There are 75 article(s) tagged Memphis In May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest:

• May 2025

  • Right on ’cue: Barbecue winners take home trophies, cash

    Grand prize winners, along with a slew of other awards, were announced of SmokeSlam at Tom Lee Park, and the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Liberty Park. 

    By Jody Callahan May 19, 2025

  • Both barbecue festivals are back on

    With sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s, both the Memphis in May and SmokeSlam barbecue festivals are back to their regular schedules Saturday, officials said.

    By Jody Callahan May 17, 2025

  • SmokeSlam, Memphis in May BBQ festivals closing early

    SmokeSlam at Tom Lee Park Downtown and the Memphis In May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Liberty Park are both closing early Friday, May 16, due to the weather forecast.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff May 16, 2025

  • SmokeSlam’s back on the river, bigger and smokier

    The second installment of SmokeSlam began Thursday as thousands poured into Downtown’s Tom Lee Park while the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest continued at Liberty Park in Midtown.

    By Jody Callahan May 16, 2025

  • Memphis in May barbecue contest starts smoking

    The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest got underway Wednesday afternoon, and for many teams, it begins with the wood. 

    By Jody Callahan May 15, 2025

• January 2025

  • Raising the steaks: Memphis in May barbecue contest adds beef competition

    The one-day addition to the MIM barbecue contest at Liberty Park is tied in with the Fort Worth, Texas based Steak Cookout Association.

    By Bill Dries January 24, 2025

• May 2024

  • Sound Bites: Smoke clears after barbecue battles, big chicken news

    This week on Sound Bites, Chris Herrington and Holly Whitfield follow up with the Jerry’s Sno Cones rumors discussed last week and share impressions from last week’s dueling barbecue contests.

    By Holly Whitfield May 31, 2024

  • Guest Column: Richard Smith offers a ‘thought starter’ on competing BBQ festivals

    “BBQ Fest is a weekend I always look forward to, and last weekend didn’t disappoint. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say something felt off. Or perhaps it felt like something was missing. And, no, it wasn’t just the river views.”

    By Richard W. Smith May 28, 2024

  • Memphis in May or SmokeSlam? For two teams, the answer is both

    You can find only two teams competing at both barbecue contests this weekend: Hank’s BBQ from Columbus, Mississippi, and Pork University of Clarksville, Tennessee. 

    By Chris Herrington May 22, 2024

  • Battle of the Barbecue: Contest recaps, $50K ribs and recipes

    In the final installment of our barbecue series, we’ve got a look at winners from SmokeSlam and Memphis in May’s contest. Plus, we share recipes to extend barbecue month out all year. 

    By The Daily Memphian Staff May 20, 2024

  • Memphis in May names barbecue contest winners

    “We’re on top of the world,” Brooke Lewis said to a crowd of hundreds a few moments before fireworks erupted over the stage in Liberty Park. 

    By Holly Whitfield May 20, 2024

  • Battle of the Barbecue draws to a close

    After a week of two simultaneous barbecue-cooking competitions, the victor is clear: hungry barbecue lovers and fans across the city of Memphis.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff May 19, 2024

  • Memphis in May announces 2025 barbecue contest dates, location

    “Memphis in May is here to stay,” new President and CEO Mack Weaver told the crowd Saturday at Liberty Park.

    By Holly Whitfield May 18, 2024

  • New Zealand’s BBQ War is bringing the heat — and the ink

    BBQ War is the team that traveled the farthest for this year’s MIM, and despite the team’s name, they’re making new friends left and right. But what they really want are the bragging rights.

    By Joshua Carlucci May 17, 2024

  • Battle of the Barbecue: Where to eat Memphis barbecue

    While teams at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and SmokeSlam are setting up for their respective competitions, here’s a broad look at the Memphis barbecue scene.

    By Holly Whitfield May 17, 2024

  • At MIM, BBQ Alley is ‘for the people,’ pitmaster says

    BBQ Alley is perfect for those World Champsionship Barbecue Cooking Contest attendees who aren’t part of, or friends with anyone on, a competition team. 

    Related story:

    SmokeSlam opens with dessert, bacon and wings competitions

    By Joshua Carlucci May 17, 2024

  • Memphis in May BBQ fest kicks off with sauce wrestling and fiery competition

    The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is officially underway, with 129 teams from 22 states and four foreign countries vying for the crown.

    Related stories: 

    A first look at SmokeSlam on the river

    Battle of the Barbecue: Where to eat Memphis barbecue

    By Kambui Bomani May 16, 2024

• April 2024

  • MIM Barbecue Contest to feature Marcy Playground, Ingram Hill

    The Memphis in May event at Liberty Park will also have celebrity pitmasters doing cooking demonstrations and 129 teams from 22 states and four foreign countries competing for barbecue honors.

    By Bill Dries April 24, 2024

• November 2023

  • Table Talk: Unsolicited advice for a second barbecue ‘contest’

    Chris Herrington writes of the new BBQ festival: “When I saw that this event would take the form of a contest ... and that it would also take place the same week that the Memphis in May barbecue contest is set to happen at Liberty Park … well, I laughed.”

    By Chris Herrington November 29, 2023

• October 2023

  • Beale Street Music Festival ‘paused,’ barbecue contest moves to Liberty Park

    Memphis in May confirmed in a Thursday, Oct. 12, press release that, at least for next year, the music festival would be “paused” and the barbecue fest would move to Liberty Park.

    By Bill Dries October 12, 2023

  • Sound Bites: Road trip food favorites and a potential barbecue relocation

    Inspired by a road trip later this week, Chris Herrington quizzed colleagues Holly Whitfield and Natalie Van Gundy about gas-station grub habits, or maybe its weaknesses.

    By Chris Herrington October 11, 2023

• June 2023

  • A legend takes a curtain call: Melissa Cookston hangs up her barbecue fork

    Melissa Cookston says goodbye to competition after this year’s Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. “I don’t want to be Brett Favre,” she says.

    By Jennifer Biggs June 02, 2023

• May 2023

  • Table Talk: Charlie’s is Charlie’s no longer; Blue Note gets double gold

    Three generations of Hogans have run Charlie’s Meat Market since it opened on Summer Avenue in 1971, and, if the stars align, they’ll have more than one store someday. 

    By Jennifer Biggs May 25, 2023

  • Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson were surprise guests at Memphis in May

    Cedric the Entertainer and Anthony Anderson have teamed up to create a line of barbecue rubs, sauces and grill accessories. Where to taste test it? Memphis in May, of course.

    By Jennifer Biggs May 20, 2023

  • The best-kept secret of barbecue may be the VIPit Pass

    You can do Barbecue, capital B, with the hoi polloi or, for $500, you can get a concierge experience to the festival with the VIPit crew.

    By Jennifer Biggs May 19, 2023