From The Peabody Memphis hotel, blocks away from the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, before the flags waving above the barbecue rigs come into sight or before the first rib is tasted, the unmistakable whiffs of hickory and cherry smoke float through the air. Moving closer, hunger pangs begin as the anticipation of a world of hedonistic barbecue delights grows to Herculean levels.
For Carey and Delaniah Bringle, barbecue is life and love. Together, with their incredible cast of characters, they have built Nashville’s Peg Leg Porker dynasty — a must-stop for visitors and locals alike who love great barbecue. But one weekend a year, Carey and Delaniah compete not only against barbecue teams from all over the world, but against each other. Step inside as we follow the pair and their teams to Memphis in May 2023.
For the Love of ‘Cue
The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is part reunion and part Renaissance festival. The competition itself awards prize money and — sometimes more importantly — bragging rights. The weekend can also bring heartbreak as teams don’t place as high as they thought or worse: an entry goes up in smoke.
In 1978, World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest’s humble roots began in a vacant lot by the Orpheum Theatre, with 20 teams and $1,000 in prize money. Carey’s uncle Bruce was a competitor in the inaugural year. That year also saw a female pit master — Bessie Lou Cathey — win for her ribs. As the years progressed, the competition grew. In 1990, Guinness World Records honored the competition as “the largest barbecue cooking contest in the world,” and USA Today now recognizes the WCBCC as the “Most Prestigious Barbecue Contest.”
Peg Leg Porker
Nashville native Carey Bringle’s love of barbecue began at a young age. Growing up, visiting his grandparents in Memphis, he would join his grandfathers as they smoked hogs. He also grew up visiting all the barbecue restaurants in and around Memphis. In college, Carey’s grandmother would cut out and send to him any newspaper article that mentioned a barbecue restaurant. Carey met Delaniah when he was in the eighth grade. Delaniah asked Carey to her Junior prom and Carey asked Delaniah to his, and they have been together ever since. Delaniah was with Carey through the cancer that took his leg. They have grown up together.
In 1992, a young Carey Bringle, at the suggestion of then-girlfriend Delaniah, attended his first WCBCC with The Rolling Wonder Pigs. The team was thrown out of the competition that year. They returned in 1994 and took second place in Shoulder, even as a grease fire sent the shoulders up in smoke — not the good kind. The group later reformed as Hog Wild and competed in the Shoulder competition. After years of cooking with Hog Wild, it was time for Carey to set out on his own, and thus Peg Leg Porker was created. Carey explained that it is a true testament to a captain when someone breaks out to create their own team, and that is exactly what happened in 2019: Delaniah started her own, all-female team, I Only Smoke When I Drink.
I Only Smoke When I Drink
Delaniah was the first to say, “Let’s go to Memphis in May.” One of her cousins had a team and was looking for someone to join. For years, she traveled with Carey to Memphis in May as he honed his craft, and there’s a good-humored — but infamous — story involving a strongly worded conversation, a pan of hotel coleslaw, and a mayonnaise-covered Carey during an early Memphis in May. After years of partnering with Carey in Peg Leg Porker, she was ready to show her own prowess in the world of BBQ.
Delaniah is a natural leader. In addition to a thousand-watt smile and a personality that draws anyone near, she has a clear vision of what she wants. She gathered her close friends together — including local hog farmer Karen Overton of Wedge Oak Farm — to create the only all-female team in the competition. Delaniah begins finding inspiration early: “I get a notebook and a pen and start looking for ideas a year in advance.” Throughout the year, she experiments with creating just the right ancillary submissions. Even during the competition, she runs an organized shop, saying, “We pack in advance and try to make it as organized as possible. But when we get here, there’s a good chance that the four people looking through the coolers are all looking for the same thing.”
Competition
The weekend of the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest kicks off just like a family reunion. There are hugs and high-fives, as well as squabbles over water lines, boundaries and music volume. The atmosphere is fun and lively, and, as Carey is quick to point out, “If you aren’t having fun at Memphis in May, then you are just doing it wrong.”
All along the boulevard of teams are sets of rigs and tents, with some assembled as towering, two-story structures. The decor of the tents and rigs varies from team to team. Some tents offer multistory views, fully stocked bars and homey decor that invites guests in. One, a replica of a castle, was complete with flags and a rich facade. Others prefer a simpler approach to decor. The show is, of course, for the spectators. Nothing but how the pork turns out matters in the end, and the aroma is truly delicious. The Memphis in May organization is quick to point out, however, that this is not a food show — it is a cooking competition. Guests can look, but not taste. For hungry attendees, a plethora of food vendors are available.
The weekend kicks off with ancillary competitions: Hot Wings, Sauce and “Anything But Pork.” Teams submit beef, chicken, turkey and fish in a variety of creative presentations and flavors. Each team creates their own delicacy to present to the judges — always in a nondescript clamshell take-out box — for the blind tasting. At just the right moment, a designated team member carries the box to the judges tent as gently as if it was a newborn baby. I Only Smoke When I Drink sent some spectacular offerings to the judges. This year, Delaniah treated judges to a tender ribeye sandwich, chicken curry empanadas, a creamy lobster roll with millionaire bacon and more — each submission better than the one before. Carey’s Peg Leg Porker crew sent smoked chicken wings, smoked gator boudin balls, beef rib wellington and more. After checking in with both Peg Leg Porker and I Only Smoke When I Drink, it was clear: While Carey and Delaniah are natural competitors, even with each other, their love and support transcends the competition. The two have an incredible banter. Between their zingers and snappy one-liners comes a deep love and respect. On competing with his wife, Carey famously said, “We have one house and one trophy case, so as long as one of us wins, I am happy.”
It should be noted that working with barbecue — in a competition setting or otherwise — is extremely physical. Both teams managed hogs weighing about 150 pounds — more than some of the individual team members. Hogs must first be inspected, requiring teams to haul the hogs out of their “coffins” and onto a table where judges clear them for competition. The hog is prepared using a variety of processes that are unique to each team, and expert hands lift the hog into the smoker, where it will rest overnight to cook under the watchful eye of the pitmaster and night crew.
Saturday — competition day — the air was different. Gone were the Yacht Rock tunes and breakfast beers — or, at least, just enough beer to chase away the hangover. On this day, everyone got down to business. As team members who were tasked with the overnight shift signed off, the day shift emerged — mostly on time. Hogs that had been put in the smoker the afternoon or evening before are checked — and then checked again. News arrives that tragedy has struck: One of the Peg Leg Porker hogs had burned overnight. Carey took the blow with chagrin, quipping, “This is why we smoke two hogs.”
By the afternoon, it was time for judging to begin. Three judges individually visit a team and are given a plate of the team’s submission. The judges are there to taste and to ask five specific questions. Then they leave. At the I Only Smoke When I Drink tent, Delaniah and Karen presented while the rest of their team stood at attention — close enough to watch as the judge tasted the offering, but not too close to crowd. Over and over the process repeats: Judges arrive at the tent, sit, and ask a bevy of questions. Tent visits are followed by excruciating moments while teams wait to hear if they will move to the next round of judging. Whispers and nervous energy pass through the tents, but experienced captains know the drill: Good news arrives by golf cart; bad news arrives on foot.
For both teams this year, disappointing news arrived on foot. Cheers could be heard from neighboring tents as judges made their rounds, but the mood was more subdued for Peg Leg Porker and I Only Smoke When I Drink. As the 2023 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest wound to a close, it was obvious that Delaniah and Carey share concern, support and love for the other — and they’ll be back next year to smoke the competition.
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