Revisiting Shelby, NC, For A Two-Day BBQ Cookoff

Few events have cookoffs for two days. Most contests begin with team arrivals on Friday and a serious day of competition on Saturday. However, the Shelby (N.C.) BBQ Extravaganza took the opportunity to have two cookoffs on successive days after the teams had arrived on Friday — the first on Saturday and the second on Sunday. Both events crowned winners and awarded points for the very important annual team championship.

Teams set up for two days of competition.

Shelby BBQ Extravaganza

The Extravaganza was the first cookoff sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society in Shelby that I had attended since 2015, a very long time for a judge. Hog Happenin’, the previous contest, ended when the organizers ran out of energy. A new energetic, younger team is heading up the current event, and they have a lot of enthusiasm.

Judges relax in a fairground building before the first entries are turned in.

Hog Happenin’ had been held for 25 years. Its end saddened more than a few faces. The inaugural Extravaganza was held last year, and the event this year continued to build interest in holding an annual cookoff in Shelby, the home of the legendary Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge.

Artistic prizes for the winning teams await the judging results.

Two Days of Winners

Held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds, the event actually produced winners on both days. Fortunately, I was able to judge each day. The entries that we judged were superior — indicative of the many quality teams participating in the competition.

Several historic buildings are part of the fairgrounds scene.

Many top cooks in KCBS were competing because the event occurs on the last weekend that teams can earn points for the annual KCBS team championship. Because each day produced winners, teams could double the points they typically can earn in a competition on a weekend. In fact, points earned on both days of the contest could determine the number-one team in KCBS for the year. The top team for day one was Rooter-N-Tooters; on day two, the top team was Off the Rack BBQ.

The turn-in table gets ready for the first samples.

Judging in Shelby was even more rewarding than you might expect. On the way home, I stopped at Tony’s Ice Cream on Gastonia. What a way to end a BBQ weekend!

Rooters-N-Tooters won the competition on the first day.

Legacy of Lexington Style

Old-fashioned at Stamey's means Lexington style.

When people want traditional “Lexington style” barbecue of North Carolina, they often travel not to Lexington but to Greensboro. The Gate City is the home of Stamey’s, which traces its roots to 1930 and was founded by the legendary C. Warner Stamey, who taught the Lexington style to other early pitmasters.

Stamey himself learned in Lexington how to make pit cooked barbecue from early entrepreneurs Jess Swicegood and Sid Weaver when he was a high school student there in the 1920s. After moving back to his hometown of Shelby, he made and sold barbecue before returning to Lexington in 1938 when he bought Swicegood’s business. He renamed it Stamey’s where he continued to develop his reputation as a barbecue pitmaster and promoter.

A photo of the founder watches over the entrance that includes several vintage photos of the business and a waiting bench.

Greensboro has two Stamey’s locations, the second one opening in the 1970s. The original one, which I visited, was opened by Stamey in 1953 as a drive-in after he had moved from Lexington. Across the street from the Greensboro Coliseum, it was replaced with a new structure in 1979 and has been operated continuously by a member of the Stamey family, currently Chip Stamey (grandson of the founder).

Tables in the dining area turn over frequently because orders are taken and served promptly.

Adhering to the style promoted by the founder long ago, the pitmasters still cook only pork shoulders and only over hardwood coals. Although Stamey’s claims a “secret” sauce, the secret is not well kept because it has provided the recipe – equal amounts of ketchup and apple cider vinegar with sugar, salt, black and red pepper -- to the Cooking Channel. Ketchup in the sauce keeps Stamey’s true to the Lexington style and separates it from the style of eastern N.C. where the sauce has no tomato (and whole hogs rather than only shoulders are cooked).

Lexington style is barbecue (using only pork shoulders) with hushpuppies and red slaw.

The chopped barbecue that I ordered came from the kitchen already adequately sauced, so I added no more at the table. The plate included red slaw (coleslaw made with Stamey’s sauce, not mayonnaise) and crisp hushpuppies (reportedly popularized as a side on barbecue plates when Stamey began serving them decades ago after seeing them served at local fish restaurants). The Brunswick stew that I also ordered was a colorful complement to the red slaw.

Brunswick stew comes with the requisite amounts of vegetables.

Credited with spreading “Lexington style” in the western half of North Carolina, Stamey nurtured several protégés such as Alston Bridges, Red Bridges, John Stogner, Doug Gosnell, and Wayne Monk. Even though I’ve been to Lexington and also eaten “Lexington style” in other cities such as Winston-Salem and Shelby, I felt closer to the tradition by being in Stamey’s and at its first location in Greensboro. The way the servers greet customers and take orders shows they know that they are preserving a legacy.

The carry-out counter stays busy throughout the day.

Shelby, a Legendary Place for Barbecue

Shelby, NC, is where many people go for great barbecue. As the home of Red Bridges’ Barbecue Lodge as well as the annual Hog Happnin’ cookoff, Shelby has been on the “barbecue map” for a long time.

One of the prominent destinations on the North Carolina Barbecue Trail, Red Bridges’ has contributed to N.C. barbecue lore and brought many visitors to Shelby, a small city in western North Carolina between Charlotte and Asheville. They come to taste barbecue prepared by third-generation family members who learned their craft from the original Bridges, who himself learned the art of cooking pork shoulders slowly over wood coals from legendary Warner Stamey of Greensboro. Similarly, the Hog Happnin’ entices visitors to Shelby with its fine reputation as a competitive barbecue event since it began 24 years ago.

Hog Happnin' is held at the Cleveland County (NC) Fairgrounds.

After visiting Red Bridges’ earlier this year, I wanted to be a judge for the Hog Happnin’ to experience how it contributed to the barbecue culture of Shelby, the county seat of Cleveland County. A large crowd at Hog Happnin’ is typical because the weather during the first weekend in November is almost always perfect. Only once before (in 2014) had it rained during the event – and the second time was this year. Although the rain dampened the crowd turnout, it didn’t diminish the spirits of the cooking teams.

Rain chilled but didn't diminish the enthusiasm of the cooking teams.

This year Hog Happnin’ attracted 61 teams – some from as far away as California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Florida that sought to advance in the overall points tournament held nationwide by KCBS, and they came to Shelby to hold their places in the points race. Teams were also attracted by cash prizes that total $15,000, in addition to the prospects of advancing in the Old North State Barbecue Series. Hog Happnin’ is one of five KCBS-sanctioned events in the series held throughout North Carolina to determine the Old North State Champion (other events are held in Kings Mountain, Lexington, Kannapolis and Salisbury).

Several out-of-state teams, such as this one from Rhode Island, traveled a long distance to compete.

The contest has been superbly organized since it began. Jerry Gardner, whose KCBS membership number of 461 indicates that he is an early member of the Society, served as the event director for its first 17 years. Now as the BBQ competition director, he focuses more specifically on cooking teams, judges, and other competition details.

Although the typical gate fee of $5 was waived, rainy weather reduced the size of the crowd.

I had met Gardner in April at Bib’s Camel City Cookoff (we were seated at the same judges table) and learned about his long involvement and leadership of Hog Happnin’. Gardner also mentioned that registration for judges was timed to open online on June 1. Early that day I completed the application but didn’t receive notification until mid-September that I had been selected as a judge (from his wife Joyce, also a certified judge, who is the judge coordinator). With such a large number of cooking teams, the organizers fielded 12 tables of judges.

Judges relax in the fairgrounds exhibition hall before the turn-in of entries begins.

Since its beginnings, proceeds from the Hog Happnin’ have benefited the local charities. Among its recipients is the Children’s Homes of Cleveland County. According to Gardner, the event has raised more than $300,000 over the last 13 years for the Homes. Before the judging began, Margie Christopher of Children’s Homes spoke to the judges about how important Hog Happnin’ is for providing necessary funds for its annual operations.

Winner of the Grand Championship was Smokin' Mo's, a team from California.

Although being a judge is a reward in itself, an added benefit at Hog Happnin’ is that judges are treated to homemade ice cream after all entries have been judged. Made by David Lail of Frostbite Ridge Farm, it was the perfect end to the competition.

Homemade ice cream is a great way to finish an afternoon of BBQ judging.

Shelby is a logical location to conduct a barbecue cooking competition. Hog Happnin’ has deservedly earned its place in the statewide culture for promoting and enjoying barbecue and in the community for contributing to worthwhile causes.

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge: A Tradition Dating to 1946

The sign in front has been a beacon
for BBQ fans for decades.

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby, NC, has been a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. It is one of the top BBQ places in the South and continues to be recognized for its tradition and legacy of serving moist and tender barbecue.

A main stop on the historic barbecue trail of the N.C. Barbecue Society, it ranks high on just about everybody’s list – Southern Living, Southern Foodways Alliance, and barbecue writers such as Randy Moss. In 2015, it won the “Ultimate Barbecue Bracket” competition of Garden & Gun. Magazine articles and photos line its walls among family pictures and scenes of yesteryear. 

Bracket results tell the story.

Because it is set back from U.S. Highway 74 Bypass, I missed it when I drove by the first time. After making a U-turn, I found what everyone has been talking about – the restaurant looks like it’s been frozen since the 1950s in a time warp (you can almost imagine it being on a two-lane road that the bypass was at the time) and the barbecue is still prepared in the same time-honored tradition as it has been for decades.

On the wall is a picture of the restaurant in the "old days" (observed the vintage cars).

After I had ordered lunch, I started taking pictures. My server Diann (who is certified as a barbecue judge by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and has been a member of a competitive cooking team) asked if I wanted to take pictures of the pit. Of course! There’s where I found Dennis at work, guarding the fire and watching over the smoking shoulders. He has a lifetime of experience and learned his skills from his father, who was cooked pork for most of his life.

Pitmaster Dennis, 55, learned the skills
 of of operating a pit from his father.

Red Bridges himself learned the art of cooking pork shoulders slowly over wood coals from Warner Stamey of Greensboro fame. True to “Lexington-style,” he used only shoulders for pork barbecue that he served with the cole slaw variety that is “red.” I obviously had to order pork barbecue for lunch. The easy choice was a jumbo BBQ plate (combination of chopped pork and chicken with a thin stream of sweet sauce on top) that included baked beans and red slaw and was accompanied by a basket of perfectly fried, crunchy hushpuppies. For dessert, I selected banana pudding (always available) over pineapple-coconut cake, the dessert of the day – both made by Diann who makes all the desserts.

"Lexington-style" barbecue always comes with "red" slaw.

Granddaughter Natalie (left) and daughter
Debbie keep Bridges' spirit alive.

The restaurant continues the legacy of Red Bridges, its namesake, who started selling barbecue in 1946. It is now run by second and third generation family members. Granddaughter Natalie said that she began working there when she was 14 or 15. Diann mentioned that grandson Chase makes all the red slaw and never deviates from the family’s recipe.

The restaurant has a steady stream of customers -- new and repeat.

The woodpile is huge -- and neat.

I couldn’t believe how much chopped wood was in back of the restaurant waiting to be turned into hot coals on another day of cooking. The wood was stacked as neatly as a Boy Scout project and all in a single row as long as the restaurant. Next to the woodpile was the remains of an old free-standing pit building that with a little coaxing looks like it could be returned to service with some tender care. I could almost picture coals blazing in the pits.

Banana pudding is always available.

The constant stream of customers coming and going made the restaurant seem like a train station. A line of customers at the cash register waiting to pay their bills seemed to never disappear. The dining area displays a community spirit as several customers greeted each other and the restaurant’s staff, and most tables were noisy with friendly conversation until food was served. It was obvious that a few customers were also first-time visitors as they (like me) were taking pictures.

Watching descendants of Red Bridges work in the restaurant that he and his wife Lyttle started many decades ago was a special experience. Enjoying pork barbecue and red slaw at Red Bridges Barbecue gave me a greater appreciation for the role of “Lexington” style in creating N.C. barbecue traditions and for this particular restaurant’s connection to others that serve barbecue in the Piedmont.
 

About 50 shoulders cooked the day before are ready to be chopped or sliced in the kitchen.