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.

Sam Jones Knows Eastern Carolina BBQ

The chopped pork sandwich is served with slaw on a potato bun. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ.

Any barbecue fan who visits Raleigh, NC, usually asks about Sam Jones BBQ because the owner/pitmaster is so well known in food circles. Jones descends from a family that has prepared whole-hog BBQ the right way — cooked slow over a wood-fueled pit – since grandfather Pete Jones opened a restaurant in 1947 at age 17.

Chopped—not pulled—is the Jones family way. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ.

The grandson of the founder of the legendary Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC, Sam Jones has not fallen far from the family tree, although he has taken his family’s barbecue skills into two other cities — first to Whiteville in 2015 and next to Raleigh in 2021. Even before venturing into these two locations, Jones was named “one of the top pitmasters in the South” by Southern Living magazine back in 2012.

An old auto body shop was transformed into a BBQ destination. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ.

In Raleigh, Jones converted an old auto body shop into a smokehouse and dining room. His team cooks 180-pound hogs in a wood-fired pit for 16 hours every day. The BBQ is seasoned just right, not overly sauced, and chopped (not pulled) with crunchy bits of skin. In addition to chopped pork BBQ, Jones also serves smoked spare ribs, turkey, and chicken.

A traditional Jones family tray of chopped BBQ also comes with a side (here sweet slaw) and cornbread. Photo: Visit Raleigh Insider.

One family tradition that often meets with mixed reviews from first-time customers is the cornbread, which follows the original recipe that dates to 1830 from Skylight Inn. (Some diners skip it and order the sweet potato muffin instead.) Long-term diners consider it an essential part of the full Jones family experience. The cornbread, unsweetened and dense, is made with little more than cornmeal mix and water. A thin slab with crisp edges and a chewy texture, it is a marked contrast to sweeter Southern cornbread that is fluffy or cakey.

The cornbread is unsweetened and dense.

The sides are as good as the BBQ. Sweet slaw, mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, and baked beans are popular choices. The best advice is not to leave without trying the banana pudding. Alone, it makes a trip to Sam Jones BBQ worthwhile.

Don't leave without a serving of banana pudding.

A third-generation pitmaster, Jones knows how to serve eastern N.C.-style BBQ. His perfectly smoked, chopped whole hog barbecue continues a time-honored family tradition. chopped pork with slaw on a potato bun.

Sam Jones is a third-generation pitmaster. Photo: Sam Jones BBQ.

Business Partners Compete Against Each Other For Charities

Turn-in boxes contained four ribs and enough pork BBQ for four judges to take a sample.

Brew-B-Q

Now in its seventh year, Brew-B-Q continues to set high marks for raising funds for local charities and providing an outstanding format for local pitmasters to compete against each other in two meat categories: pork BBQ and pork ribs. The local charities benefiting from the contest this year were The Salvation Army of Wake County and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Business partners competed against each other for bragging rights.

Pork BBQ and Pork Ribs

Boston butts and ribs were provided to each cooking team for the judging. Three teams of judges followed the blind judging rules of the N.C. Pork Council for its Whole Hog Barbecue Series, although the event wasn’t a sanctioned contest.

Pitmasters await the results of the judging.

 

Subcontractors And Business Partners Compete

Sponsored by the general contracting company Brasfield & Gorrie, the competition pits teams organized by its subcontractors and business partners against each other. In addition to bragging rights, the prizes for winners are huge trophies and gas BBQ grills for the winners in each division: Boss Hog, Hog, and Piglet. Registration fees for these divisions, respectively, were $5,000, $4,000, and $2,000. The big prize for the Boss Hog winner was a 60-by-36-inch grill.

Huge trophies are ready for the winners.

I was a judge in the Piglet division, which had the most cooking teams registered. This event was the third time that I was able to participate; the contests in 2022 and 2024 were also great events.

The top team in each division also took home a highly coveted grill.

Funds For Charities

Brasfield & Gorrie has created an amazing community event that strengthens its business relationships as it raises funds for charities. The judges appreciate the superb organization of the event and the hospitality of the organizers. The atmosphere was lively, and the cooking teams were having as much fun as the judges.

Three tables of judges, with the Boss Hog judges in the forefront. Photo: John Gibbons.

Barbecue Competition Returns to Pinehurst, NC, Area

Ribs prepared by Wolf's Revenge are ready for the judges to evaluate. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

Smokin' in the Pines

Smokin’ in the Pines returned to the barbecue scene after taking a year off last year. First held in 2023, the event raises funds for First Tee—Sandhills, a youth development organization that supports kids and teens through the game of golf. The contest also features some of the top cooking teams on the East Coast because it offered $5,000 in prize money.

Wolf's Revenge celebrate their first-place prizes. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

Wolf's Revenge Is Grand Champion

The top team was Wolf’s Revenge, which was crowned as the grand champion. It outpaced the runner-up (known as the reserve champions), Smokin Skullies, by the thinnest of margins—0.0004 points. Wolf’s Revenge placed very high in all four meat categories: chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket.

The Wolf's Revenge team assembles its chicken entry. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

 

Contest Held On Airport Tarmac 

George DeMartz, the contest organizer, told the judges that more than 70 cooking teams had expressed interest in competing in the contest, which is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. However, he could only accept 22 because the space at the Moore County Airport, where the event is held, could not accommodate more. About the venue, Wolf’s Revenge commented on Facebook: “Cooking BBQ and serving samples on an airport tarmac with helicopters and private jets whirling around was nothing short of impressive.”

Unperturbed by the airport traffic, BBQ teams set up on the tarmac.

The contest was not held last year because the local area was engaged with the extensive preparations for the U.S. Open, the annual tournament conducted by the U.S. Golf Association, which was held at Pinehurst Country Club just six miles away.

A team member of Wolf's Revenge prepares the pork entry for judging. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

Activities For Local Community

Smokin’ in the Pines was also a festival for the local community. Afternoon activities included live music, kids activities, local vendors, and other entertainment. Of course, the most popular activities were touring the area where the competition teams were cooking and sampling BBQ that the teams had prepared for the People’s Choice contest. It’s a great event, and I hope to return again as a judge.

Brisket smoked by Wolf's Revenge is ready for slicing. Photo: Wolf's Revenge via Facebook.

Returning To Mission Farm To Start Another BBQ Year

Brisket by Fred Vegas Smokers always scores high points. Photo: Fred Vegas Smokers via Facebook.

Mission Farm’s King of the Farm

The New Year begins slowly for BBQ contests. Very few are available before April; however, Mission Farm’s King of the Farm jumps to the start of the schedule with an event before spring arrives.

The top team is crowned King of the Farm. Photo: Mission Farm via Facebook.

Kansas City Barbecue Society

Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, this event is the first contest of the year for many cooking teams and judges, and it attracts many competitors from neighboring states that are looking to match their cooking skills with those of the best teams.

Cooking teams set up on the spacious grounds of Mission Farm.

Fred Vegas Smokers

Because I had been a judge at this event last year, I expected several top teams to participate such as Fred Vegas Smokers of Ravenel, SC, which earned top honors as the grand champion. They often place very high in contests and had been the reserve grand champion (runner-up) at the last KCBS contest where I judged in 2024, which was the Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown in Rocky Mount, NC.

Fred Vegas Smokers shows off the Reserve Grand Champion trophy won last year in Rocky Mount, NC. Photo: Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown.

Brother-in-Law BBQ Team

Fred Vegas Smokers won the contest by outscoring the other 25 teams that were competing for the $6,520 in prize money. One of the top-scoring teams was the Brother-in-Law BBQ team from Fletcher, NC, which was the top-scoring team in the ribs category. They earned a very difficult, perfect score of 180 points and easily outdistanced the other teams in this category.

Ribs prepared by the Brother-in-Law BBQ Team are usually exceptional; sometimes they are even perfect. Photo: Brother-in-Law BBQ Team via Facebook.

Mission Farm In Iron Station

King of the Farm is held in the small, rural community of Iron Station (about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte) on the 90-acre property of Mission Farm, which is a wedding and event venue. The weather for the contest was again perfect. The top cooking teams seem to enjoy competing in this event because it’s a great way to start a new year of competition.

The turn-in table is quiet before the first entries begin to arrive.

N.C. Companies Cook Barbecue To Raise Money For Charities

A table of trophies is ready for the awards ceremony.

The general contracting company Brasfield & Gorrie does amazing work as they envision, build, and manage construction projects. It also does amazing work with rallying interest by corporate teams in cooking barbecue to benefit local charities.

Cooking teams stay busy for hours preparing their entries.

Pork Ribs and Pork Barbecue

For the sixth consecutive year, Brasfield & Gorrie held its annual charity cookoff known as Brew-B-Q that included two meat categories: pork ribs and pork barbecue. Boston butts and ribs were provided to each cooking team for the judging, and extra butts were cooked as well for a people’s choice contest. In addition to the BBQ cookoff, the charity event included a chicken wing competition. Additional events added for this year included a ribeye cooking competition and poker tournament.

A full schedule of activities.

Cooking Teams

Brew-B-Q has increased in popularity as a successful charity fundraiser, and about 40 teams participated. Subcontractors, business contacts, and other companies and friends in Brasfield & Gorrie’s professional network sponsored the cooking teams. The cookoff was held in three divisions: Boss Hog, Hog, and Piglet. Cooking teams contribute $5,000, $4,000, and $2,000, respectively, to register in a division.

The High Caliber Cue team, which won second place in the pork category of the 10 teams in the Boss Hog Division, unwraps and cuts ribs for their entry. Photo: Chad Farmer via Facebook.

Although the entry fees are high, impressive trophies awaited winners of each division plus a winner in each meat category for each division, and proceeds of the event—expected to be about $100,000—are contributed to The Salvation Army and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Blind Judging

Although the event wasn’t sanctioned by the N.C. Pork Council, the judges used its blind judging rules and scoresheets of its Whole Hog Barbecue Series. The judges didn’t know which teams had cooked the samples that they were evaluating. Each judge received a single sample box from each team in the division. Each box contained a Boston butt pork sample and a pork rib sample, and a separate scoresheet was used for each sample.

Scoresheets are ready for the judges.

Brasfield & Gorrie has created a great tradition of raising money while having a great time as cooking teams showcase their best talents for preparing pork ribs and pork barbecue. The cooking teams obviously enjoyed each other’s company as they seriously competed for top honors. For the judges, it was an honor to participate in this event.

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.

Tornado In Rocky Mount

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.

Barbecue Competition After Tornado

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.

Smoke Central BBQ Takes Top Honors

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. 

Entertainment At Cookoff

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.

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.

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.