Cookoff at a Harley-Davidson Dealership

Have you ever attended a barbecue cookoff at a Harley-Davidson dealership? Neither had I before being a judge at Biker Blues & BBQ in Salisbury, NC.

Judges line up to sign in for the contest.

The event’s full name -- Tilley Harley-Davidson’s Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic – clearly indicates that much more than barbecue is on the schedule. Motorcycles, specifically Harley-Davidsons, are everywhere: new ones on the showroom floor and lots of others brought to the rally that look so good that they could pass for new.

Many new motorcycles are on display on the showroom floor.

Although the event starts with music the night before any barbecue is judged, Saturday is the main day. The rally, a “poker run” that lasts more than five hours, begins well before the cooking teams turn in chicken, their first entries, for the contest. When I saw all the motorcycles parked before the rally began, I was surprised -- more than 100 riders were participating.

The motorcycle rally was a popular part of the weekend.

The cookoff, part of the Old North State Barbecue Series, drew 63 teams, making it one of the largest contests in the Southeast. The large number of teams was attracted by more than $15,000 in prize money. Sauced BBQ! Team from Denver, NC, took home $3,000 as the grand champion – a return to the top and a big improvement from the week before in Goldsboro, NC, when low brisket scores dropped the team to 19th out of 39 teams. (The team incidentally also won the cookoff in Lakeland, Florida, my first event this year, and was the reserve champion in Asheboro, NC, where I judged last month, so it usually is successful.)

Cooking team set up in the back parking area of the dealership.

The contest was flawless in execution, a challenge considering how many cooking teams participated. At the designated intervals for turn-in of the entries, the volunteers smoothly handled the containers to maintain the “blind judging” standards of the Kansas City Barbecue Society, which sanctioned the event.

The People's Choice competition gave the public a chance to vote for their favorite barbecue.

The blend of music, barbecue, and motorcycles attracts a sizable crowd in Salisbury. Begun in 2012, Biker Blues and BBQ is well established among judges and cooking teams as an event to attend. It will continue to be a favorite event each fall for everyone.

The huge Grand Champion trophy was taken home by the Sauced BBQ! Team.

Smokin’ in the Valley

Maggie Valley, NC, is the perfect location for a barbecue festival in the summer. In July, a good event in the South depends on sunny and warm weather, and Maggie Valley in the mountains offers days that are warm but not too hot with lots of sunshine.

Cooking teams set up the night before in the festival grounds of Maggie Valley

In July the maximum temperature is 82 degrees. At night the thermometer reading usually drops below 60, so cool temperatures in the evenings also offset the daily highs. In addition, the risk of rain is low. July is the driest month in the summer with only 3.7 inches of rain. With these conditions, the organizers of Smokin’ in the Valley, which proclaims itself as the Western North Carolina BBQ championship, couldn’t ask for more favorable conditions.

Smokin' in the Valley proclaims the Western N.C. BBQ Champion.

Smokin’ in the Valley is an event that local residents look forward to attending each year, even though Maggie Valley has a full summer schedule of exceptional events that annually draws repeat visitors. The motels, lodges, and inns fill up quickly, and I had to call several places before I found one with a room available (fortunately a reservation had just been cancelled).

Food vendors do a brisk business along the path to the music stage.

The most attractive part of Smokin’ in the Valley is not the weather but the crowd enthusiasm. The line to get a tray of samples by the cooking teams is long, but everyone waits patiently. Can you imagine standing in line for up to an hour to vote in the People’s Choice category?

The reward for standing in line to vote in the People's Choice category is
a tray of tasty samples prepared by cooking teams.

The event is held on the festival grounds (where parking is easy) of Maggie Valley next to charming Jonathan Creek, a regular destination for trout fishing because it is part of the Mountain Heritage Trout Waters Program. When Smokin’ in the Valley occurs, the grounds become a singular destination to browse through mountain arts and crafts and enjoy food from vendors (my favorites were cornbread salad and root beer float) that complement the barbecue sold in the People’s Choice contest. People arrive early and linger for hours to enjoy the music.

Mountain music performs throughout the day on the festival grounds.

Many entries that I judged were excellent, an indication that many cooking teams had been competing for years. Several earned high scores for appearance. For taste and tenderness, most beef brisket entries were excellent. Even judges who are die-hard pork aficionados considered the beef briskets as good as any other barbecue in the contest.

The judges tent is quiet before noon when the first meats arrive.

Maggie Valley is popular for more than barbecue. Several judges that I talked to were also dedicated motorcyclists, who had applied for this event to combine their interests in judging barbecue with riding mountain roads. The highways in this part of North Carolina are known not only for their scenery but also for their twisting turns and changing elevations. This area has several scenic journeys, including one with 318 twists and turns in 18 miles (known as “The Dragon”). In addition, some judges took time to visit the popular collection of vintage motorcycles on display at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley.

Backyard grillers can buy bags of wood -- pecan, hickory, cherry, and apple -- in the arts and crafts area.

A valley in the mountains is an excellent place to hold a barbecue festival in the summer. The trophies and prize money that Smokin’ in the Valley offers contestants is only part of the attraction for competing in this event.

Trophies for the reserve (left) and grand champions await the winners.