Seniors hope rib dinner will help keep center going
The slow-roasting smoky taste and smell of juicy ribs with an award-winning sauce will be abundant Friday at the third annual Herb and Mike's Rib Fest Dinner at the Lakes Area Senior Activity Center in Brainerd.
About 380 pounds of mouth-watering ribs will be prepared for the fundraiser dinner scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children 12 and younger and available at the senior center. The rib dinner, served buffet style, will include corn on the cob, beans, cole slaw and biscuits as well as pie and ice cream.
DeAnn Barry, senior center director, said the center's goal is to sell 200 tickets. Fifty tickets were still available Wednesday. Barry said last year the center raised more than $3,500. This year, she hopes to surpass that. Barry said proceeds benefit the center. Last year the money helped fund the new parking lot. This year the proceeds will be put in the center's operating budget.
Mike Jay brushed his special barbecue sauce on a few ribs Wednesday at his Brainerd home. The ribs are for the third annual Herb and Mike's Rib Fest Dinner that will be Friday at the Lakes Area Senior Activity Center. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls» Purchase reprints of this photo.
"With today's economy, grants haven't been easy to come by," said Barry. "The money we raise will help us in our overall operations."
Barry said the idea for the fundraiser came from the late Herb Owens, a senior center member at the time. She said the center was looking for a different type of fundraiser and Owens thought a rib dinner would be successful. Barry said Owens, who cooked the ribs for the first year, fell ill last year so Mike Jay of Brainerd volunteered to cook the ribs last year and he again will cook them this year.
Jay, who became fascinated with grilling and smoking food 15 years ago, said last year he and Owens were going to cook the ribs together, but then Owens health declined and he was unable to participate.
"I like the senior center," said Jay. "I was involved with helping out there so when they asked me about cooking the ribs I knew that it was something I could do ... I learned last year how much my smoker can hold, 50 racks."
Jay said he ordered the ribs from a "secret" meat supplier at a good rate for the senior center and they arrived at his home Tuesday. Jay did not want to give out his secret to his best-tasting ribs to the public. He's been busy preparing the ribs that will marinate in a dry rub overnight and then they'll sit in a smoker for up to six hours. Jay said the one thing that is not a secret is the sauce he uses for the ribs.
"My favorite sauce is called Blues Hog and it is made in Missouri," said Jay. "It's the best sauce. It's been used in competitions all over the U.S. and more than 80 percent of the cooks use this sauce in one way or the other."
Jay also cooks ribs for the Brainerd Jaycees Rib Cook-Off, which is scheduled for Aug. 29 this year.
Jay said his entire family will help out at the dinner, including his nine children.
Barry said senior center volunteers will coordinate all the side dishes for Friday's fundraiser.
Business sponsors for the dinner include UCare, Humana, Crosby Eye Clinic, Good Neighbor Home Health in Brainerd and food sponsors that donated food or gave food at a reduced cost are Super One Foods, Northwind Grille, The Barn, Perkins, Sawmill Inn, Kemps and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.