We Love Barbecue
Here in North Carolina, we love our barbecue with a vengeance. And while we grudgingly concede that other parts of the country can and do cook meat over heat, we like to tell anyone who will listen that what we do and the way we do it is not only the original way, it’s the best way.
Want proof? Join the 130,000-plus people who attend the Whole Hog Barbecue Series cooking contests held in our region each year and chow down on the cook-off results.
Everything But the Oink
The meat used for the Whole Hog Barbecue Series and Whole Hog Barbecue Championship is – you guessed it — the whole hog. Though the cooked meat is tender, the challenge of cooking a whole hog is tough.
Ribs? Tenderloin? Hah! We eat them for breakfast.
Of the three barbecue capitals of the country – Memphis, Kansas City, and North Carolina – only ours uses the whole hog exclusively.
It’s quite a challenge. The shoulders and rib area are dark meat, with more moisture due to higher fat content. The hams and loins are white meat, leaner and drier than the dark. Getting one major part done without over- or under-cooking the other – all while finishing with the perfect, crispy skin – is both tricky and time-consuming. But for serious contenders, it’s gotta be done – all the parts are judged individually.
Cooks have to adjust their cooking times and methods for the weather; even a change in humidity can affect the cooking.
And on top of that, cooks who use wood have to contend with how different types burn. Hickory, for example, burns faster and hotter than oak.
No wonder the chefs are also known as pit masters. What they do is pretty darn masterful.
Even Tougher than Judge Judy
Our whole hog barbecue judges have been at it for years, tasting every kind of barbecue they can get their hands on. Much of the contestant’s score is determined long before any tasting is done.
The tiniest details of a cooked pig’s appearance are scrutinized by the judges. Color matters – the pig is expected to be roasted to a uniform golden brown. And points are deducted for even tiny charred spots, unnecessary cuts on the meat, and cooked meat that separates from the bone as the pig is being turned.
Adding a large element of fun to cook-offs is grading the contestants for showmanship. Many teams erect elaborate sets around their cookers, dress in costume or even perform skits.
If you want to appreciate the number of criteria each hog and team are judged upon, take a look at the 2025 ON SITE SCORESHEET
More than good eats: good works
Sanctioning the Whole Hog Barbecue Series and Championship is one of the ways the North Carolina Pork Council supports local communities and events throughout our region.
Since 1985, the North Carolina Pork Council has organized and sanctioned the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship as the culmination of the Whole Hog Barbecue Series local competitions statewide.
The Whole Hog Barbecue Series raises more than $114,000 each year for select local charities. In 2013, the Pork Council donated the meat from the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship to a local nonprofit that sold sandwiches and raised over $20,000.
About the North Carolina Pork Council
The North Carolina Pork Council (NCPC) is the statewide organization chartered in 1962 to support producers and allied industry partners within the NC pork industry. Today, the pork industry in the state includes more than 2,200 farms, about 46,000 full-time jobs and adds more than $11 billion to North Carolina’s economy.
