You could smell it in the air a half mile away. Tendrils of smoke curled through the tree tops of the glorious grand oaks lining the entrance to Boone Hall Plantation. On Saturday, August 25, nearly 40 professional and amateur teams, a handful of tailgating teams, and more than 2 dozen judges gathered together to participate in the 3rd annual Southern National BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival.
It is a busy day for all involved and as the first strains of down home music are heard across the plantation grounds, cookers and grills are being stoked in preparation for the judging that begins at noon. A clock sits atop the turn in table in front of the judges tent and contestants often stop by to make sure their watches are set to the exact time as the judges.
Four BBQ categories keep pit masters busy preparing for turn in times – Chicken is first up and due at 12 noon, ribs follow at 12:30, then pork butt at 1:00, and finally brisket at 1:30. The pressure heating up various cooking contraptions across the grounds is equal to the pressure the contestants feel as they time their days to align with the strict turn-in schedule. Time schedules are posted everywhere and notations include items like fix up box, make sauce, flip and flop, baste, and survey and grade. Its barbecue language and these teams know time is of the essence and late entries equal immediate disqualification.
An enthusiastic trio of judges lingers outside the official judging tent and they kill some time as they await the first entries to arrive.
Judges Tom, Al, and Mike are quick to offer some advice on judging best practices. Take a single small bite of each entry, they advise. Another indicates that a cook’s challenge in a competition like this is to be able to wow the judges with just one bite. Another interesting fact they offer up certainly puts their jobs into perspective - if a judge were to eat everything put in front of them it would tally up to more than 6 pounds of meat!
The 3 judges are good natured, light hearted, and gush that they do this because they just simply love
barbeque! So what does it take to get past the judges? You have to pay attention to the rules and follow them carefully. Entries can easily be disqualified for a number of reasons. Everything from undercooked meat (traces of blood is a dead giveaway) to using the wrong garnish (no red lettuce or carrots – parsley only!) Contestants must turn in a minimum of 6 samples for judging, any less and a disqualification is immediate.
A tour around the smoky grounds reveals custom grills and smokers that make you stop in your tracks and stare with wonder.
Based out of North Augusta, SC, the duo are 3-time winners of the South Carolina State Championship. Cindy views these gatherings as a hobby – one they liken to tailgating where they get to meet a lot of people and hang out with friends.
Judges and fellow contestants alike are murmuring about the legend in their midst this weekend. Who is this person that people are speaking of in hushed tones and reverent admiration? The judges fill in the holes and share that Myron
Mixon of Jacks Old South is competing this year. Just who is Myron? He took the State Champion title at the Prestigious Palmetto Pig
Pick'n Championship in
Ladson in March earlier this year. If that’s not impressive – how about the Grand Champion title at the revered Memphis in May event? Indeed –a true champion was among us – a three time world champion of the one of the biggest barbecue titles in the country. Wins in 2001, 2004, and again this year in 2007 in Memphis, had fellow competitors on alert.
Mixon is rumored to have won over 140 competitions in the past 3 years alone. Could they beat the master? The day would tick by with this thought on many a contestants mind.
Mr. Champion himself is the kind of guy you’d like to call a friend. His smile is welcoming and warm.
He shares that he got his start in 1996 and in addition to competing professionally; he makes a living in the ‘
que world by catering and teaching
barbeque cooking school classes, and selling his handmade sauce recipes and grills.
Mixon's team Jacks Old South travels with two different trailers depending on the competition. The one being used today is designed to cater to Kansas City
Barbeque Society competitions, and the other is a 30-foot trailer designed solely to compete in the definitive Memphis in May event. The company and branded company sauces are named after Myron’s father Jack
Mixon.
Mixon is open to questions and beckons me in to the back of his workshop. All the entries have been turned in and it’s clean up time. He reaches for a slice of pork pink with smoke and he swabs it through a metal bowl of sacred sauce. With giddiness I reach for it and it disappears quicker than I would have liked it to.
I’m eating the champion’s
barbeque and I’m so excited and caught up in the moment - yet I'm also completely conscious that I need to slow down and savor the experience.
Mixon is up to the elbows in soap suds as he washes up from another day on the circuit. Assistant David buzzes around packaging up left-over’s and offering me more tastes of heaven. Burnt butt ends come next, then the mother load – a prized piece of chicken that would later in the day win 1st place in the chicken category.
Just when I thought the champion’s hospitality
couldn’t get any better, I realized left-over’s of all kinds were finding their way into Ziploc bags and a
goodie bag of sorts was being assembled in a tin “to go” platter for me. The husband was going to love this!
There’s no pretense with these guys, the only signage evident in their assigned lot is branding on their rig. No banners wave, no trophies line the table – for these pros it’s all about the cooking. Based on their winning history, it’s an approach that obviously pays off.
As the day wears on ‘
que goers enjoy down home music from Home Boy Reunion, the
Southland Boys, and
YeeHaw Junction. The music blends perfectly with the Southern BBQ smoke tinge in the air. Children twirl and adults stomp to the infectious bluegrass beat. Well after 4:30 an electricity fills the air as a white Ford Explorer drives up next to the stage and pops open the back of the truck. The awards are here!
The strains of bluegrass fade slowly away as the MC takes the stage. Contestants pace, huddle amongst their team mates, swill cold beverages, and chatter amongst themselves. The time has come and awards slowly begin to disappear as winners are announced. Jack’s Old South picks up a 4
th place win in Brisket, then a 1st place in Ribs. Pork is up next and it’s the first time
Mixon doesn’t make his way to the stage. Chicken is the final category and once again Jack’s Old South picks up 1st place. The Grand Champion winner is a no-
brainer and as the crowds swell into knowing applause, the Grand Champion winner is announced….Jack’s Old South takes the prize!
Earlier in the day Myron
Mixon shared with me that “Any day you can walk across the stage and collect some money is a good day.”
It was a good day for Jack’s Old South and Mr.
Mixon – a very good day indeed.
# # #
Fine Cooking Magazine is one of the many foodie mags I subscribe to and it only comes out six times a year. If you are familiar with the Cook's Illustrated it is a little like that, only glossy and filled with amazing food photographs and step by step process oriented recipe's. 
Tristan Pastry Chef Nicole J. 
The finished product was stunning!
There are LOTS of opportunities to get involved and volunteer. Sign up sheets were available tonight for those who are interested, and the "Volunteer" section on 
Whether you desire to become the next member of the 
A former race care trailer has been turned into the home of Smoke Shack, owned by husband and wife Scott and Cindy McDaniel whose team has been on the circuit for 12 years. 
