Students from Ennis, TX outside of Dallas have joined other Texas schools in varsity level barbecue competitions.

Ennis High School horticulture teacher Tommy Copeland spoke to KVUE about starting the team last year after finding an annual Texas tournament featuring over 100 schools.  The competition judges students on beef brisket, pork ribs, half chicken, beans, dessert, and non-food categories like best pit, most school spirit, and best t-shirt.

For the Ennis team, its a mix of old-school shop class and home economics, as students are required to build and weld their own grills to use in competition. The EHS team also throws in some of their own town flavor and heritage by including Czech recipes they don't share with others.

Copeland told KVUE that the idea of varsity BBQ teams is gaining traction across North Texas, with many people telling him they wish they had something like that when they were in school.

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