DILLON – From rubbing and roasting to saucing and slicing, Kyle Laval and Stephanie Wilson have a tale to tell about the life and times of barbecue.In 1996, Stephanie’s brother Josh and her cousin Tom started a small barbecue team to compete on the fledgling American barbecue circuit. The team had immediate success, earning a seventh place honorable mention for their “Tommy Wings” at the American Royal. The family called their band of hardy barbecuers “Tom and Josh’s Orgasmic slabs.”Now, nine years later, the team has attained near-legendary status. In 2005 alone, Laval and Wilson – who took over the team in 1998 – have won over 20 awards, including grand champion at both the first annual National Chest to Chest Brisket Championship in Great Bend, Kans., and the Jammin’ on the River BBQ in Glasgow, Miss.”I love to cook, and I love to challenge myself,” Laval said. “It’s the challenge, man – the challenge of going out 22 weekends in the year and cooking quality Q, no matter how tired you are or what conditions you might encounter, you gotta keep on cooking.”This week Laval and Wilson will be one of 68 teams bringing a similar passion for “Quality Q” to the Dillon BBQ at the Summit. Contestants travel to Summit from across the country, all to see who can brine, dry, rub, smoke and sauce the best ribs, brisket, chicken and pork butt.”It’s a passion for barbecue and friendship,” said Gary Lorenzen of Oink County Cookers out of Pheonix. “I know the people who do the circuit. It’s fun, and it’s a challenge.”Wilson put it more succinctly.”Either you have the love or you don’t,” she said.Wednesday night at a special barbecue class held at the Best Western Hotel in Dillon, it was clear that Wilson had it. She and Laval led 22 people through the deepest and darkest secrets of their technique, everything from the meat they choose – essentially the cheapest stuff they can find (99 cents per pound being ideal) – to the blend of spices they use in their rub.”No one thing is lynch-pin crucial,” Laval said, holding what he called “a big brown cannonball of pork” up in the air. “It’s the totality that’s important.”When it comes to pork, totality means trimming the piece down, removing the bone, injecting the meat with brine, drying it, soaking it in “glue” (honey, mustard and steak sauce), covering it with rub (a mixture of spices), smoking it for seven hours at night, slicing it, saucing it and sending it to the judges. At least, that’s what Laval calls “Kyle-style barbecue.””Barbecue is art,” he said. “Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not art. When they take a bite of your brisket and go ‘mmmmmmmmmm,’ ask them if you’re not an artist.”Artists or not, all of the 68 contestants will be vying for the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) top prize this weekend in Dillon, a spot Tom and Josh’s Orgasmic Slabs claimed last year. KCBS rules stipulate that no team can tamper with its meat before Friday morning and that all contestants will be judged on three categories – taste, tenderness and presentation. A perfect score in any one category amounts to 180 points. The team that gathers the most points from their chicken, pork, brisket and ribs wins the grand prize.”Everyone thinks they got it,” Laval said regarding the contestants before they are judged. “It’s a humbling experience when they say, ‘Man, you don’t got it!'”Although the world of the barbecue circuit can prove ever fickle, all signs for now show that Laval’s “got it.” Eight of the 68 teams competing this weekend attended his cooking class Wednesday night.9News BBQ at the Summit scheduleFriday

Noon to 9 p.m. – BBQ Open for businessNoon to 2 p.m. – Live music with Murphy’s Lawyers2 p.m. – Cooks’ meeting4-6 p.m. – Live music with Arnie J. Green4 p.m. – Kids “Q” competition5 p.m. – Showmanship Judging for the “Mayor’s Cup”5:30 p.m.- Pig in a Pokeô begins6 p.m. – Kids “Q” judging6:30 p.m. – Salsa Judging7 p.m. – Sauce judging7-9 p.m. – Live entertainment with The Arthur Lee Land Band7:30 p.m. – Pig in a Pokeô judgingSaturday6-8:30 a.m. – Pancake breakfast9 a.m. – Judges check in10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – BBQ Open for business10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Peoples choice judging10 am to noon – Live music with Just the Two of Us11 a.m. – Side dish judging

11:30 a.m. – Chicken judgingNoon – Rib judging12:30 p.m. – Pork judging1 p.m. – Brisket judging1-3 p.m. – Live music with Peaceful Warrior1:30 p.m.- Miscellaneous judging2 p.m. – Dessert judging2 p.m. – Peoples choice voting closes 3:30 p.m. – Awards ceremony5 pm 7 p.m. – Live music with Doo Wop DennyTom and Josh’s Orgasmic Slabs recipes:Rub 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup salt (non-iodized) 1/3 cup black pepper 1/4 cup paprika 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon chile powder 1 tablespoon celery salt 1 tablespoon hickory salt 1 tablespoon msg 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon sage 1/4 teaspoon cayenne Place all ingredients in a shaker container and shake well.Glue 2 tablespoons yellow mustard 1 tabelspoon honey Whisk ingredients together and place in a squeeze bottle.Fun Facts– In the late 1600s, French Haitians described open fire cooking as “barbe a queue,” literally translated as “from whiskers to tail.” — English writer Aphra Behn was the first to use the word in a literary sense when he wrote in 1699, “Let’s barbicu this fat rogue.”Andrew Tolve can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 223, or at atolve@summitdaily.com.