Historic New Bern, NC, Begins New BBQ Tradition

New Bern is the home of the newest sanctioned barbecue event in North Carolina.

In the inaugural Bear-B-Q contest, top pitmasters went head-to-head for bragging rights, cash, and awards in the historic city of New Bern, NC. 

The ribs entry of Alpine Smoke Works, which finished as the reserve champion. Photo: Alpine Smoke Works via Facebook.

The contest was held at the city’s scenic riverfront where the Neuse and Trent Rivers come together. Although the day was rainy, the pitmasters and judges were very pleased to have a new event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. For the contest, 26 teams competed for $20,000 in prize money, and $4,000 was reserved for “backyard” teams who were competing in their first event and needed contest experience to develop their pitmaster skills.

Cooking teams set up along the scenic riverfront of New Bern.

Named for Bern in west-central Switzerland, New Bern has also adopted the bear, displayed on a red-yellow background, as its heraldic symbol. Naming the contest for the bear was an easy choice for the organizers who were raising money for the CarolinaEast Foundation, which supports the healthcare community in the area.

The grand champion team shows off all their awards. Photo: Mcadoo Heights BBQ via Facebook.

The grand champion of the contest was Mcadoo Heights BBQ, which also earned a perfect score (180 points) for its pork entry. It easily outdistanced Alpine Smoke Works, the reserve champion, which finished second in overall points.

The competition trailer of Mcadoo Heights BBQ overlooks the river scene. Photo: Mcadoo Heights BBQ via Facebook.

New Bern is rich in history. It is the second-oldest European-settled colonial town in North Carolina (after Bath) and served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 to 1792. Now that it is the home for a sanctioned BBQ contest, it joins the rest of eastern North Carolina in celebrating the best of barbecue traditions. As I wind down my judging experiences, I'm glad that I've added New Bern to the places where I've judged.

Image: Kansas City Barbeque Society via Facebook.

Rutherford College, NC, Creates Barbecue Cookoff Tradition

Pork ribs prepared by the reserve champion, One-Eyed Pig BBQ Team. Photo: One-Eyed Pig BBQ Team via Facebook.

A small town in the foothills of western North Carolina is developing a positive reputation for hosting an important barbecue cookoff. It is Rutherford College, NC, which carries the name of the college that had been located in the community and was closed in 1933. Its population is fewer than 1,500 residents.

Trophies are ready to be awarded to the winning teams.

BBQ Contest In Rutherford College

Although Rutherford College is small, its annual contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society is huge for judges and cooking teams. Known as the Pigmasters BBQ Challenge, it attracted 33 cooking teams this year that wanted to showcase their talents for cooking chicken, pork ribs, pork butt, and beef brisket. 

 Caption: Smokin’ Skullies BBQ took top honors. Photo: Pigmasters BBQ Challenge via Facebook.

Smokin' Skullies BBQ Wins

The winning team was Smokin’ Skullies BBQ, which took home a check for $2,000 as the grand champion. The runner-up was One-Eyed Pig BBQ Team, which missed first place by just 1.1316 points. A total of $9,580 was available in prize money plus trophies. 

Chicken by One-Eyed Pig BBQ Team usually scores very high. Photo: One-Eyed Pig PPQ Team via Facebook.

Pigmasters BBQ Challenge Attracts Top Teams

Begun in 2020, Pigmasters BBQ Challenge has survived the social isolation challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and continues as a major event in the fall for teams looking to boost their resumes. The cookoff will continue to attract top cooking teams to a small town in the foothills of western North Carolina.

Smoking Barbecue on a Food Truck

Smoke coming from the truck is a good sign, not a bad one.

Finding a food truck that serves amazing pulled pork is a special discovery, particularly during a coronavirus pandemic when many people don’t want to eat indoors and are compelled to maintain “social distances” as recommended by public health authorities. 

Barbecue Food Truck 

As I was driving in the Sandhills of North Carolina, the smoke spiraling from a red food truck caught my eye even before I saw a sign with big black letters simply stating, “Bar-B-Que.” It was a place that I had to stop. 

The cooker stays busy for many hours. Source: Smok'n Joe's BBQ via Facebook.

After talking to Joe Kelso for a few moments, I knew that I had unexpectedly met an authentic pitmaster who knew the secrets of slowly smoking pork and who was rightly proud of his work. With an earlier assignment to write an article about local barbecue for Sandhills Magazine, I was in the right place at the right time to collect information for the article. 

Pork shoulders are cooked slowly for a long tie. Source: Smok'n Joe's BBQ via Facebook.

Barbecue and Baked Beans 

Kelso, who has been cooking barbecue for decades, operates The Rocking Pig, a food truck that features Smok’n Joe’s BBQ. The truck revives the name of a former barbecue place in Maxton, NC, that is now closed. Smok’n Joe’s BBQ gives a special identity to the barbecue made by Kelso and a nod to his genius at the smoker. 

My to-go plate of pulled pork barbecue with baked beans, potato salad, and coleslaw.

The menu of the truck is simple: pulled pork barbecue generously moistened with a vinegar-based sauce. A plate comes with baked beans, coleslaw, and potato salad. The beans deserve special mention because they are heartily enhanced with extra pulled pork. They were so good that I went back to the truck and ordered a large container to take home after enjoying my plate. 

A pot of baked beans is ready for customers. Source: Smok'n Joe's BBQ via Facebook.

Permanent Location 

Unlike most food trucks, The Rocking Pig is stationary and does not move from site to site. It’s always on the west side of US Hwy 1 between Aberdeen and Pinebluff, NC. Kelso says he’s avoiding “the rodeo” of moving from place to place such as breweries and shopping centers so common for other food trucks. 

If the sign says, "Bar-B-Que," perhaps you should stop. Source: Smok'n Joe's BBQ via Facebook.

Don’t be surprised when you find excellent barbecue at a food truck. It all depends on the skill of the pitmaster.

Starting a Whole Hog Tradition in Knightdale, NC

When Boy Scout Troop 365 of Knightdale, NC, considered ideas for a community event that would also be a fundraiser for its projects, it thought that a whole hog cookout with a car show would be a winner. They were right. It was.

Cooking teams set up in the spacious Knightdale Station Park.

Held on Father’s Day at Knightdale Station Park, the inaugural Knightdale Classic Car Show and BBQ Cookoff attracted skilled pitmasters, classic cars, and an appreciative public, and it was a huge success. The park—a new community gathering space with trails, athletic fields, playground area, and dog park—was the perfect location. Cooking teams and exhibitors at the car show had more than adequate space.

Classic cars arrive early for their show (cooking teams are in the background).

Ten teams competed in the cookoff, which was sanctioned by the N.C. Pork Council and is an event in the series to determine the Pitmaster of the Year as well as the Whole Hog Barbecue Champion at the end of the year. The level of competition was very high because the participating pitmasters included past state champions, and seven had already been winners at regional events this year.

The pig at Chris Fineran's site is in shambles after the judges have finished their evaluations.

For at least two pitmasters, this event was their third whole hog cookoff in four days, an unusually demanding schedule that only the brave (and talented) would even try. Before they arrived in Knightdale to be ready for judging on Saturday, they had been in Burgaw (the event was N.C. Blueberry Festival BBQ Cookoff) for judging on Thursday and Louisburg (BBQ in the ‘Burg) on Friday. Surprisingly, no one showed signs of tiredness.

Teams await the result as their scores are tallied.

My fellow judges—Lubin Prevatt, Don Carlough, and Tim Croon—and I were impressed how well the pitmasters did. Kevin Peterson (state champion in 2017) placed in first, a few points ahead of Chris Fineran (the reigning state champion) and Roy Parker (state champion in 2006). All three qualify to compete in the cookoff this fall to determine the 2019 state champion. The pigs, supplied by Brewer Meat Products of Wilson, NC, were all within three pounds of 125 pounds, an amazing consistency that many contest organizers (and pitmasters) dream about.

A site after the judges' visit tells a story: the judges are very thorough in their evaluations.

Neil Barnhill, the event organizer, is a regular on the BBQ circuits as the pitmaster of Black Iron Cookin’, a team that competes in events sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. The day before the event in Knightdale, Barnhill had competed in nearby Apex, NC, where 38 teams had entered the cookoff of the Peak City Pigfest.

Neil Barnhill, who competed in an event on the previous day in Apex, is the pitmaster of the Black Iron Cookin' team.

When the event ended, Barnhill had a lot of reasons to be proud. His son, a competing pitmaster, did very well in his first contest. Next, the cookoff attracted top talent, unusual for an inaugural event. Also, the weather cooperated; the weekend was beautiful. Oh, the barbecue was excellent.

After the judging was completed, the barbecue was prepared for sale to the public: $10 for a pound and $6 for a sandwich plate. All proceeds went to the Scouts to provide funds for a future bus, camps and trips, equipment replacements, and other activities.

A sense of nervous calm permeates the cooking area before the judging activities begin.

In only its first year, the Knightdale Classic Car Show and BBQ Cookoff has created a solid foundation for a great annual tradition, once again proving an old saying: If you want something done well, give it to the Scouts.

Judging Barbecue Before Sampling Moonshine

It was only a matter of time before an enterprising organizer connected moonshine and barbecue. Of course, the location has to be Wilkes County, NC, that has popularly been referred to as “The Moonshine Capital of America.” The Stills and Grills Fest, which had a preliminary backyard event last year, was sanctioned this year for the first time in the master series of competitions held by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

As I drove northwest into North Wilkesboro on U.S. 421, I passed a sign proclaiming that section of the road as “Junior Johnson Highway.” This local racing legend (born Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr.) was one of about 700 people in Wilkes County who made a living by hauling illegal whiskey to its markets. Because North Wilkesboro is located in the foothills of Appalachia, it was a major distribution point for transporting moonshine. The highway linked the backwoods and hills to large cities throughout the South and mid-Atlantic.

A portable still of Copper Barrel Distillery, based in North Wilkesboro, sits among the cooking teams.

Local distilleries, now legal and gaining a far-reaching reputation for their artisanal spirits, source their grains from area farms much like earlier generation of distillers. The corn used by Copper Barrel, for example, comes from Linney’s Water Mill, which has been in business for 187 years. 

Cooking teams set up along the perimeter of the county's agricultural fairgrounds.

Finding moonshine at a barbecue cookoff is not as surprising as meeting a judge who has a pork allergy. Although Bill Moon, from Florida, is a certified judge, he can only participate as a table captain or another capacity requiring a judge. Because he cannot be sure than any meat (chicken, brisket) from a team has not been in contact with pork, he never tastes any entry, but he does enjoy the camaraderie of being at cookoffs and has also competed as a pitmaster.

Judges sign in and receive their table assignments.

In its first year as a fully sanctioned competition, Stills and Grills was an excellent cookoff and has set a good foundation to grow and develop in future years. The 21 cooking teams were spread along the perimeter of the county’s agricultural fairgrounds, but the “artisanal spirits” on display by the local distilleries attracted more attention. Tasting tickets were sold for $10 at the gate to people 21 years of age and older.

The turn-in table is ready for the first entries.

Some barbecue contests end with a cone of ice cream or dish of banana pudding for the judges. In North Wilkesboro, you wouldn’t expect anything other than a sample (or two) of an artisanal spirit, or as it’s better known, moonshine. When the judges were dismissed from their tables, watching them head out quickly to the sample booths made me wonder what they came for: judging barbecue or moonshine.

Local distilleries are ready to pour samples of their products.

Second place in the ribs category helped Two Old Men & A Grill to finish third overall in the contest.

Celebrating Agriculture in Burlington with a Cookoff

Homegrown in the Park is an annual celebration of agriculture in Alamance County of North Carolina. A combined celebration and “agricultural experience,” it showcases the past, present, and future of agriculture in the county and is held in City Park in downtown Burlington by Alamance County Farm Bureau.

Cooking teams set up behind the YMCA  building.

The event includes antique tractors and other farm equipment, exhibits, demonstrations, live music, and other entertainment. The Farm Bureau once had organized tours of area farm. Because it decided that a farm day in the downtown area would attract a larger audience, it changed the format to bring “the farm to the city.”

Trophies are ready for the winners.

Although some people also come for the free ice cream that they receive after visiting the exhibits, more people probably attend for the free barbecue sandwiches that is also provided. The barbecue is prepared by pitmasters who compete in a whole hog cookoff that is part of the Whole Hog Barbecue Series sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council.

Judging gets underway at 8 a.m. Photo by Alamance County Farm Bureau.

All the preparations and cooking occur during the night to be ready for the judging that begins at 8 a.m. This year 12 pitmasters competed for the top prizes, and judging was finished around 9 a.m. However, because the public doesn’t start showing up until 10 a.m., the only part of the whole hog cook that they see (and taste) are the sandwiches. The activities of the event continue until 4 p.m.

After being judged, each pitmaster chops barbecue for the sandwiches.

The top three finishers qualify to advance and compete in the state cookoff in September to determine the Whole Hog Barbecue Champion among all contest winners this year. Chris Fineran, who already placed first in an event in the series earlier this year, won top honors at Homegrown in the Park. 

The line forms early for free barbecue sandwiches. Photo by Alamance County Farm Bureau.

Burlington is the place to be each April to celebrate farm history, experience agriculture in a park setting, and enjoy barbecue sandwiches (with ice cream). However, without farmers and pitmasters, this event couldn’t celebrate as magnificently as it does.

After all judging activities have been completed, it's time for a picture.

Starting Another Year of Whole Hog Barbecue Contests in Goldsboro

Pig in the Park is one of the early events in the Whole Hog Barbecue Series sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council. The series leads to the selection of the Pitmaster of the Year as well as concludes at the state cookoff for contest winners to determine the Whole Hog Barbecue Champion at the end of each year.

Judging started at 8 o'clock. Photo by Goldsboro Daily News.

One of Goldsboro’s largest festivals, Pig in the Park is the biggest fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wayne County. The clubs serve more than 660 children with programs to achieve academic and leadership goals. In addition to the barbecue contest, the event includes a special “Kiss the Pig” contest (which itself raised more than $6,000), a kids’ zone, live entertainment, and vendors. Barbecue cooked by the competing pitmasters is also sold to the public, and, for the first time in the ten years of the event, all the barbecue was sold this year. The 4,000 festival-goers who attended could probably have eaten more.

Musical groups add to the festivities at Pig in the Park.

I enjoyed being a judge at the cookoff because it was held at picturesque Old Waynesborough Park where the former town of Waynesborough was located. It served as the initial county seat from 1787 until 1847, when the seat of government was moved to nearby Goldsboro that was growing as railroads expanded into the area. At the park are nine historic buildings such as a school, lawyer’s office, and Quaker Meeting House that were brought from other locations in Wayne County to replicate a village setting during the era that Waynesborough was thriving.

Old Waynesborough Park preserves the area where the former town of Waynesborough was located.

The park includes more than 150 acres along the Neuse and Little rivers and is a popular spot for canoeing, fishing, hiking, birding, and special events such as weddings. More than 150 species of birds have been identified at the park, which is a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail.

Pigs for the contest were provided by Goldsboro Milling Compay.

Trophies are ready for the award ceremony.

The pigs for the contest were provided by Goldsboro Milling Company, a festival sponsor that was founded in 1916 as a feed milling business and expanded over the decades into turkey, swine, and blueberry operations. The top three pitmasters, who qualify to advance and compete in the state championship in Raleigh this fall, were Richie Fulghum, first place; D.J. Stox, second; and Lewis McDonald, third. In addition to trophies, first place received $500; second place, $300; and third place, $200. A People’s Choice award, a new feature this year, and a cash prize of $150 were won by Big Belly’s Cooking Team, led by Robert Radford.

In April each year the park is known for the excellent barbecue prepared by some of the state’s top pitmasters. Pig in the Park is even more important for how it supports the children of Wayne County.

The gift to each judge was a contest cleaver.

From Food Truck to Restaurant and More

The goal of some pitmasters is to begin small and grow as customers appreciate their barbecue. Sometimes when pitmasters want to venture into commercial enterprises, food trucks may be all that can be afforded initially. Such is the story of Michael Markham who began Big Mike’s in 2011 in Apex, NC.

BBQ egg rolls are popular appetizers.

What began as a food truck has since expanded to two “brick-and-mortar” locations – one in Apex and the other in nearby Cary. Known as Brew N Que, the restaurants feature pastured-raised barbecue and local craft beer. When I was at the Apex location, about ten beers and ciders were on tap. The beer is as important as the barbecue, and the bar scene confirms that some customers are more thirsty than hungry.

Chopped barbecue pairs well on a tray with smoked potato salad and cornbread (and extra servings of coleslaw).

Nevertheless, the serious side of the menu is the meat. The choices include Eastern NC-style chopped pork barbecue, beef brisket, and smoked chicken. In addition to typical sides of collards, baked beans, and mac ‘n’ cheese, the restaurants offer two unusual ones: blue cheese coleslaw and smoked potato salad. The dessert menu is limited but does include the obligatory banana pudding.

Redneck nachos (with cornbread) offer pork barbecue in an unusual format.

Brew N Que is another example of the “new” style of barbecue establishments (see my earlier visit to Buxton Hall), as described by food writer Kathleen Purvis, that offer interesting sides, creative appetizers, and craft beer with meat sourced locally. For example, several appetizers are entertaining. BBQ egg rolls come in two versions — pork barbecue with collards and chow chow, and buffalo chicken with blue sauce. Redneck nachos combine pork barbecue with baked beans, Fritos, and blue cheese coleslaw.

Several sides, including collards, are appealing.

Even with the success of its two locations, the food truck is still on the road. Its schedule and location are announced regularly by Twitter. Big Mike’s has also ventured into conducting smoking classes. In one class, each student learns how to smoke brisket and takes home a whole brisket when the class is over. Another class on smoking a pork shoulder includes a dinner in an outdoor picnic format.

Banana pudding is the favorite dessert of many.

With a food truck and two restaurant locations, Big Mike’s is well postured to satisfy the barbecue (and beer) cravings in central North Carolina. Its creative approaches will continue to attract hungry and thirsty customers.