Whole Hog Cookoff Makes a Festival Popular in Rolesville, NC

The winning pig was cooked by pitmaster Kevin Peterson, a past state champion.

Rolesville, NC, is a small town of only 6,074 residents in northeastern Wake County and is known for being a quiet but rapidly growing suburb of Raleigh, the state capital. In mid-September, it is also the scene a very competitive whole hog cookoff sanctioned by the North Carolina Pork Council.

Whole Hog Cookoff

Sponsored by the Rolesville Chamber of Commerce, the Rolesville BBQ and Bands Festival is part of the Whole Hog Barbecue Series conducted by the Pork Council. The festival occurs only a few days before the state championship is held in Raleigh to determine the Whole Hog Barbecue Champion, who has been crowned annually since the first championship was held in 1985.

Second place went to Kevin Wooten, who has already been a finalist in three contests this year.

Being in the top three of a contest is important because it qualifies a pitmaster to compete in the state championship. The top three finishers in Rolesville are:

1. Kevin Peterson, the 2017 state champion and a top-three finalist already this year (in Kenansville, Fair Bluff, Knightdale, Selma, and Raleigh)
2. Kevin Wooten, also a top-three finalist this year in Burlington, Burgaw, and Raleigh 
3. D.J. Stox, another top-three finalist this year in Goldsboro, Fair Bluff, and Smithfield 

A.J. Stox won third place in the whole hog cookoff.

Because I had also been a judge earlier this year in Burlington, Goldsboro, and Knightdale, I wasn’t surprised that these three pitmasters were successful in the Rolesville contest. Neither were the other judges—Charlie Martin, Tim Croom, and Paul Derrick.

Cooking teams set up along the perimeter of the festival grounds.

Festival Activities

After the judging was completed, the barbecue was chopped for sale to the public. Advance tickets for plates—at only $5 each—typically guarantee that the BBQ is sold out before the festival ends. On the day of the festival, plates with two sides and a drink are sold for $10 each or $15 for two. Although the festival continued until 5 p.m., the barbecue sold out around 2:30 p.m., so advance purchases were indeed important.

Festival grounds begin to show activity as vendors arrive early on Saturday morning.

Food, vendors, children activities, music and other activities also make the trip to the festival worthwhile after all the whole hog judging has been completed. Although the main contest of the festival is the whole hog competition, the event also included a separate competition for cooking chicken and ribs. What is impressive about the festival is that it is entirely conducted by volunteers. Several local community organizations also help to sponsor the event.

The festival stage is quiet until the first group—the Jimi King Trio—begins at 11:15 a.m.

The Rolesville cookoff was the 24th competition (on 14 weekends) so far this year sanctioned by the N.C. Pork Council. That’s a lot of cookoffs to determine the best of the best, and the cooking teams and judges keep a busy schedule when the series is underway.