Returning to the Firehouse BBQ Cookoff

Returning to Kings Mountain, NC, for the annual Firehouse BBQ Cookoff is been a priority since last year. Held in this small suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area, the contest has always been well organized as it was again for its 22nd year.

During the third weekend in April, a fire museum becomes the host of a barbecue cookoff.

The cookoff is so respected that the North Carolina governor proclaimed the 2018 contest as the N.C. Firehouse Barbeque State Championship. One benefit of the recognition is that the winner this year receives an invitation to the American Royal Barbecue Contest and is eligible for the Jack Daniels Invitational Contest. With $4,500 in total prize money at stake, 33 teams signed up for the hopes of not only taking home cash and a trophy but also receiving invitations to the other prestigious events as well.

Cooking teams set up on the grassy area of Deal Park.

Before the first entries were turned in and the judges had settled into their chairs to begin serious judging, the atmosphere resembled that of a reunion. One benefit of being a judge is seeing familiar faces at each cookoff. The judges at this year’s event included several who had been at previous Firehouse BBQ Cookoffs.

Before the competition begins, judges who arrive early look over an antique fire engine, which had been moved outdoors.

All judging activities take place in the Kings Mountain Historical Fire Museum, one of only three fire museums in the state. Built more than 40 years ago, the museum houses two vintage fire engines (1930 and a 1938 models), which are moved outside so the judges have adequate room to set up and evaluate the cookoff entries.

Judges wait in the museum for the first barbecue entries to arrive.

The museum has several items of interest, including a 1927 hose cart, the first piece of equipment to fight fires in the city. A soda acid fire extinguisher, which needed two firefighters to move it, is also on display. Other relics — helmets, hoses, nozzles, patches, and other memorabilia — hang from the ceiling and are in display classes. All of these were quietly overlooked when the judges began their task: judging chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket.

Vendors line the walking track at Deal Park as the competition begins.

Once again Kings Mountain has earned its spot on the barbecue competition trail. Teams compete, judges evaluate, prize money is distributed, and trophies are earned – and after everyone has gone home, the museum returns to a state of slumber to protect its collectibles until the third Saturday in April of another year when a new cookoff begins.

Festival activities include a play area for children.

Judging in a Fire Museum

As unlikely as a fire museum is for being the site of serious barbecue judging, it works just fine for the annual Firehouse BBQ Cookoff in Kings Mountain, NC. For more than twenty years, the firefighters of this small city (population just over 10,000) have organized a celebrated barbecue cookoff.

An antique fire truck is on display at the museum where the judges met.

As one of the first events each year, the contest brings out teams who are starting their competitive schedule for the year. Because the cookoff was one of the first held in North Carolina sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, it has attracted very experienced cooking teams for several years. An additional enticement for the pitmasters is that the cookoff is one of the 11 events in the Old North State BBQ series, which offers additional prizes in addition to the prize money awarded in the contests.

Cooking teams set up in the interior of the Deal Park walking track.

At this year’s cookoff, 49 teams competed. In addition to attracting very competitive cooking teams, the Firehouse BBQ Cookoff also brings in very experienced judges. For this year, many judges were master judges, and a few had even participated at more than 100 contests.

Muttley Crew placed first in the ribs category, which propelled it to a top 10 finish.

The Historical Kings Mountain Fire Museum, which opened in 1976 and illustrates the colorful history of firefighting equipment over several decades, has hosted the competition for 21 years. The cooking teams set up in the interior of the Deal Park walking track, which is adjacent to the museum.

A large sign makes sure that the cooking teams know the turn-in times.

After conducting a barbecue cookoff for more than two decades, the firefighters know what they are doing. The event is well planned and organized, and it will be the place to be in April for both cooking teams and judges for years to come.

All is quiet at the turn-in table until the teams bring their chicken entries, the first category to be judged.

A box of large trophies is ready for the awards ceremony.