Let the barbecue wars begin! Memphis will play host to not one, but two (!!), barbecue competitions in May — on the same weekend. Our May barbecue newsletter series previews both the new SmokeSlam BBQ Festival and the longtime Memphis in May Barbecue Cooking Contest. Plus, we’ll share an overview of Memphis barbecue and recipes you can make at home.

The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is back for the 46th year. The event, better known as “Barbecue Fest,” is scheduled for Wednesday, May 15, through Saturday, May 18. But it’s moved out of its longtime home at Tom Lee Park Downtown to Midtown’s Liberty Park. 

Meanwhile, a new barbecue festival, SmokeSlam, is happening concurrently at Tom Lee, hence the “Battle of the Barbecue.” (You can read what’s planned for SmokeSlam here.)

Back to the Memphis in May event, though: Here’s our guide on what to know before you go to the WCBCC.

Members of the Swinos team performed in the Mrs. Piggy Idol competition during the second day of the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on May 12, 2022. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Why Liberty Park? This isn’t the fest’s first year in Liberty Park, but it’s been a minute since the contest was held there. The 2022 WCBCC was moved to Liberty Park when Tom Lee Park was under construction, and the 2011 fest was moved due to Mississippi River flooding. Memphis in May International Festival made the decision to move this year’s contest to Liberty Park after last year’s event in Tom Lee Park led to a $1.4 million bill for damages. That bill came from Memphis River Parks Partnership, which operates the park for the City of Memphis, after the culmination of both MIM’s 2023 Beale Street Music Festival (on pause for this year) and WCBCC.

On-site parking is back: One of the bonuses for holding the contest in Liberty Park is on-site parking, which wasn’t available when the event was held in Tom Lee Park. And this year, guests can expect even more room for parking than at the 2023 Liberty Park event. But unlike last year, there will be no shuttle between the lot and Tiger Lane. There will be three festival entrance gates this year, including a new west entrance on East Parkway that will be ideal for those walking over from Cooper-Young. (See the map at the end of this article.)

Chris Sutton with the All-Star Ten Pin Porkers checked on his ribs at the 2022 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Liberty Park in Memphis, Tennessee on May 11, 2022. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Who’s cooking? Nearly 130 barbecue teams from 22 states and four countries will be competing this year. That’s slightly down from last year’s numbers but quite a bit higher than SmokeSlam’s 59 teams. The MIM teams will compete for more than $150,000 in prize money in pork categories of ribs, shoulders and whole hog, as well as the ancillary competitions of hot wings, sauce and “Anything But Pork.”

Barbecue restaurants offered samples in BBQ Alley at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in 2019. (Holly Whitfield/The Daily Memphian file)

How to eat: As always with the WCBCC, you’ll need to have connections if you want to eat barbecue from a competitor. You cannot purchase barbecue from the cooking teams, per health department regulations, so teams only cook for judges, fellow team members and their own friends and family. So if you want to eat the contest ’cue, your best bet is to make friends with someone on a team before the fest.

That doesn’t mean you’ll go hungry if you don’t have friends on a barbecue team. Single-day tickets are $15, and four-day passes are $54, but you can add a ticket to Barbecue Alley for an extra $25. That will get you into a food court with access to meals from four barbecue restaurants and pitmasters like Mel Chmilar and Craig McPherson, plus music by DJ MadEFX.

For another way to eat, you can purchase an add-on ticket for the Kingsford Tour of Champions for $30. You’ll get to sample and judge barbecue from three contest teams. Think of it as a people’s choice award. Kingsford ticket holders meet the participating teams and get to hear their secrets to preparing barbecue. 

Plus, there will be food trucks and vendors on-site selling barbecue and other festival food.

Mary, left, and Frank Horner were volunteers at the VIPit tent during the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Tom Lee Park in 2023. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

VIPs eat, too (and get a whole lot more): There’s one other way to sample barbecue, and it’ll cost you $549. But the VIPit experience comes with a bunch of bonuses. You’ll get to meet the barbecue teams, taste their barbecue, take a barbecue judging class with a certified Memphis judge, watch blind judging in the judges’ tent, sample wines in a special tasting event and meet and greet some of the biggest names in barbecue.

Memphians took advantage of the pleasant weather on the final day of the 2019 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Tom Lee Park on May, 18, 2019. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Tent etiquette: If you have a connection on a team, don’t assume you can waltz into this friend’s barbecue tent on Friday night for dinner. Instead, ask them in advance which days and times they’re accepting guests. 

Competition teams pay for their space, equipment, food, bar and entertainment out of their own pockets, so a generous cash tip — at least $20 — is appropriate if you end up having a few drinks or are invited to visit during a meal. Another note on tent activities: Wednesday night is usually for close friends and family as teams finish prep for competitions. Thursday and Friday nights are when the parties get going — but after competition. Saturday morning is set aside for serious competition, so don’t expect a festival atmosphere until after that’s finished. 

Home Depot offered cooking demonstrations during the 2023 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Tom Lee Park. (Brad Vest/The Daily Memphian file)

Learn from the pros: The footprint of the grilling demonstration area has grown this year. The Home Depot Outdoor Kitchen will offer meet-and-greets, demos and free samples from pitmasters, like Moe Cason, “Bama Grill Master” Tim Van Doren and many more. The McCormick Demo Stage will feature cooking demos for recipes you can make at home, like smoked pork sushi. Plus, Rocky Stubblefield of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Sauce will be on-hand for a meet-and-greet with free samples. See the full demo schedule here.

The Cooker Caravan is returning this year. On Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., this free, escorted tour takes participants to select barbecue tents, where you can meet the chefs and get insider cooking tips.

Hung Nguyen and Chris Coles grappled in the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest’s Sauce Wrestling event on May 17, 2023. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

What else to do: Kick off your WCBCC entertainment with the always-entertaining (and definitely sticky) barbecue sauce wrestling match on Wednesday. On Thursday, barbecue team members compete in Ms. Piggie Idol, the annual “American Idol”-style singing contest, and then late-1990s alt-rockers Marcy Playground will perform. Friday brings a show from Memphis-based rock band Ingram Hill. On Saturday, DJ MicTee from Memphis hip-hop/R&B station K97 will play music on the Cattlemen’s Main Stage.

For the junior chefs: The National Barbecue & Grilling Association and Barbecue News Magazine have partnered for Future of Q, which gives young barbecue pitmasters a chance to showcase their skills and offer free samples on Thursday and Friday at noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Also, the culinary school at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis will bring students to the WCBCC to shadow pitmasters and learn more about the art of competition barbecue.

Courtesy Memphis in May International

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