COSTA MESA – A sea of baseball caps and cowboy hats filled the Orange County fairgrounds Saturday as thousands of barbecue enthusiasts flocked to the scent of 13,000 pounds of meat being cooked at the Orange County BBQ Festival.
Sixty teams were hard at work rubbing, injecting and cooking their chicken, pork and beef to serve an estimated crowd of 15,000 in order to raise money for Kristie’s Foundation, a local charity that provides support to critically ill children and their families.
While giving back to the community, these teams were also competing against each other in what has become known as the largest barbecue cook-off in Southern California. Teams from California and as far away as Arizona came to take part for a shot to earn the rank of grand champion and one newer team in particular, El Fuego Fiasco, turned up the heat.
“OK, I don’t see anyone crying yet, we’re taking it up a notch!” said El Fuego team co-leader Josh Baker, 34, growing anxious to prepare the team’s infamous “loco sauce.”
Tattoo-covered co-leader Mike Weiss, 38, and other team members might not look the part of typical barbecue competitors, but the team has definitely gained recognition. El Fuego Fiasco has become known for having the spiciest hot sauce around, and it all started as a joke.
“You call that hot?” barbecue eaters would often scoff after trying the team’s original hot sauce at a competition a few months ago in Campo.
With a chili pepper named “Pepe” as their mascot and present on all of their logos, El Fuego’s following has always expected the team to have spicy sauce.
“Enough is enough,” Baker said. That’s when they decided to experiment.
After a little Web surfing, Baker found his answer.
“Now we use this,” Baker said with a smirk, holding a little black bottle with a skull-covered warning label that read “Caution Additive Only.” Capsicum pepper extract, the major ingredient used in pepper spray, is also the main ingredient in loco sauce.
Loco sauce made its first appearance at Stage Coach six weeks ago, and made an even more potent return Saturday.
The grand champion of the competition, When Pigs Fly, might have made some great barbecue to wow the judges in the one-bite competition but there was only one team that literally caused people to cry, vomit and even call for first aid – El Fuego Fiasco.