"Would those of you who can tell the difference between a McRib sandwich and real barbecue please stand up and raise your right hand?" At the behest of the Kansas City Barbecue Society and by invitation from the Jack Daniel Distillery, I pushed back my seat and joined a sizable crowd of barbecue lovers in Lynchburg, Tennessee, to become a newly minted KCBS judge. With hands in the air, we took the oath. More

Every time I mentioned to someone at the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Lynchburg, Tennessee, that I'd been offered a seat at the judges' table, I received the same response: "This is the best barbecue you'll ever have." "The Jack"—a two-day contest with 22 years of history, grand champion cooks from 10 different time zones, and the backing of major corporate sponsors—exists in a world distanced enough from destination dining to be its own culinary tradition. More

Scott's only serves whole hog barbecue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. During those three days the stores sells 15 to 20 hogs' worth (between 2,000 and 2,800 pounds) of smoked pork, attracting visitors from miles around. The rest of the week, Scott's is not much more than a half-stocked, rustic convenience mart with doors that seldom open for regular business. More

When South Carolina Barbeque Association president Lake E. High, Jr. curated a whole hog lunch for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, he proclaimed that South Carolina is "absolutely the barbecue capital of the world." This isn't the wildest claim a barbecue evangelist can make. I can count at least four barbecue capitals of the world in the American South, and to be perfectly honest I'd like to see at least 500 more vying for the title. The environmental toll of all that burning wood may be an overriding concern. Then again, I may be a hungry man. More

Meat may be the undeniable core of American barbecue, but as long as American barbecue is part of the pantheon of southern cooking, it will not stand alone. From the saltine crackers and pickles of Lockhart, to the lard-fried potatoes (you heard me) of Kansas City, to the barbecue slaw of Lexington, the side dishes served with barbecue are often as exciting as the main course. I indulged in this fact on my recent trip through the Carolinas, looking forward to the $2 servings of local flavor that flanked each serving of smoked pork. More

Is North Carolina barbecue as great as everyone says it is? Or, once you remove the nostalgia, is it (gulp) dry, overcooked, and disappointing? I cruised down I-81, eager to revisit one of my favorite barbecue regions to figure out the deal with Lexington style 'cue. More

Last week, we shared a national guide to barbecue events in the United States. Though my knowledge of barbecue events is pretty limited, I included as many local events as I could find. But I thought it'd be interesting to open things up to anyone out there. Here's a simple Google map for plotting barbecue events across America. We've made it an open collaboration, so any of you can add to it! And we hope you will. More

Barbecue events are the intersection of food, friends, family and fun in Americana. Here is an epic roundup of barbecue festivals and competitions across the country. Barbecue season begins as soon as snowfall begins to melt, kicks into high gear at Memphis in May, and peaks in October, when The American Royal Barbecue draws teams from all over the country in the world's biggest barbecue contest. More

"I dream of those burned edges. Sometimes, when I'm in some awful overpriced restaurant in some strange town—all of my restaurant-finding techniques having failed, so that I'm left to choke down something that costs $7 and tastes like a medium-rare sponge—a blank look comes over my face: I have just realized that at that very moment someone in Kansas City is being given those burned edges free." —Calvin Trillin on the burnt ends from Arthur Bryant's. More

In a way, beef brisket is barbecue's ultimate challenge. Infamously difficult to cook, brisket, more than any other meat, requires a long-haul commitment and substantial attention to detail from anyone who wishes to transform this primal cut of beef into something delectable. When the job is done right, beef brisket barbecue can stand up to any serving of smoked pork. More