I came to Pigapalooza at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, KS again this year to photograph it and eat some of the best pig by the best whole hog teams out there. It was a delicious day on all counts. Here are the highlights.
The 2022 SCA World Championship Steak Cookoff IX in Fort Worth, Texas (March 2023)
After a year of hard-fought ribeye steak competitions throughout the worldwide footprint of the Steak Cookoff Association, resulting in a waterfall of Golden Tickets to the SCA World Championships IX in Fort Worth, Texas, the day has finally come. 500 teams from around the world have come to fight for the world’s best steak for…
The Best Little Diner in Vail, Colorado
Brian Little’s Little Diner is the best breakfast restaurant in Vail, Colorado
Hot Steaks Win at the Bison Madness SCA Comp in Carlisle, AR
It’s great to be a steak judge, especially late in the season when most folks have their SCA World Championship golden tickets and are hunting for points, so newer judges get their highly sought after passed-down Golden Ticket. And because so many competitors are champions crafting perfect steaks again and again. It sure makes the…
Dolewite Rocks Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
Dolewite is a total trip. They are an old school hip-hop cover band out of Kansas City that mixes together all the tracks into a funky cool grove with a ton of curse words. So yeah, they’re awesome. They rocked Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal. Here’s a bunch of band and crowd pics. Everyone…
Sweet Swine O’Mine Shows a Serious Hog at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
Mark Lambert’s Sweet Swine O’ Mine has been a longstanding, serious contender in whole hog. I’ve seen them compete in pork shoulder at Memphis in May and I’ve spent many a weekend at Mark’s place eating his great cooking and enjoying his hospitality while judging SCA steak cookoff competitions. At Pigapalooza 2022 at the American…
First Class Barbecue Cooks a Name-Worthy Hog at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
First Class Barbecue out of Hempstead, Texas put up a really beautiful hog over at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal in Kansas City, which raises money for Operation BBQ Relief. I think it was the prettiest hog of the night, and there were lots of contenders for that! Take a look and see what you…
Stretch’s Grinders BBQ Reveals 2-Headed Hog at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
There’s no showman like Stretch. From the cape, to the hair, to the attitude, Stretch is one cool cat. And for Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal, which raises money for Operation BBQ Relief, Stretch and his Grinders BBQ team pulled out all the stops, and four hams, leaving just a two-headed hog for the…
The Shed Pulls 3rd Place Hog at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
The Shed competition barbecue team is a trip. They throw a huge party, and everything seems a little tongue in cheek, lots of inside jokes, but one thing is not a joke: they are serious cooks. I’ve had their hog cooks on several occasions from Memphis in May to Pigapalooza and it’s always a juice…
Boar’s Night Out Wins 1st Place Hog at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
It’s always a lot of fun to watch Boar’s Night Out compete. They have a huge team of serious and fun cooks. Their food is no joke. But they’re pretty lighthearted about how they go about competing. And it’s always fun to see someone take a blowtorch to a hog. Here’s a bunch of photos…
Aces Wild Inks Their Way to a 2nd Place Hog Win at Pigapalooza 2022 at the American Royal
I’ve never seen a tattooed hog, but Matt Ouverson and his Aces Wild team including Ken and his County Smoak team pulled it off for their hog cook at Pigapalooza 2022 raising money for Operation BBQ Relief at the American Royal in Kansas City. They came in second this year and it must have been…
Boar’s Night Out Wins 2nd Place Whole Hog at Memphis in May 2022
I judged on site Whole Hog and Ribs at this year’s Memphis in May and when I was done I checked out some of the other teams. Boar’s Night Out makes a bunch of the steak rubs that I use at home, so I thought I’d drop by when I heard they got a call…