5 Can’t-Miss BBQ Events in 2021
We were looking forward to attending a wealth of barbecue events in 2020, but as the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened in the U.S., it was no surprise to see the majority of events canceled or postponed. Starting in March, one by one, the event cancellations rolled through the year and seemingly left no major event unspared, whether it was Memphis in May or the American Royal World Series of Barbecue.
While we were sad to miss the fun and camaraderie this year, we’ve got hope that things will be back to some version of normal in 2021. As such, many of the biggest events that were to be held in 2020 have already released details and ideas for what they’ll do in 2021. So it’s time to mark your calendars and (hopefully) start looking forward to barbecue again.
Here are five barbecue events we’re excited about in 2021.
May 12-15, 2021: Memphis in May — Memphis, Tennessee
The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is a massive four-day competition held in downtown Memphis. Typically 250 teams travel from around the world to compete for the title of World Champion and a share of the more than $115,000 in prize money. Read more about the event here.
July 9-11, 2021: Windy City Smokeout — Chicago, Illinois
The Windy City Smokeout BBQ & Country Music Festival is Chicago offers both a massive amount of barbecue and music. While the majority of attendees are there for the music, the barbecue lineup is one of the best at any event and even buying a one-day pass in order to get your hands on the barbecue is well worth it. We , and we’re sure 2021 will be great. Read more about the event here.
August 26-30, 2021: AmazingRibs.com Meat-Up — Memphis, Tennessee
The biggest new barbecue event scheduled for 2021 in the Meat-Up from Meathead Goldwyn and the team at AmazingRibs.com. The Meat-Up will feature a long weekend of events, including a whole hog cooking demonstration and welcome dinner at the famous Rendezvous on Friday, pork-centric seminars on Saturday, visiting four BBQ joints via bus on Sunday, and more. Read more about the event here.
September 16-19, 2021: American Royal World Series of Barbecue — Kansas City, Missouri
The American Royal World Series of Barbecue, held each year at the Kansas Speedway, is the largest barbecue competition in the country. On top of a massive KCBS competition with roughly 500 teams, this signature Kansas City event includes live music, food for purchase, kids activities, and a vendor fair. We and expect 2021 will offer a hearty dose of competition and fun as well. Read more about the event here.
October 8-9, 2021: Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational — Lynchburg, Tennessee
The Jack Daniel’s Annual World Championship Invitational Barbeque – or simply “The Jack” as it’s best known – is widely considered the world’s most prestigious barbecue competition. Usually featuring more than 100 teams from across the globe competing for a $25,000 prize, The Jack transforms Lynchburg, home of the Jack Daniel Distillery, into a barbecue capital. You can view our to learn more about the experience. Read more about the event here.
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We sincerely hope we’ll be able to attend most or all of these events in 2021 and get back to the fun with all of you. Check out our full events calendar here, and please let us know if your event isn’t listed.
Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ) and Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Sheet
—Hogs for the Cause, which raises money to support families of children with brain cancer, has launched a new platform to turn any backyard barbecue into a fundraiser.—
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Hogs for the Cause, a huge New Orleans-based event that raises funds to support families of children with brain cancer, was among the first barbecue events to be canceled in 2020. The organization isn’t slowing down, however, and just launched a new fundraising platform that can help turn any backyard barbecue into a way to raise money. The organization behind the event is planning for a 2021 edition of Hogs to take place as well.
READ MORE
While most barbecue events are canceled this year (see above), there are still a few on the schedule, including Pig Island NYC in September. This year’s event will be held on Staten Island in New York and be quite different from previous years. It has been reimagined as a “socially distanced barbecue” but will still feature a stellar lineup of pitmasters and chefs.
READ MORE
J.C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle writes about the fascinating backstory behind Lonestar Sausage & BBQ in the Houston area. Before pitmaster and owner Kevin Mason opened Lonestar, he was a wide receiver for the University of Houston and worked more than 20 years as a deputy for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Now he’s known as the “Sausage Guy” and serves both “all-beef East Texas-style links and Central Texas-style beef-and-pork sausage links.”
READ MORE
John Mueller, of the famed Mueller barbecue family in Texas, announced he will be closing his current operation at Granger City Brewing at the end of the month and moving to another site “down the road.” The new operation will go by the name Mueller Legacy Barbecue.
READ MORE
Historic Prause Meat Market in La Grange, Texas has closed for good, Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly reports. It was open for more than 100 years, but the family had been trying to sell it for the past seven years. Vaughn was also able to get their mop sauce recipe, which is surprisingly simple. The new owner of the building plans to turn it into a restaurant, but likely not a barbcue joint.
READ MORE
ADDITIONAL READS
Netflix Cooks Up ‘American Barbecue Showdown’ (Deadline)
Hunting for the Best Barbecue in the Bay Area (The Bold Italic)
Fort Worth’s Smoke-A-Holics Celebrates 1 Year of Business and Still Draws Big Crowds (Star-Telegram)
Adrian Davila of Davila’s BBQ on How to Instantly Upgrade Your Backyard BBQ (SF Gate)
The Best Cookbooks for Meat Lovers 2020 (Verge Campus)
San Antonio’s Smoke BBQ Reopens with Individual Boxed Meal Deliveries (San Antonio Current)
San Marcos Pitmaster Builds BBQ Business on Family Traditions, Adds 2nd Location (Community Impact)
New Joint Smoketown BBQ KC Headed to Northern Overland Park (Shawnee Mission Post)
Team Behind Corky’s BBQ to Houston Opening New Cajun Restaurant (Eater Houston)
Acclaimed Botto’s BBQ in Portland Opening Its First Brick-and-Mortar Location (Oregon Live)
CatHead's BBQ Permanently Closes in San Francisco (SF Gate)
—The upcoming season of the Netflix series Chef’s Table will focus on barbecue and premieres on September 2nd.—
WATCH
Chef’s Table: BBQ — Netflix
This week we are featuring a preview of the upcoming Netflix series Chef’s Table: BBQ. The Emmy-nominated series shifts its focus to the art of the barbecue, featuring accomplished chefs from the U.S., Australia, and Mexico. The series will feature notable pitmasters Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas and Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston, S.C. We’re particularly excited for those two. Chef's Table: BBQ premieres globally on Netflix on Sept. 2. WATCH HERE
LISTEN
Grill Talk with Meathead — The BBQ Central Show
In this episode of The BBQ Central Show, host Greg Rempe chats with Meathead Goldwyn about pellet grills. Many people look to Meathead’s website AmazingRibs.com for independent and honest reviews of grills and grilling products. Recently, the Masterbuilt Gravity Feed Cooker was downgraded from a GOLD rating to SILVER on the site. Greg and Meathead talk about how and why this happens with reviews on the site. LISTEN HERE
READ
The Complete Guide to Smoking and Salt Curing: How to Preserve Meat, Fish, and Game — Monte Burch
Drawing on more than forty years of experience smoking everything from succulent salmon to whole hogs, award-winning outdoor writer and photographer Monte Burch presents this practical handbook for anyone who wants to make their own smoked or cured products. The Complete Guide to Smoking and Salt Curing introduces beginners to the ancient art of preserving meat, fish, and game with full-color photographs and clear instructions on how to select meats and avoid contamination, how to choose smokers, and how to use various tools. Whether you are a serious hunter or angler seeking to cure and smoke the fish and game you’ve harvested yourself or simply a consumer looking to stretch your grocery dollar while creating delicious smoked salmon or cured bacon at home, Burch will have you making mouthwatering meals in no time. BUY IT HERE
—Bradley Robinson shows you how to make Smoked Oxtails in this video recipe from Chud’s BBQ.—
Smoked Oxtails
by Chud’s BBQ
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this recipe for Smoked Oxtails from Chud’s BBQ. Cooking Oxtails on the smoker results in a dish that is barky, sticky, and tender. Serve these on rice with some delicious beef fat cooked veggies.
—Many of the largest barbecue events of 2020 have been canceled or postponed.—
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we are leaving our events section blank for some time. Many events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed thus far. We’ll be updating our events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
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