Cedar Creek's team Meat the Creek cooks up a storm at High School BBQ state competition

By 6 a.m. Saturday, smoky aromas wafted through the parking lot of the Dell Diamond baseball complex in Round Rock. High school students in cowboy hats strode through the hazy dawn light with ribs and slabs of brisket flung over their shoulders.

By that time, senior Connor Smith was already fussing with the traditional wood burning dual exhaust smoker, a giant pit on wheels with Texas shapes on the exhaust vents’ covers.

Smith’s job that day: keep the smoker at an even 275 degrees. The task required a delicate balance of oxygen flow and wood.

“It’s not as easy as hitting ‘bake’ on an oven,” Smith said.

Smith is one of five students from Cedar Creek High School in Bastrop who competed Saturday at the High School BBQ Inc. state competition, which brings together the 99 best competitive high school barbecue teams in the state for an-all day cook-off.

Students hustle to cook dishes in five categories: chicken, ribs, beans, dessert and — the crown jewel — brisket.

The popularity of high school barbecue teams has grown in the last five years, and the competition helps students connect to culinary arts and the tradition of Texas barbecue.

As the Cedar Creek students cook, their coach, Glenn Edgar stands behind a piece of caution tape several yards away and watches. Because of competition rules, he can’t help them directly, but, every once in a while, he’ll point to his watch, reminding the students to mind the time and their meticulously planned schedule, tucked in a blue folder.

More: Terry Black's Barbecue opens new location in Waco

“It’s kind of like herding cats,” said Edgar, a special education math teacher.

The five students on the high school’s Meat the Creek team are part of a larger in-school barbecue club Edgar oversees. The club teaches about 60 students during a free period about the ins and outs of barbecue cooking and appreciation. The students have been working through a master class video series from Aaron Franklin, owner of famed Austin joint Franklin Barbecue.

Students who come to the weekend practice sessions learn how to cook meat, handle the smoker and feel confident using cooking utensils, Edgar said.

“That's the hardest part, trying to get them to be comfortable with the experience of it,” he said.

High School BBQ Inc., which runs the competitions, gained nonprofit status in 2018, and the number of participating teams has grown each year, said Marnie Schoenfeld, secretary of the organization.

During competitions, students are judged in each of the five categories, which contribute to a team's overall score. Students also must adhere to strict rules, such as a ban on any pre-made mixes in the dessert category.

25 Best Restaurants in Austin: New York Times list includes many Statesman favorites

By 8 a.m., the students have everything cooking except the chicken, which was soaking in a brine. The competitions force a lot of responsibility on the students, Schoenfeld said.

"It teaches them ownership of their team, pride for their team," she said.

The students spend the morning meticulously seasoning, smoking and mixing meats and other foods.

Danathan Hughston, a senior, opened the smoker’s door to spray down the meat with an apple juice and water mixture to keep it moist. Every so often, he’d turn the meat, an important step to evenly cooking it, he said.

But the students have to be careful how often they lift the lid to check or tend to the meat, said Evianna Garcia, a sophomore.

“If you’re looking, you’re not cooking,” Garcia said.

Garcia was in charge of the beans, which simmered throughout the morning on the smoker’s fire box, the area which holds the fire logs with a flat top. Throughout the day, she has to stir and move the pot around the surface to keep the beans at an even temperature as the fire heats and cools unevenly.

Garcia also loves cooking and has learned this year how to maintain a fire and pay attention to little details that can make a huge difference, she said.

“It just takes practice,” Garcia said. “That's all any of this is.”

Smith hopes to pursue a culinary career after high school. He loves eating and making other people happy through food.

“I guess I am a bit of a romantic,” Smith said.

The barbecue team has been a lot of fun, but his favorite thing to cook is fried chicken, which sizzles and snaps, he said.

“It’s just an interesting thing to make,” Smith said. “You butter it. You baste it. It’s loud. It’s fun to listen to it cook.”

Just before 9 a.m., the students turn in their award-winning lemon orange cake drizzled with glaze, coated in powdered sugar and garnished with mint and lemon and orange slices. The cake won the Cedar Creek team 10 ^th place in desserts, Edgar said. Overall, the team won 38th place.

Next year, Edgar hopes to improve the club's skill and invite guest speakers to advise the students about barbecue.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Cedar Creek's team Meat the Creek cooks up a storm at High School BBQ state competition