky Mountain BBQ Showdown will have the opportunity to stay overnight at the Stanley making it a truly immersive experience. During the day, competitors begin the cooking process of their best brisket, sausage, beef, pork and lamb ribs, pork shoulder and chicken while enjoying a live musical performance by Colorado bluegrass band, WhiteWater Ramble, as well as a special talk from world renowned CSU Professor Temple Grandin[5].

“We’re so excited to take our expertise off campus and open it up to a whole new group of students: the general public,” said Kevin Pond, head of CSU’s Department of Animal Sciences. “While there’s plenty of science and theory packed into BBQ U, the best learning often comes from a plate with plenty of napkins on the side.”

Open to the public

The event is open to the general public and will be hosted on the front lawn of the Stanley Hotel which will include two days of events, drinks, music, and of course, plenty of amazing BBQ.

Enrollment in the competition is open to all skill levels including amateurs and experts alike. Competitors can enter their best brisket, sausage, beef, pork, and lamb ribs, pork shoulder, and chicken to win cash prizes in each category. Contestants can also compete for a People’s Choice award.

Packages with discounted Stanley Hotel rooms are available for registered competitors of the CSU Rocky Mountain BBQ Showdown on the event website[6]. All event proceeds benefit the Center for Meat Safety and Quality housed within the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University.

About CSU’s Center for Meat Safety and Quality

The Center for Meat Safety & Quality[7] of Colorado State University has available expertise to address all issues of meat and food safety, defense, and quality, and to contribute to the enhancement of food safety worldwide. CMSQ aims to address national and global food safety and quality issues, to assure that consumers worldwide have access to a dependable supply of safe, high quality and affordable food products, to educate and train undergraduate and graduate students to assume food safety positions in industry, and to provide outreach education to the public. All proceeds of the CSU BBQ U event, will be helping to fund our program and the students who will be future leaders in the fields of Food Safety and Meat Quality in industry, academic institutions, and regulatory agencies.  Our program provides education and hands-on training in the classroom, lab, meat fabrication facility, kitchen, as well as in feedlots and meat packing plants across the country.