Recently I had the extreme pleasure of judging the inaugural Smokin’ With Smithfield National Barbecue Championship in New Orleans, a high stakes showdown between several of this year’s top teams from various competition BBQ sanction bodies.

But while I have judged a number of contests (and have competed in many more), this was a truly unique experience — both for the competitors and for the judges. To begin, the contest was a three-day, single elimination cook-off, starting with 24 teams on day one then whittled down to 12 for day two, and six on day three. In addition to ensuring “the best of the best” made it through to the final round, teams were also supplied with all of their competition meats in order to start them all off on a level playing field. My hats off to the six teams that made it to the end as I know from personal experience how tough it is to do a one day contest, let alone three in three days!

For us judges, a unique scoring system was put in to place to further help weed out the top team(-s) each day. While KCBS scores top out at nine, the Smokin’ with Smithfield championship scored on a 1-12 scale for presentation, flavor, and texture, with 12 being pure perfection! The truly unique judging element, though, was the overall ranking for each entry, i.e. each of entries scored by a judge in the chicken, rib, pork, and brisket categories was then ranked from 1 (best) to 6 (worst). By adding this element, judges had to really study each entry and determine how it compared to the other five judged in each category.

In the end, there was only one team that could walk away with the Grand Champion title. Unfortunately a clerical error led to an issue with the overall rankings, meaning teams who originally thought they had placed in one position likely wound up in another position once the error was identified and corrected. While the error was truly heartbreaking, especially for the team that originally thought they had been the overall winner, I took great pride in watching how the organizers immediately stepped up and took responsibility for the error, and how the teams rallied behind the organizers and their fellow teams.

Equally, in a show of tremendous generosity, Smithfield immediately agreed to make sure none of the teams lost prize money due to the error. The truth is, no matter how much you plan, no matter how many possible issues you try to address ahead of time, things like this occasionally happen and what matters is how you deal with them in the moment. And in this case, the powers that be stepped up big time to do whatever could be done to make things as right as possible with the competitors.

In the end, it was the already red-hot Fred Robles and Rio Valley Meat BBQ that took home the coveted title of National Barbecue Champion at the inaugural Smokin’ With Smithfield National Barbecue Championship at NOLA Motorsports Park. Here’s more from Smithfield.

In addition to earning the top prize, Rio Valley Meat BBQ had an impressive performance throughout the exciting three-round, single-elimination competition, winning Overall Grand Champion of round two and Overall Reserve Grand Champion of round one, as well as placing first in Smithfield Fresh Pork Ribs all three rounds. Smithfield also congratulates Buckshot BBQ for taking home the Overall Reserve Grand Champion title, as well as Iowa Smokey D’s BBQ, Cajun Blaze, Shake ‘n Bake BBQ, and Heavy Smoke for rounding out the six finalists.

“This weekend, we were up against some of the most talented cook teams from across the country and around the world, so it was pretty special just to compete here,” said Fred Robles. “This three-day competition was a grind, but it is truly unlike any other competition on the barbecue circuit. We couldn’t be more honored to be named the first unified National Barbecue Champion.”

“We’re so excited to celebrate the pitmasters and cook teams that share in our passion for barbecue,” said Laura Pall, brand manager for Smithfield Foods. “Congratulations to Fred and Rio Valley Meat BBQ on their incredible win, as well as all 24 playoff teams for putting out some of the best barbecue we’ve ever seen. We also want to give a huge thank you to our sponsors, Big Poppa Smokers, Kingsford, The Butcher Shoppe, YETI, Abita Brewing Company, and WhistlePig, for helping to make this event happen.”

Smithfield is proud to continue their investment in the sport of barbecue, and will once again roll out the Smokin’ With Smithfield Grant and Committed Cooks programs in 2020. The Smokin’ With Smithfield Grant Program, created in 2017, supports sanctioned barbecue competitions and events across the country by deepening the prize pool in overall and major meat categories. The Smokin’ With Smithfield Committed Cooks program, established in 2016, rewards teams who cook with Smithfield Fresh Pork products and serve as brand ambassadors during competitions.

For more information on the Smokin’ With Smithfield National Barbecue Championship, and to apply for the 2020 Grant or Committed Cooks programs, please visit www.SmokinWithSmithfield.com.

About Smithfield
A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the “Ham Capital of the World.” From hand-trimmed bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfield’s products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com, www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand, and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield. Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories. Popular brands include Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Nathan’s Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, Farmer John®, Kretschmar®, John Morrell®, Cook’s®, Gwaltney®, Carando®, Margherita®, Curly’s®, Healthy Ones®, Morliny®, Krakus®, and Berlinki®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.