For Mike and Mary Haeseler of Ledyard, smoked meats aren’t just a hobby, they’re a way of life, at least in the summer.

“In the summertime, we shut down our kitchen. This is our outside kitchen,” Mary said. “He’s right in his element. He loves to cook.”

The Haeselers were in the parking lot of Holdridge Home and Garden Showplace in Ledyard at 5:30 a.m. last weekend to cook their entries for the fifth annual barbecue cook-off. With the exception of the year their roof needed to be replaced, they’ve entered the competition every year with ribs and a pepper-based side dish. This year’s side was a roasted jalapeño pepper filled with peanut butter and jelly, the idea for which came from their niece.

For the ribs themselves, a few things are standard. The entries for the cook-off are always pork ribs. Nick Johns, a purchaser for Holdridge’s and one of the competition coordinators, said they started with baby back ribs and then switched to spare ribs a few years ago to showcase the competitors’ cooking versatility.

The cooking itself is always “low and slow,” which is why the Haeselers were there so early to start their smoker. It has to be done on site, and a quick consensus from the competitors suggested that a good rib will cook for about four hours at around 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Maintaining the temperature becomes critical, as fellow long-time competitor and Ledyard resident Mark Weber accidentally demonstrated.

“I went to shut [the lid], and I thought I had it and went to talk to the other couple over here.” He pointed to the sliver of open space created by not shutting the lid all the way, which increases the temperature inside. “This is huge. This is like putting on the afterburners in a sports car.”

Weber used an oversized Weber charcoal grill for his ribs, eliciting jokes about his last name and the corporate sponsor of the event, but some of the competitors designed and built their own smokers.

Three-year competitor Walt Arnold of Ledyard said he built his using a propane tank and a variety of scrap metal, including a segment of a metal playground slide for a shelf. His friend and second-place winner Dan Taylor builds smokers for others as a hobby, including one as a retirement gift for members of the town police.

Almost every competitor used a homemade sauce or seasoning blend, including a pan-Asian inspired tamarind rib and sriracha slaw from first-year competitor Chris Arevalo of Gales Ferry.

“The story was really classic. I showed up here with just a cooler, and I looked around and everyone had their whole entourage,” he said, adding that Johns had to break the news to him. “I went all the way back to the house to get all my stuff.”

Judging took place at 2 p.m. by town “celebrity judges” Linda Davis and Mike Finkelstein. The two awarded first place to Dave and Miriam Frease of Preston.

“I’m just jazzed to be here!” Dave claimed his prize, a $75 gift certificate to Holdridge’s, as his wife held her hands over her mouth in shock.

“We just bought our smoker a year ago, and we’ve just been practicing in our back yard, perfecting it over and over,” he said. “Our friends kept telling us that it seemed like we had a good product.”

As for Weber, his ribs came in last place, but he said he plans to work on perfecting his barbecue sauce and timing for next year.

“The camaraderie, I think, is more important,” he said. “Seeing the people that you competed with in the past sometimes is more exciting than the competition itself.”

Johns and the competitors hope to gain more interest from backyard smoker enthusiasts and grow the cook-off into a larger community event.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Twitter: @ahutch411