The Low & Slow Barbecue Show

Chigger reviews his 5 best barbecue restaurant experiences of 2025 – most of them including a meal and an adventure. Planning a day trip to Charlotte, Lexington, Winston-Salem or Hickory? Maybe you’re seeking a new lunch spot. Listen to learn which barbecue restaurants to hit, and options for orders. This episode share details about trips to Black Powder Smokehouse, Sweet Lew’s BBQ . Lexington Bar...

The Low & Slow Barbecue Show ignites its fourth season with the latest Carolina BBQ news and a review of our 2025, the State of the Low & Slow Barbecue Show Union. Listen also hear the details about Blue Suede BBQ ’s work to support the ALS patients and the Live Like Lou Foundation . Find out which barbecue businesses are putting out the flame after generations in the smoke. And learn why...

Operation BBQ Relief and Hickory Soup Kitchen partner for Thanksgiving to feed 500 families with smoked turkeys donated by the community. Austin Pearce (HSK) and Scott Jarrett (OBR) share the personal motivations that keep the Hickory region’s hunger relief effort going every year. Find out what it means when Operation BBQ Relief, volunteers and community supporters work together to provide a hot...

Vicious Pig BBQ Pitmaster Bobby Brinson joins The Low & Slow Barbecue Show to talk about the 5th annual Vicious Pig Throwdown in Steadman, North Carolina. Find out how it started, why it supports the Veterans Golf Association, and what competitors can expect from this Southern BBQ Network event. Get a competition update for the 2025 SBN season and learn what keeps competitive barbecue pitmaste...

Ultimate Tailgaters BBQ pitmaster Chris Fulmer pulls back the curtain on barbecue sauce with tips from the competition circuit. Get the details and find out about the Ultimate Tailgaters competition barbecue team that is a regular contender for the Southern BBQ Network Invitational – and a four-time SBN Cook Team of the Year. Get an inside look at the annual invitational barbecue showdown to benef...

Sons of American Legion Squadron 147 is bringing changes for the 19th Annual Pro-Am BBQ Festival. Get the details on how this year’s competition will work. Learn how additions aim to create a more family-friendly environment and promise to provide more competition quality barbecue to event-goers. Festival Organizers Chris Nisoff and Al Simmons talk about changes to the festival and how Southern BB...

Join Chigger Willard on the 2025 Fall BBQ Festival road trip to Squealin on the Square and Hogs & Hens in South Carolina , then the Carolina BBQ Festival’s Pig Pickin’ in Charlotte. Listen to find out about other Old 96 District stops on the itinerary, like Hickory Knob State Resort Park. Get the details for fall BBQ festivals coming to the Carolinas in October and November, including Lexingto...

Get ready for a trip to South Carolina’s Old 96 District and a handful of barbecue festivals that bring thousands to towns in the 5-county region every year. In this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, host Chigger Willard interviews Kimberly Snyder Griggs, Marketing Director for Old 96 District Tourism, about one of state’s biggest barbecue weekends, Oct. 17-18 for Squealin’ on the Squar...

Squealin’ on the Square celebrates 25 years in downtown Laurens, SC, with a people’s choice barbecue competition, pickle eating contest, live music, and small-town charm. Main Street Laurens Executive Director Brad Abercrombie shares the history of the festival and what 20,000 people will experience Oct. 17-18. Listen insight on where Laurens falls in the South Carolina barbecue divide and whether...

Hogs and Hens BBQ Festival is coming to Abbeville, SC, on Oct. 17-18 and festival organizer Emily Bledsoe reveals the details on the vendors, the music, the kids zone – and of course the barbecue! Learn more about Abbeville , how this free event started in the city’s one-of-a-kind downtown and why Hogs and Hens BBQ Festival is built on barbecue and community in the South Carolina’s upstate. Get de...

Foothills Digest Editor-in-Chief Carmen Eckard discusses the “Skillets & Cellars” edition that includes stories, flavors and traditions of the foothills and Blue Ridge. Get the Foothills Digest perspective on the role of food and food festivals in the North Carolina Foothills, and how barbecue fits into the region. How does barbecue in the foothills compare to what you’ll find in other parts o...

The 7 best BBQ servings of Summer 2025 from host Chigger Willard’s restaurant & festival adventures. Find out which Pinehurst Barbecue Festival servings are part of BBQ best list. Learn where you can find the other best bites or how to make your own barbecue lollipops with Chigger’s recipe. Don’t miss the dessert recommendations! Get the latest Carolina barbecue news updates and details for ne...

What’s the economic impact of the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival in the Sandhills and Moore County, NC? And how did the barbecue event become such a big part of the calendar in a place known for golf? We talk to festival founder Dave Droschak about its inspiration and how its influence has evolved in Pinehurst. President and CEO of the Pinehurst-Aberdeen-Southern Pines Area CVB Phil Welz reveals the...

Ashley Christensen shares the latest updates on renovations and reopening at Poole’s Restaurant and reveals that her Pinehurst Barbecue Festival entrée is more than just shrimp and grits. Find out how the Ashley Christensen Restaurants group is homing in on the things it does best, and where each venue fits into the evolving Raleigh restaurant scene. Listen to this episode of The Low & Slow Ba...

Barbecue Reimagined brings Pinehurst Barbecue Festival an alternative taste of traditional ingredients and cooking methods from North Carolina’s top chefs. Chad Blackwelder from N.C Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services shares an inside look at the event’s roots and what barbecue enthusiasts can expect when the visit BHAWK Distillery. Find out what’s on the Barbecue Reimagined menu and how it...

Catch up with Southern Smoke BBQ Pitmaster Matthew Register during a busy barbecue festival season to find out coming soon for his business and the “Garland Metroplex” in Eastern North Carolina. Find out how Southern Smoke is combining barbecue with high school football to turn attention to a critical role player for Friday Night Football in the fall. Is there another cookbook coming? Chef Coach D...

If you’re heading to the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, get ready to experience why Master Blend Family Farms is one of the most talked‑about names in North Carolina barbecue. Pitmaster and president Ronald “Mr. 365” Simmons returns to The Low & Slow Barbecue Show to talk about how his business is evolving into weekly food truck operations. Revisit the roots of Master Blend Family Farms and find...

Old Colony Smokehouse Pitmaster Adam Hughes reveals the barbecue experience at his Edenton, NC, business. Find out how he evolved from barbecue competitions to the restaurant business, and how his current menu items compare with the world championship barbecue bites he produced for judges. Learn about the Old Colony Smokehouse sauces and what differentiates Old Colony Smokehouse from other Carolin...

Christopher Prieto shares the latest news from Prime STQ, his new steak and barbecue concept slated to launch by early 2026. Find out about his plans for the menu, the progress on the project at Boxyard RTP, and what will differentiate Prime STQ from his other ventures. Listen to this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show, and you’ll also hear Christopher Prieto describe the experience at Pr...

Pinehurst Barbecue Festival 2025 features 3 days of events and the Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational and has quickly become one of the Carolinas’ premier barbecue events. Andrew Stilwell gives us a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s barbecue festival event Aug. 29-31 , the participating pitmasters, the diverse menus of food options, and a chance to win a lifetime ticket to the festival....

Dampf Good BBQ Founder Nick Dampf went from being a brisket first-timer with a backyard smoker to North Carolina’s best brisket bite according to Texas Monthly. He shares the Dampf Good BBQ story and his tips to help you cook the best brisket in your own backyard. Don’t miss the news from Dampf Good BBQ about an expansion in the business (and the Dampf family). Listen to this episode of The Low an...

Golden Rule BBQ is America’s oldest, longest-running barbecue restaurant with a history dating back to 1891. In this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show we learn the story of Golden Rule and its 135-year-old tradition of pork barbecue sandwiches. Golden Rule’s Daniel Harp takes us through the bankruptcy that nearly ended the storied barbecue business, how new owners rescued the famous bran...

What are the four main styles of barbecue? Food writer Andre James shares his Mount Rushmore of BBQ, as well as his favorite stops for barbecue in Chattanooga, Myrtle Beach, and his hometown of Southport, N.C. Find out how Andre James turned time spent in the food and beverage industry into a career in food journalism and how his adventure has combined travel with journalism to highlight the best...

Barbecue news updates around the Carolinas in Summer 2025 include updates on a James Beard Award Finalist , 2025 North Carolina BBQ Hall of Fame Inductees, Operation BBQ Relief Volunteer Awards, State Whole Hog Championships , and the South Carolina Connection to SmokeSlam 2025. Listen to this episode for the Summer 2025 barbecue news recap from The Lowdown, our weekly barbecue newsletter. You’ll...

N.C. Whole Hog State Champion Kevin Peterson joins the Low & Slow Barbecue Show to reveal tips for preparing the best whole hog barbecue. The pitmaster behind Showtime’s Legit BBQ details his whole hog process from start to finish and shares insights into his husband-and-wife barbecue team. Get the backstory on Showtime’s Legit BBQ and its success and find out how Kevin Peterson started smokin...