N. Springfield Baptist Church hosted first BBQ Throw Down

On Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, North Springfield Baptist Church and community members hosted the first BBQ Throw Down Competition. Assistant Pastor Rubin Jennings of North Springfield Baptist Church wanted to know who in Springfield, Vt. served the best pulled pork, take-out, eat-in, or home recipe.

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N. Springfield Baptist Church hosted first BBQ Throw Down October 5, 2018 pulled pork The Copper Fox won “bragging rights” for best pulled pork in Springfield. Photo provided. N. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – On Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, North Springfield Baptist Church and community members hosted the first BBQ Throw Down Competition. Assistant Pastor Rubin Jennings of North Springfield Baptist Church wanted to know who in Springfield, Vt. served the best pulled pork, take-out, eat-in, or home recipe. Looking for an answer, he asked friends, neighbors, businesses, restaurants, and people who frequent Springfield. He ended up with a plethora of recommendations, several restaurants, including community neighbors that are barbecue enthusiasts, hobbyists, and aficionados. There was no definitive person or restaurant that could own bragging rights to the best pulled pork in Springfield. Jennings shared his findings and goal of developing a community event centered around fun, food, and community celebration with Pastor George Keeler. The motivation was to create a free and fun family event the entire community could participate in, and we could help to establish who in Springfield has the best pulled pork. We invited the community to form a committee to offer ideas on what a BBQ Throw Down Competition could look like. The committee began holding meetings on Saturdays at NSBC. We received interest from seven restaurants, and additional interest from neighbors interested in showing off their pulled pork skills. The BBQ Throw Down Competition had a few fun, friendly rules: free samples from each participant, everyone’s taste opinion mattered but only taste judges votes would be counted, the judges were blind taste testing and would not know in advance who prepared each pulled pork, and the pulled pork would be judged on taste, presentation, aroma, and texture. After a friendly competition, we offer congratulations to Elise Ulrich and Nick Matush, owners of The Copper Fox. The Copper Fox is located at 56 Main Street in downtown Springfield. The judges of the BBQ Throw Down Competition voted on and established The Copper Fox as the best pulled pork in Springfield, Vt. They now have bragging rights.