Rocky Mount, NC, Recovers From Tornado To Host Barbecue Competition

The Twisted Pair BBQ team earned a perfect score of 180 points for their beef brisket entry. Photo: Twisted Pair BBQ via Facebook. 

Imagine planning to hold a barbecue cookoff on a pleasant fall weekend when an EF3 tornado arrives just days before the competition is to be held. As final planning for the Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown was underway, Rocky Mount, NC, received significant damage from a tornado that rolled through the city with winds of 140 mph.

Damaged by a tornado only days earlier, the city of Rocky Mount, NC, recovered to have another successful BBQ cookoff. Photo: Fox Weather.

The tornado was on the ground in the city for the length of about five football fields. It was associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which had made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend two days earlier as a Category 4. It was the strongest tornado from the hurricane.

High winds associated with the hurricane caused extensive damage in Rocky Mount. Image: Fox Weather.

Nevertheless, Rocky Mount overcame the shock from having the tornado, and several days later the city again hosted Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown, which has been a superior barbecue competition for many years. I was first a judge in this cookoff in 2017 and have returned several times. It continues to be one of the best events of the year. The huge cheesecake (that has 12 slices) that each judge receives for participating clearly has not prejudiced my view. 

Chicken by Smokin’ Skullies, which was the grand champion at the last event that I judged, scored a perfect 180. Photo: Smokin’ Skullies via Facebook. 

Previously the competition had been held in the Rocky Mount Senior Center. This year brought about a change in the venue. For the first time, judges met in the Rocky Mount Event Center on Main Street. The new location provided more space for the judges as well as the cooking teams, which set up in the parking lot next to the center.

 

Smoke Central BBQ uses Heath Riles Rub for its chicken entry. Is that their secret? Photo: Smoke Central BBQ via Facebook.

With $18,900 in prize money this year, the cookoff attracted many top times that compete in events sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. This year 26 teams competed. The top team was Smoke Central BBQ from Lake City, SC. It also won first place in the chicken and pork ribs categories. In fact, it got a perfect score (180 points) for both entries—a rare achievement.

Smoke Central BBQ took for more than the grand championship honors. Photo: Smoke Central BBQ via Facebook. 

Because the event includes live music, inflatables, food trucks, and other entertainment, it's as popular for the community as the cooking teams and judges. Hopefully Rocky Mount will be spared from any more tornado damage in the future. However, the city will always be ready to host a superior barbecue cookoff.

The Rocky Mount Fire Department was on hand just to make sure that no flameups got out of hand.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Barbecue Brings Community Together In King, NC

Brisket by Optimus Swine is always a winner. Photo: Optimus Swine via Facebook.

 
Fire in the Foothills in King, NC, was begun last year by the city’s Chamber of Commerce and several local service organizations to celebrate community spirit and have a fun event that everyone could enjoy with barbecue being the main attraction. As cooking teams compete in a contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, other festival events attract a sizable crowd.

Cooking teams set up around the festival grounds.

In the second year of the cookoff, 42 teams competed: 28 in the Master Series and 14 in the Backyard Series. Top prizes and money are awarded to winners in the Master Series. However, the Backyard Series gives aspiring teams the opportunity to participate in the contest, learn how to prepare for the top series, and also compete for cash prizes. The Master teams competed in all four meat categories—chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket; the Backyard teams were not required to submit brisket entries and prepared just three.

The HalaQyah BBQ team had problems controlling its cooker.

Swig-N-Pig was the overall champion. Its top score was significantly influenced by earning a perfect score and first place in the chicken category. It also placed second in the pork category. Optimus Swine placed first in both ribs and brisket; however, a really low score (24th place out of 28) in pork knocked them out of contention for top honors overall.

The kids zone is a popular area of the festival.

Wolf’s Revenge BBQ was the reserve champion and finished just 0.0232 points—the narrowest of margins—behind Swig-N-Pig in total points. Its 10th-place finish in pork had a dampening effect on the high scores that it received in the three other categories. Incidentally, Wolf’s Revenge was the grand champion at the New Holland (Pa.) Summer Fest, a similar KCBS-sanctioned contest, held the previous weekend.

Pork ribs by Wolf's Revenge BBQ team typically earn a high score from the judges. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

Significantly more cooking teams participated in the second annual Fire in the Foothills. In its first year, just 21 teams competed in the Master Series and 11 in the Backyard. This year Poor Boys BBQ moved up to the Master Series, and the experience gained in 2023 was clearly helpful; they placed seventh overall out of the 28 teams.

More than 100 vendors contribute to the festive atmosphere.

The festival also expanded significantly in its second year with more than 100 vendors. Music, a people’s choice category, kids zone, and other entertainment helped to bring in a larger crowd this year too. The overcast sky which kept temperatures from hitting typical August highs provided the perfect weather for the day.

Entries for the People's Choice contest are brought from the cooking teams.

With $15,000 in cash and prizes this year, Fire in the Foothills has become a major community event. Of course, having barbecue as the main attraction helps to guarantee success.

Jiggy with the Piggy Expands With More Teams and Entertainment

The winning ribs entry was prepared by Bowman's Butt & BBQ. Photo: Bowman’s Butt & BBQ via Facebook.  

Jiggy with the Piggy Cookoff

For 10 years, the city of Kannapolis, NC, has been the place for top barbecue cooking teams to compete as it conducts its annual cookoff Jiggy with the Pig. Fortunately, I’d been able to be a judge in this event twice before—in 2018 and 2019. 

Cooking teams set up on the lawn of the North Carolina Research Campus.

For this year’s event, the contest had two full days of competition—with winners on each day. The cooking teams were divided into two series: Master and Backyard. As its name implies, the Master group features the area’s top teams that regularly place high in barbecue cookoffs. The Backyard category encourages new teams to compete as they learn the rigors of barbecue cookoffs before competing against the top teams. 

Judges assemble in the Laureate Center of Town Hall.

Being a judge again this year was another special experience. The table where I was seated judged entries by Master teams. The cookoff required 11 tables of judges, each with a table captain, on each day to be able to score all entries according to the contest rules of the Kansas City Barbecue Society. 

Prizes await the winners at the awards ceremony.

Winning Teams: Bowman's Butt & BBQ and Chunky BBQ

The big winners on this day were Bowman’s Butt & BBQ from Virginia, which finished as the grand champion, and in second place as the Reserve Champion was Chunky BBQ from Pennsylvania. Bowman’s also took first place in both the ribs and brisket categories, and Chunky took first place in the two other meat categories (chicken and pork). In the Master Series, the two teams clearly outpaced the 43 other teams—unlike the less-than-a-nose finish of the 150th Kentucky Derby which was held five hours after the cookoff results were known. 

 The grand champion was Bowman's Butt & BBQ. Photo: Bowman’s Butt & BBQ via Facebook. 

The Master teams were competing for a share of the more than $20,000 in prize money. In the Backyard Series, the 24 teams were competing primarily for bragging rights. They prepared just two (chicken and ribs) of the four meat categories of a sanctioned contest. All 69 teams competed in the People’s Choice contest. In spite of the rainy day, 400 festival attendees participated in the community judging event which was won by Chubby Boys BBQ of Charlotte, NC. 

Chubby Boys BBQ won the People's Choice contest. Photo: City of Kannapolis via Facebook.

Four-Day Festival in Kannapolis

Since its simple beginning in 2015, Jiggy with the Piggy has morphed into a four-day festival for the Kannapolis area. A country music concert preceded a light show with 200 drones. Arts and crafts vendors, carnival rides, and a kids zone were also attractions in the grassy center of the North Carolina Research Campus where the cooking teams set up. 

The drone light show at night was very popular. Photo: City of Kannapolis via Facebook.

As one of the largest KCBS-sanctioned events and usually hosting more than 70 barbeque competition teams, Jiggy with the Piggy has established an excellent reputation, and it will continue to attract judges and cooking teams.

Still in the smoker, the winning brisket entry before being sliced. Photo: Bowman’s Butt & BBQ via Facebook.  

Cookoff in Apex, NC, Features Top Barbecue Teams Again

Finishing third overall was Blue & Gray BBQ, which placed first in the ribs category. Photo: Blue & Gray BBQ via Facebook.

Peak City Pig Fest continues to earn accolades for featuring some of the best barbecue cooking teams that compete in contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. In addition to being a fun event each year for the town of Apex, NC, the Pig Fest has a long history of supporting its community. 

The chicken entry by Swine ‘N’ Roses looks wonderful; however, the team managed just an eleventh-place finish in that meat category. Photo: Swine 'N' Roses via Facebook.

Organized by the Sunrise Rotary Club of Apex, the Pig Fest has contributed more than $500,000 to local charities; the primary one this year is Western Wake Crisis Ministries. 

Smokin Skullies BBQ won first place in the brisket category with a perfect score of 180

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At the start of the judges’ meeting, organizer Graham Wilson announced that 25 teams were competing — a few new ones but most were elite teams that had been competitors before. They were vying for the $10,800 in prize money.

The judges get organized before their meeting begins.

To judge the entries of all the cooking teams, four tables of judges with a table captain were needed. The table where I was assigned included judges with a wide range of experiences, including one who was participating in just his third cookoff.

In addition to the barbecue cookoff, the Pig Fest includes a two-day street scene with live entertainment, food trucks, beer garden, sponsor displays, and vendors.

Before the contest began, the favorite team to win was Mcadoo Heights, which had been the grand champion in the previous two years. However, this year they slipped to 10th place overall, although they did win first place in the pork category.

Mcadoo Heights won first prize in the brisket category. Photo: Mcadoo Heights via Facebook.

The winning team was Optimus Swine from Williamsburg, Va. Although they did not win in any meat category, they placed second in both ribs and chicken. Their lowest finish was fifth place in brisket, and overall they accumulated more points than any other team. 

Optimus Swine went home with the top cash prize, trophies as Grand Champion and winner of the People's Choice contest, and awards for three meat categories.

Apex has always been one of my favorite contest sites. Now that I live just 15 minutes away, it’s even more enjoyable to be a judge at the Pig Fest. I hope to be able to continue to participate in this event. It’s a worthwhile event for the local community.

Cooking teams set up in off-street locations in downtown Apex.

90 Years and Counting: Continuing the Barbecue Tradition at Holland’s Church

The quiet, rural community around Holland's Church knows where to find excellent barbecue. 

When a community has been fixin’ barbecue for 90 years, it has to be good. Located nine miles south of downtown Raleigh, NC, near the intersection of two historic roads, Old Stage and Ten-Ten, Holland’s Church has been doing just that for nine decades. 

The popular barbecue is served in clamshell boxes with potatoes, coleslaw, and hushpuppies.

The church serves its barbecue, potatoes, coleslaw, and hushpuppies in a clamshell box, and runners carry the boxes to tables as people arrive. (There is no standing in line.) Tea (sweet) and water are the beverages. Homemade desserts (pies and cakes) available by the slice are on another table. To-go plates can also be bought as well as containers of barbecue and freshly made pork skins. 

The efficient kitchen crew prepares the clamshell boxes quickly.

Until recently, the barbecue dinner was served family style. After paying at the door, people were seated at tables where bowls of barbecue, coleslaw, potatoes, and hushpuppies were placed, and they were joined by other community members. Everyone could eat as much as they liked.

Runners carry the clamshell boxes to tables as customers arrive.

Preparing barbecue plates has been a tradition at the church for several generations. Every April and November, the church’s members renew their long-standing ritual. However, the church was 122 years old before it began contributing annually to the region’s barbecue culture. 

The dessert table adds an extra sweetness to the day.

This Methodist congregation was established in 1812. Holland’s Church quickly became the center of a community in southern Wake County that was generally isolated from other pockets of population and the evolving city of Raleigh (established as the county seat and state capital only a few years earlier in 1792). This location was being settled before railroads were built in the area.

The eat-in area begins to fill up when the serving line opens at 11 a.m.

In fact, the church predates two major railroads built in the state. The North Carolina Railroad, which connected cities in the Piedmont to those on the Atlantic coast, was chartered in 1849 by the state legislature and opened for operation in 1851. The Chatham Railroad, connecting Chatham County (west of Wake) to Raleigh, opened in 1869.

Trays of pork skins are available at each table.

The church is named for William Holland, who was born in Chester, England, in 1750 and immigrated to Wake County. Before dying on December 4, 1809, the former English schoolmaster had prepared a will that provided $400 “to build a good Methodist Meeting House, that may have a partition at one end thereof for a classroom.” Holland is buried in the church’s cemetery.

The to-go line stays busy throughout the day.

The church was used as a school, a tribute to Holland’s desire that the church include an “educational enterprise.” Believed to be the first school in the county outside the city of Raleigh, this use signified “its established position in the life of the community,” according to the historical text “Early Methodist Meeting Houses in Wake County, North Carolina” by G. Franklin Grill, a church historian. 

Hushpuppy batter is ready for frying at the prep area outside the church.

Nothing in historical records indicates when Holland’s Church also became the center of barbecue excellence. To celebrate the 90th anniversary, the church offered a free plate to anyone who was 90 or older. Imagine being 90 years old and having been part of this barbecue tradition for decades. It would be a life worth living.

Iron Station, NC: First BBQ Contest of the New Year

Ribs prepared by Off The Rack BBQ team look almost perfect. Photo: Off The Rack BBQ/Facebook.

The barbecue contest in Iron Station, NC, is relatively new. It was first held in 2022. This year was my first opportunity to attend as a judge. 

Judges settle into the new barn of Mission Farm before their meeting begins.

Named for its history as an iron mining town with a train station, Iron Station is a small, rural community about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. One of the local attractions is Mission Farm, a 90-acre property with breathtaking views. A main feature is a 1923 farmhouse that has been turned into a forever home by the Shank family, who have transformed the sprawling acreage into a wedding and event venue. 

Nothing makes a view more breathtaking than a rustic, well-used farm truck.

Known as Mission Farm’s King of the Farm, the contest is popular because it is now an early contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and not too far for many cooking teams in several states to travel to.

Cooking teams stake out their spaces early at Mission Farm. Swine 'N' Roses BBQ, in the photo, placed high in the pork category.

For this year’s event, 26 teams competed for the $6,520 in prize money. The first-place winner, known as grand champion, was Casual Smokers. In second place as the reserve champion was Off The Rack BBQ, which posted on Facebook that this event is one that it will never miss because it is so well organized. 

In the covered pavilion area of the new barn, members of the Off The Rack BBQ show off their overall trophy plus trophies for each meat category: chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket.

The weather for the contest was perfect. The cooking teams upheld the best traditions of barbecue competition. As the first event of the year for many teams and judges, the King of the Farm contest was a remarkable success.

   

The beginnings of the contest winner in the brisket category. Photo: Off The Rack BBQ/Facebook.