All hail the kings of the barbecue!

By JANE AMMESON / H-P Correspondent

"I didn't expect to win," said Tim Sunday of Berrien Springs, who placed third in the Round Barn Winery's Reds, Whites and Blues Barbecue Fest competition July 3.

Sunday, the Berrien Springs High School varsity football coach and a physical education and U.S. history teacher, had never entered a cooking contest before. He said he did so this time at the suggestion of Rick Moersch, who owns the Round Barn Winery, Distillery and Brewery in Baroda. The winery, formerly known as Heart of the Vineyard, takes its name from the round barn that Moersch had moved from the Rochester, Ind., area and restored by Amish craftsmen.
"Rick helped me get my football scholarship to Hillsdale," said Sunday, who won a $50 Martin's Super Market gift certificate. "So when he suggested that it might be fun for me to enter, I said, 'Sure.'"

Sunday, who does like to barbecue, bought a pork butt and injected it with Lysander's Marinade. Both the meat and the marinade were purchased at Zick's Specialty Meats in Berrien Springs. Sunday slow-roasted the meat after rubbing it with brown sugar and applesauce and then a mixture of his favorite bottled barbecue sauce, Billie Bones brand barbecue sauce, and a mixture of other ingredients.

"I just added things that tasted good," he said.

One of the ingredients was a cup of Round Barn Apricot Brandy because, according to the competition's requirements, a Round Barn product had to be used.

That's why Cory Pastotnik, a former St. Joseph resident who now lives in Indianapolis, used Round Barn Apricot Pie, a dessert wine made by the winery in his grand prize-winning recipe. Also on Pastotnik's team was Jeremy Sokolowski of St. Joseph. Sokolowski manned the grill.

"I used a Weber with charcoal," said Sokolowski. "I don't think gas gives as good a flavor."

Pastotnik and Sokolowski can't share the exact recipe.

"It's one of my really good friend's family recipes," Pastotnik said, noting that the recipe goes back four generations and is considered a secret. But Pastotnik adapted the recipe, adding fresh peeled and chopped apricots, the Round Barn Apricot Pie, chili powder, garlic, mustard, apple vinegar, ketchup and honey and also cooked the sauce for eight hours so that the flavors melded together.

"It became caramelized," said Pastotnik, who used to work at the Round Barn Winery and now does contractor sales.

An avid barbecue fan, Pastotnik decided to enter the contest for fun but worked hard on perfecting his sauce. He said it can be used for ribs, salmon and chicken.

"The glaze would be good on biscuits, too," said Pastotnik.

"It was a lot of fun, and we're definitely going to do it again," said Sokolowski. The winning prize was a KitchenAid grill.

Other winners were Bob Roberts ($500) and Mike Deschaaf ($100 Martin's Super Market gift certificate).

"About 450 people attended the fest," said Jody Kearney, event coordinator for the winery. Attendees came from all over, though the largest contingency came from the Michiana area.

"It was such a success, we're going to do it again next year," said Kearney.

Mike Frazer, Southwest Michigan Marketing Consultant for the WSBT Radio Group, was one of the judges. Frazer, who owned a Cajun restaurant in Omaha, Neb., before moving back to this area, was impressed with the diversity and quality of the barbecue.

"We had everything from Jamaican jerk sauce to blueberry barbecue sauce," he said.

A side sauce contest also was held, which pitted WNSN-FM (Sunny 101.5) against Wood Fire, an Italian trattoria on Front Street in Dowagiac. Bruce Kayser, host of "The Jack, Shelli and Bruce Show," created Rockin' Raspberry Sauce.

"Wood Fire fired back with their Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry Sauce," said Frazer, who just couldn't resist the pun.

The radio station won the competition.

When asked how he developed his recipe, Kayser, who likes to experiment in the kitchen and grills several times a week, responded.

"I went to the Internet and looked at some recipe books and checked over about 25 recipes. Then I made up my mind what sounded good to me and made up my own recipe from that. I actually liked what I came up with."

Larry Seurynck, co-owner of Wood Fire, said they will most likely enter the competition again next year.

"We had a lot of fun," he said. "It was a great day."

Tim Sunday's Prize-winning Slow Cooked Pork

7-pound pork butt

Lysander's Marinade

Brown sugar

Applesauce

1 bottle Billy Bones Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Round Barn Apricot Brandy

Garlic

Honey

Lemon pepper

Black pepper

Inject the meat with Lysander's Marinade. Boil meat for five minutes and remove from water. Rub brown sugar and applesauce over the meat.

Then mix the barbecue sauce with the remaining ingredients. Sunday doesn't measure -- he just adds ingredients until it tastes right to him.

Heat charcoal. Cook pork butt over indirect heat at about 180 F for five to six hours.

Bruce Kayser's Rockin' Raspberry Barbecue Sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup Round Barn Winery Raspberry Dessert Wine

1 1/4 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

15-ounce can tomato sauce

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 to 2 ounces espresso

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

1 tablespoon ground red pepper

6-ounce can tomato paste (for thickening-as needed)

In two-quart saucepan, saut/ onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add Raspberry Dessert Wine and slowly simmer until liquid reduces to at least half.

Add all other ingredients and simmer on low for about 30 minutes, uncovered.

Wood Fire's Barbecue Sauce

2 ounces butter

6 ounces red onion diced

6 ounces roasted red peppers diced

2 cloves garlic minced

10 ounces pineapple juice

8 ounces chicken stock

6 ounces ketchup

4 ounces ketchup

4 ounces Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped sage and thyme

Salt and pepper as needed

4 ounces Round Barn Raspberry Brandy, simmered until reduced by half

In a saucepan, add butter and heat until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and peppers until onions are tender. Add garlic and cook until garlic aroma is in the air. Mix together all remaining ingredients, add to saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Can also add the following extras:

Fresh herbs

Honey, dried mustard

Liquid smoke

Tabasco

Brown sugar

Fruit juice

Vinegar