| BBQ recipes competitions and cookoffs are about as | | | | which fancy French wine is best served with |
| American as apple pie. These events are so big in | | | | Chateaubriand. |
| some local communities that the population can grow | | | | In a way barbecue is a little like golf. Millions and |
| by 10 times over a single weekend. Even cities | | | | millions of people go out and play it but only a very |
| compete with each other for the stature of being | | | | few are real experts at execution. Barbecue |
| known as the best BBQ city in the nation. As it | | | | competitions are the same way. They do not look so |
| stands now Kansas City and St. Louis both claim the | | | | difficult on the food network so lots of people think |
| title. The matter is hotly disputed among dozens of | | | | that if they can just make or buy the right barbecue |
| other cities and towns from Georgia to California. | | | | sauce that they could compete at that level too. |
| The Kansas City Barbecue Society is the daddy of | | | | Maybe it is even the same people who think that if |
| BBQ associations. On the first summer weekend in | | | | they used Phil Mickelson's driver that they could hit |
| June alone the Kansas City Barbecue Society is | | | | the ball 300 yd. down the center of the fairway |
| sponsoring no less than 16 BBQ competitions in | | | | every time. |
| California, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, North | | | | The folks who win barbecue competitions know that |
| Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee, | | | | the barbecue sauce doesn't mean a darn thing if the |
| Maryland, Colorado, Minnesota, and even staid old | | | | ribs, chicken, pork or brisket is not slow smoked with |
| Massachusetts. | | | | the right hardwood wood chips, at exactly the right |
| Barbecue is a distinctly American taste. Nobody is | | | | temperature, for exactly the right amount of time. |
| really sure of the origins but there are writings about | | | | You do not need an expensive smoker to make |
| barbecue going back to pre-revolutionary days. It has | | | | competition quality barbecue. You can use your gas |
| become so popular that even hoity-toity gourmet | | | | grill or your charcoal grill. What separates the |
| magazines can no longer ignore it. I got a big kick | | | | champions from the chumps in this game is |
| seeing an article about pulled pork in the lede of one | | | | knowledge gained through trial and error, and |
| such gourmet magazine, right above the article about | | | | experience. Lots of experience. |