Elkhorn Ribfest – Day 3

The third day of Ribfest started out on the rainy side.  It rained most of the morning and on and off in the afternoon.  The rain thankfully stopped by the time we made it to the fairgrounds at about 5:00pm.  When we arrived, there wasn’t too big of a crowd for a Friday night, most likely due to the weather.  

This was our first night at the event kid-free, and we were meeting up with a couple of friends to sample some ribs.  We grabbed a wristband for drinks and bought a handful of drink tickets, costing $6 per ticket.  They have beer, seltzer, mike’s lemonade, and sangria, all costing you one drink ticket each.  We grabbed a drink and figured out what vendors we wanted to sample.

We decided on getting a half rack from Just North of Memphis, Buck em BBQ, Blazin’ Broncos, and Mr. Green’s.  Each of us got into a separate line and met up at a table once we got the food.  Some vendors had some small lines, but they moved pretty quickly.   

Let’s start with Just North of Memphis.  They have always been a favorite of ours at Ribfest.  They have a dry rub that has amazing flavor.  BBQ sauce can be added if you like, but we think the dry rub is all you need with these ribs.  

Score for Just North of Memphis Ribs: 8.5/10

Next, we moved onto Mr. Green’s.  We had tried Mr. Green’s on the first night, and they were great.  There was a ton of meat on these ribs again, and the overall flavor was great, just not as tender as Just North of Memphis.  We gave Mr. Green’s an 8/10 on the first night we tried them, and we’ll keep it there this second time around. 

Score for Mr. Green’s Ribs on Day 3: 8/10

Next up were two of the new pitmasters at the event this year.  Buck em BBQ and Blazin’ BBQ.  

Blazin’ BBQ has their stand set up right next to Just North of Memphis.  These ribs were okay.  They weren’t as tender or flavorful as the rest and nothing really stood out to us.  They were also a little fatty.

Score for Blazin’ BBQ: 7/10

Buck em BBQ’s ribs had a great flavor to them, and the BBQ sauce was also delicious.  They had a lot of meat on them as well and the four of us agreed that these ribs were the best out of the four vendors we sampled tonight.  We also tried their sides of mac and cheese and beans, and both were nothing special and a big miss for us.  As disappointing as the sides were, don’t let that stop you from trying their ribs. 

Score for Buck em BBQ Ribs: 9/10

We wrapped up another successful night with the Peach Bread Pudding from Just North of Memphis and some cheese curds from the Wisconsin Cheese Stand.  The grounds were clearing out by the time we were leaving at 10:00pm, and we didn’t think it was a typical Friday night crowd, again most likely due to the rainy start.  Saturday looks rain-free, so I am sure it will be the most crowded day that we’ve seen so far.