Another Whole Hog Cookoff in Fuquay-Varina, NC

A whole hog cooked just before the judges inspected it.

Like many small towns in North Carolina, Fuquay-Varina began as a center for tobacco trade and agriculture. As early as 1990, its population was just 4,500. Since then, the population has doubled every decade. It seems that how much Fuquay-Varina appreciates barbecue has grown just as fast.  

The hog after the judges had inspected it.

One of its main community organizations has been the American Legion post, which was founded more than 100 years ago.  Although it took almost that much time for it to organize its first whole hog cookoff, the post has been quite successful in having one annually since 2019.

Teams set up at the American Legion post in Fuquay-Varina.

I was fortunate to return again this year as a judge at the American Legion Whole Hog Cookoff where 11 teams competed for top honors (first-place trophy and $500) as well as the opportunity to be eligible to compete in the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship held at the end of the competition season. 

The winning team takes home the biggest trophy. Photo: American Legion Post 116 via Facebook.

For each site, each judge completed a culinary scoresheet. The criteria include appearance, color, skin crispness, moisture, meat and sauce taste, and completeness of the cooking site. In addition, the judges verify that each pig is fully cooked and the meat can be served to the public.

Some teams added Halloween decorations to their tables.

The cookoff was sanctioned by the N.C. Pork Council and is part of the Whole Hog Barbecue Series. Each year more than 130,000 people attend cooking contests in the series and enjoy the barbecue prepared by the cooking teams. At the Fuquay-Varina cookoff, plates of chopped barbecue were sold to the public for $10 each as a fundraiser after all the judging activities had been completed. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund scholarships for children, aid and assistance to local needy veterans and their families, and financial support for community programs and projects.

Teams chop their barbecue for sale to the public.

Returning to the Fuquay-Varina cookoff was a special privilege. I appreciate being a judge in the Whole Hog Barbecue Series, and seeing the teams in action as they show off their cooking talents is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Whole Hog Cookoff in Fuquay-Varina, NC

A perfectly cooked whole hog is in shambles after the judges complete their evaluations.

A small whole hog cookoff sometimes can be a great format. Judges can allocate all the time needed to fully evaluate each site and not be in a rush, and each team knows that their participation is vital. With just seven teams competing, the American Legion Whole Hog Cookoff in Fuquay-Varina, NC, was the smallest event where I have judged.

The site of a cooking team waits for the judges to arrive.

American Legion Cookoff 

The cookoff was the fourth competition conducted by American Legion Post 166. Its previous events had a few more competitors, but this one still was helpful for building community interest in the event and supporting local programs. After judging activities were completed, plates of chopped barbecue plates were sold to the public for $10 each as a fundraiser. With music playing throughout the afternoon, the scene was quite festive.

Because the cookoff was only days before Halloween, spooky decorations decorate several cooking sites.

Sanctioned by N.C. Pork Council, the event is part of the Whole Hog Barbecue Series that celebrates the history and artistry of whole hog cooking and supports communities and nonprofits. Each year more than 130,000 people attend cooking contests in the series and enjoy the barbecue prepared by the cooking teams. 

After the judging is over, each team prepares their barbecue for the fundraiser. 

Judging at Whole Hog Cookoffs

For each site, each judge completed a culinary scoresheet. The criteria include appearance, color, skin crispness, moisture, meat and sauce taste, and completeness of the cooking site. In addition, the judges verify that each pig is fully cooked and the meat can be served to the public. Although at some contests a team is often disqualified for undercooked meat, at this contest all teams successfully met this requirement. 

Scoresheets are prepared before the judging activities begin.

Unfortunately for the teams, at least 10 cooks need to participate for the winner in the contest to be eligible to compete in the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship held in Raleigh at the end of the competition season. If the minimum participates, then the winner qualifies for the next state championship. 

Cooking teams set up the night before the day of the contest.

I was able to judge because I was the replacement for a judge who was recovering from COVID, another sign that the pandemic still has not subsided. I was eager to judge because my last whole hog cookoff had been more than three years ago; the pandemic caused the cancellation of several cookoffs and even one state championship.

Sauces are judged with the meat.

Cookoff Sponsor

Chartered in 1922, the post has a significant legacy that stretches over a century of being a supportive member of the community. With an energetic membership base, the post was already looking forward to a chili cookoff only a week away before the whole hog contest had ended. 

All the funds raised by the post are given back to the community. Its projects include scholarships for children, aid and assistance to local needy veterans and their families, and financial support for community programs and projects.

 

 A table of trophies is ready for the awards ceremony.

Because American Legion Post 166 contributes so much to its local community, being involved in one of its programs is an honor for me. I hope to return again.

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.

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.

Whole Hog State Championship

The place to be if you’re interested in a whole hog barbecue cookoff is Raleigh, NC, where each fall the annual state championship is held as part of the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival. The championship is the culmination of a series of barbecue cookoffs, and only the top pitmasters are invited. Each one has won or placed with top honors in a regional contest earlier in the year.

The state championship was held as part of the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival.

Each regional contest is very competitive with the champion eking out a victory over the second-place finisher usually by only a few points. The state championship is even more intense as award-winning pitmasters seek to prove who is the best of the best.

Pitmasters set up along South Street in Raleigh.

For the 2018 event, the weather couldn’t have been more favorable. The morning of judging activities was balmy and sunny as should be expected in late September in central North Carolina. However, this year the event was sandwiched by two monster hurricanes — Florence and Michael — that brought high winds and excessive rain that devastated many areas. Fortunately, the contest itself was not affected by either one.

Lots of interest developed early in the people's choice contest.

I was very happy to be a judge that morning because I have long appreciated how the series culminates in the selection of the state champion. The competition included several categories — on-site, crispy skin, and blind taste by judges certified by the N.C. Pork Council. In addition, a sauce competition was held with “celebrity” judges (writers and chefs), and a people’s choice category let the public vote for their favorites. In all, 13 different cooks won a trophy or a cash prize.

Andy Curliss (left), CEO of the N.C. Pork Council, makes sure judges are ready.

As one of the judges in the blind taste category, I sampled entries from each competitor without knowing the pitmaster. In this competition, most entries were moist with a mild vinegar-pepper flavor. Only a few entries included a piece of crispy skin, either separately with the barbecue or finely chopped into it. Every entry was definitely prepared by a champion, and differences between the scores was very limited.

Judges had an official scoresheet to complete for each entry.

Top honors as the winner of the on-site category went to Chris Fineran of Beach Boys Barbecue who as declared state champion again. He had previously won in 2016. Fineran was also the winner in the crispy skin category.

Chris Fineran of Beach Boys BBQ reigned supreme again this year.

The top two winners in the blind taste category were Mark Copeland and Billy Perry of Pocosin Boys, first place, and Ashley Wheeler of Smokin’ Black Jack BBQ, second place. Third place was a tie between Bobby Prescott of BP Country Cookers and Kevin Peterson of Showtime’s Legit BBQ. 

Only Wheeler placed in the inaugural people’s choice competition. He won second place. First place went to David Hoffman of Grilling Palms BBQ, and Brooke South of Purdy in Pink Cookin’ Team won third place.

Brooke South of Purdy in Pink Cookin' Team placed third in the people's choice contest.

As the judging activities got underway in the blind taste category, I missed seeing the pitmasters and cookers where the barbecue had been prepared. In cookoffs sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council when I have judged, I’ve been on-site with the other judges as each pitmaster watched as we evaluated the entry.

Proceeds from the sale of tickets for the people's choice contest were donated to the Interfaith Food Shuttle and Bluegrass Trust Fund.

However, I appreciate the format of the blind taste category and the objectivity that it provides because judges can’t identify pitmasters with their barbecue. Being a judge in the state championship was a very rewarding experience, and I consider myself very fortunate to be part of this special weekend.

Whole Hog Cookoff in an Urban Park

Music played throughout the day on the stage of Midtown Park at North Hills.

Imagine green space encircled by cooking teams competing in a whole hog cookoff. Now place that scene in a dense urban area with high-rise commercial and residential buildings towering over the teams. You are now in Raleigh, NC, for the Fourth Annual Kickin’ It Country Whole Hog Cookoff in Midtown Park at North Hills.

Cooking teams set up between Midtown Park and the commercial and residential buildings of North Hills.

If I was much younger, North Hills would be the place where I would spend time (and money), and many younger people do just that. It’s an innovative hub of activities that offers many ways to shop, eat, play, work, and live.

High-rise residential buildings surrounding Midtown Park overlook the cooking teams.

A mixed-used development, North Hills includes stores, restaurants, entertainment, commercial offices, residential units, and even a continuing care retirement community. For one day each year, the play area of Midtown Park is the home to a popular whole hog cookoff.

Lee Meeks (left), John Gibbons (obscured), and I evaluate skin crispness at a cooker.

For the fourth annual rendition of the cookoff, 15 teams registered. They included past annual state champions, winners at other regional events, and even a newcomer or two. All showed the superior skills needed to compete in a whole hog contest, and judging their pigs accurately required concentration and diligence.

John Gibbons (left), Lee Meeks (right), and I finish our evaluation at a site.

For the judging, I worked with John Gibbons of Holly Springs and Lee Meeks of Newport. They both brought to the cookoff a deep appreciation for the skills that a successful cooking team must possess as well as an thorough understanding of the scoring criteria established by the North Carolina Pork Council, which sanctions this and all other whole hog cookoffs that culminate in the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship each year.

Lee Meeks (right) and I evaluate moisture as pitmaster Chris Fineran (left) looks on.

The top three winners in the Fourth Annual Kickin’ It Country Cookoff were Kevin and Dana Peterson of Showtime’s Legit BBQ (first place); Chris Fineran and Steve Sumner of Beach Boys BBQ (second); and Ernest Twisdale, Stephen Twisdale, and George Collins of Grill Father Cooking Team. Each is now qualified to advance to the championship cookoff next fall and compete for the honor of being proclaimed the state champion and admitted into the Whole Hog Hall of Fame.

John Gibbons (right) and I complete our scoring sheets at a site.

However, the Hall of Fame already includes the lead pitmasters of these three teams. Kevin Peterson was the 2017 state champion; Chris Fineran, 2016; and Ernest Twisdale, 2015. In addition, Roy Parker, pitmaster of Old Hickory, the fourth place team, was admitted in 2006 when he won the state championship that year. These credentials and the high scores they earned this year show how very competitive the cookoff was.

John Gibbons (left), Lee Meeks (center), and I relax after all the scoring sheets have been completed.

In fact, the scores for the top three winners were exceptionally high. The highest score that a team can earn from one judge is 360 points. The top team scored 1,010 out of a possible 1,080 points. Only 10 points separated the top three teams, and the fourth and fifth place teams themselves were only a few points behind the leaders.

Kevin Peterson of Showtime's Legit BBQ accepts the first-place trophy from Ashley Stallings, cookoff organizer.

Midtown Park at North Hills is the place to be on the first Saturday each June. The barbecue cookoff competition is superior, and after the judging is over, the barbecue is served as a fundraiser for a major local charity. For the other 364 days of the year, North Hills is still the place to be for shopping, eating, playing, working, and living.

Proceeds from BBQ plates sold after judging activities ended benefit the Raleigh Police Memorial Foundation.