KUNA, Idaho — While most high school students spend their lunch periods socializing or studying, members of the Kuna High School barbecue team are mastering the art of smoking meats.
The team, known as the Kuna Smokers, was started last year by culinary arts teacher Quinn Thompson. Thompson says it is likely the only high school barbecue team in Idaho.
“Everybody’s always surprised when they see us out at a competition around the community and they don’t know that Kuna has a barbecue team,” Thompson said. “A lot of them react that they wish they had that when they were in high school."
WATCH: See how the Kuna Smokers are fine tuning their smoked meats
The team began with a small group of students, including Jacob Widman, who joined with essentially zero barbecue experience.
“When I joined the team, I basically didn’t know anything about barbecuing,” Widman said.
Widman has since become the team’s pit master and helped bring home first place for best smoked chicken at the Smoke On The Prairie competition earlier this year.
“That was my first competition ever,” he said.
The Kuna Smokers now include about 10 students who spend lunch periods preparing and sampling different meats while experimenting with seasoning and cooking techniques.
“Today we’re doing ribs and a brisket and we’re just getting practicing making adjustments that we need,” Widman said.
The hands-on experience helps the smokers learn a wide variety of skills.
“Fire management, knife skills, meat cuts, and proper holding temperatures — seasoning spices, what works, what doesn’t work, how different meets react to different temperatures,” Thompson said.
Four students recently competed in a barbecue competition during Potato Days at the Idaho Botanical Garden, where they won reserve grand champion. The team placed third in chicken wings, third in beef one bite, and fifth in the People’s Choice Potato category.
“It’s a good time — we come, we joke, we laugh we eat good food and we learn from our mistakes and we adjust for the next time,” Thompson added.
With another strong finish under their belt at their recent competition, the Kuna Smokers will keep fine tuning their techniques, recipes and seasoning blends as they prepare for future events.
