The Low & Slow Barbecue Show

South Carolina BBQ Project creator Nathan Spainhour takes you into the signs, symbols, and stories from the Palmetto State’s barbecue pits. Find out which 4 barbecue businesses he chose to represent South Carolina barbecue traditions. Learn how Nathan turned an MFA thesis focused on brain connections between place and memory into a visual journey through Southern cuisine traditions and barbecue nostalgia. Don’t miss the unique perspective he formed about the state and future of South Carolina’s legacy barbecue businesses as a new generation of SC-based barbecue franchises grows a larger footprint. BONUS: Details from the Greenville Barbecue Map, including the barbecue that made the list, how it was selected, and the barbecue place Nathan takes first-time visitors to the South Carolina community he grew up in. This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by Carolina Barbecue Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!     

Chef Chris Coleman takes The Low & Slow Barbecue Show into The Goodyear House, the Built on Hospitality group and the evolving Charlotte food scene. Find out where the Charlotte native’s allegiance lies in the East vs. Piedmont N.C. barbecue debate. Get Executive Chef Chris Coleman’s culinary backstory and learn how it motivates a farm-to-fork business model in the group that includes The Goodyear House, Chief’s Modern Cocktail Parlor, Folia, and Old Town Kitchen and Cocktails. Don’t miss the breaking news about the barbecue brunch entree Chris is planning with Matthew Register for Brisket and Biscuits. The Food Network Champ shares the first reveal for his own backyard cookout event in Savor Charlotte.  This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by Carolina Barbecue Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!    

Community Matters Café Executive Chef Chayil Johnson shares his story of culinary service that extends beyond the food menu. Learn how he combines his Creole heritage, traditional African foodway influences, Middle Eastern flavor, and a formal education into one-of-a-kind gumbo for Charlotte Rescue Mission’s life skills program.  Chayil explains where Community Matters Café fits into the mission’s 180-day addiction recovery program. Working in New Orleans kitchens at 12 and matriculating to Charlotte’s Johnson & Wales a decade ago, Chayil is earning recognition from the James Beard Foundation, Charlotte media and industry organizations. Hear how he credits his own hard work and a community of family and global influencers that clearly matter in the food he creates. This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by Carolina Barbecue Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit the Low & Slow Barbecue website here!

American Barbecue map designer Joseph Veazey compiled barbecue history, people, and places into a one-of-a-kind map that chronicles the evolution of smoked meat traditions in the United States. Find out how Joseph decided which BBQ joints, cities and states to include in the map. Joseph explains his method for researching and crafting his unique map designs. You’ll hear his passion for barbecue and learn what’s coming next in his barbecue map project, including an illustration specifically focused on North Carolina to complement his Georgia barbecue map. EXCLUSIVE: Don’t miss the big reveal of his next project examining certain landmarks in Atlanta. Learn more about Veazey Studio and where you can find Joseph and his artwork out in the world. This episode is sponsored by Carolina BBQ Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! 

Meet Mama Jean’s BBQ founder Madison Ruckel, who first started live-fire cooking with Home Team BBQ in West Ashley. From that foundation, hear where he assigns credit for his ongoing success (spoiler: the hard work of his wife, Kelli, and some wise business decisions play a big role). Learn what to expect during a visit to his Roanoke, VA, restaurant, which opened last year after 7 years of food truck life in a 1956 Airstream trailer. Get Madison Ruckel’s inside tips for making Mama Jean’s BBQ collards, what it takes to feed the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and how global cooking adventures have influenced his barbecue journey. Don’t miss your chance to sample Madison Ruckel’s barbecue entrée at Carolina BBQ Festival’s Brisket and Biscuits barbecue brunch, March 28. This episode is sponsored by Carolina BBQ Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!

Barbecue Brunch is on the Carolina BBQ Festival’s Brisket & Biscuits menu at Charlotte’s Town Brewing Company. Hear a quick introduction to the barbecue experts and top Charlotte chefs collaborating for a Savor Charlotte barbecue brunch: Matthew Register (Southern Smoke), Chris Coleman (Built on Hospitality/The Goodyear House), Madison Ruckle (Mama Jeans Barbecue & Soulful Sides), Chris Rogienski (Supperland / Leluia Hall), Jake Wood (Lawrence Barbecue) Chayil Johnson (Community Matters Café), Matthew Barry (Midwood Smokehouse), Lewis Donald (Sweet Lew’s), and Oscar Johnson (Jimmy Pearls Cheasapeake). Get Carolina BBQ Festival’s barbecue brunch details, Carolina barbecue business news, and a few opinions about barbecue wings. This episode is sponsored by Carolina BBQ Festival, April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in Charlotte. 30+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond celebrate the traditions of whole hog barbecue while supporting Operation BBQ Relief. Reserve your tickets today for the Kickoff, the Festival, or a full weekend of barbecue. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show here!

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 Barbecue, Hugh’s Q and Cranford Brothers Barbecue, and suggests other excursions to accompany your BBQ meal. Plus, we reveal the first details about the Carolina BBQ Festival’s spring brunch, Brisket and Biscuits at Town Brewing in Charlotte. Stay tuned for more details on tickets. This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by Carolina BBQ Festival, April 17-18 in Charlotte’s Victoria Yards. 2 days, 25+ pitmasters, and the Carolinas’ Best Barbecue bites. Tickets on sale now. Use promo code LOWANDSLOW for $10 off tickets. Visit the Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!

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 2025 was the biggest year yet for The Low & Slow Barbecue Show – at festivals, on podcasts, in the blog, and on YouTube screens. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! 

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 meal during times of need. Listen to this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show for the process behind the 3-day cook of 150+ turkeys, including some (not all) of the secrets for using brine and rub to create a perfect, golden turkey. Get all the details for how you can volunteer or donate to support Hickory Soup Kitchen and Operation BBQ Relief disaster recovery and hunger relief missions. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue website here!

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 pitmasters in the game year after year. Don’t miss Vicious Pig BBQ’s barbecue sauce recipe – you might be surprised what it includes! Bobby Brinson also shares his take how the cost of meat is affecting the barbecue competition world – and how the Vicious Pig Throwdown tries to alleviate those costs.  This episode is sponsored by the Southern BBQ Network. To find out more about the SBN, visit the website. Since 2010, the Southern Barbecue Network has sanctioned barbecue tournaments to further their goal of Preserving a Southern Tradition by providing well-trained judges to contests that are raising money for charitable causes in the Carolinas. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue website here!

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 benefit Monck’s Corner Lions Club. Event coordinator and founder Don Saturday shares the history and the 2-day competition schedule, including the People’s Choice Awards on Friday night. This episode is sponsored by the Southern BBQ Network. To find out more about the SBN, visit the website. Since 2010, the Southern Barbecue Network has sanctioned barbecue tournaments to further their goal of Preserving a Southern Tradition by providing well-trained judges to contests that are raising money for charitable causes in the Carolinas. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! 

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 BBQ Network is involved. Like all SBN events, the SAL BBQ Cook-off supports a local non-profit. We share how this event supports the Lowcountry Veterans Home. Find out about the SAL BBQ Cook-off and then join the fun in Charleston on Oct. 24 and 25. This episode is sponsored by the Southern BBQ Network. To find out more about the SBBQN, visit their website here! Since 2010, the Southern Barbecue Network has sanctioned barbecue tournaments to further their goal of Preserving a Southern Tradition by providing well-trained judges to contests that are raising money for charitable causes in the Carolinas. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! 

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 Lexington Barbecue Festival, the SAL American Legion BBQ Cook-off, and Holy Smokes BBQ festival in Charleston. This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show recaps some of the top news around the Carolinas: Smithfield Cup Results,  praises for Lawrence Barbecue and JD’s Smokehouse, and a BBQ editor back-and-forth. Listen today for The Lowdown! This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by the Old 96 District, home of outdoor adventure, history, and thriving small town communities in South Carolina’s Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Learn more at visitold96.com. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show here!

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 Square in Laurens and Hogs & Hens in Abbeville. From mustard-based sauce debates to Revolutionary War history, Kimberly shares why the Old 96 District isn’t just about incredible barbecue—it’s about unexpected wonders, historic charm, and true Southern hospitality. Whether you’re a festival regular or planning your first visit, this episode will help you savor everything the Old 96 District has to offer, including the SC Festival of Discovery that brings Blues and BBQ to Greenwood every year.  Don’t miss Kimberly’s advice for finding the best BBQ hash in the district.  This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by the Old 96 District, home of outdoor adventure, history, and thriving small town communities in South Carolina’s Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Learn more at visitold96.com. 

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 vinegar or mustard will win this year’s barbecue trophy and cash prize. Don’t miss Brad’s advice for the hog calling competition at Squealin’ on the Square 2025. This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by the Old 96 District, home of outdoor adventure, history and thriving small town communities in South Carolina’s Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Learn more at visitold96.com.

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 details on the Southern BBQ Network-sanctioned barbecue competition and find out which area non-profit will benefit from this year’s festival proceeds. Then be sure to join us for Hogs and Hens in Abbeville, Oct. 17-18. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by the Old 96 District, home of outdoor adventure, history and thriving small town communities in South Carolina’s Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Learn more at visitold96.com.

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 of the state? Carmen shares her opinion, as well as the story behind Foothills Digest, the publication’s purpose and what it offers readers spread across the nation. Listen and find out where you can pick up hard copies of the quarterly publication and how you can find it online. Don’t miss the latest edition of Foothills Digest for a feature story on The Low & Slow Barbecue Show. Visit the The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here! This episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is sponsored by the Old 96 District, home of outdoor adventure, history and thriving small town communities in South Carolina’s Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Learn more at visitold96.com.

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 new barbecue businesses. Listen to this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show for the September-October events schedule with barbecue festivals, barbecue fundraisers and barbecue competitions. Make sure to get the best BBQ news served to your email inbox – subscribe here. Visit The Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!  

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 business and financial benefits of the barbecue festival in the region. Find out how Pinehurst Barbecue Festival has become a draw for food – and golf – enthusiasts from across the state. Listen to this episode and learn what’s in store for the future of Pinehurst Barbecue Festival and look ahead to Tarheel Festivals’ next food event The Smithfield Cup. Visit the Low & Slow Barbecue Show website here!

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 Barbecue Show to hear Ashley explain the spark that started her love for cooking and how a trip to Uruguay ignited a focus on live fire cooking.  This episode sponsored by Pinehurst Barbecue Festival 2025 coming Labor Day Weekend Aug. 29-31, in the Village of Pinehurst. 3 days, 5 signature events, concluding with 7 N.C. pitmasters serving meats & sides in the Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational. Buy tickets online today and enter the giveaway for a LIFETIME PASS.