MOULTRIE, Ga. — To some, it doesn’t get more American than the favorite pastime of baseball, the bald eagle, apple pie, and freedom, but for a group of competitors in Moultrie — it’s all about the red, white, and que.

Christopher Columbus first discovered the unique method of barbecuing, then called barabcoa, during his travels in the Caribbean. He noticed the tribes used a technique of cooking meat over an indirect heat, and it wasn’t long before Spanish explorers took the technique with them on their travels and the Southern American colonies adopted the method. To die-hard barbecue fans, barbecue is strictly pork. This is because pig farming was cheap and Southern colonists depended on cheap meat as a main food source. Barbecuing was such an efficient method that it became a staple of patriotism throughout the South. Pig farmers began taking great pride in their pig farms, even to the point of not exporting meat to the North. Different flavor styles developed in the regions of the “Barbecue Belt” through the flavors colonial immigrants brought from their homelands, but for Georgia barbecue competitions — the stickier and sweeter the better.

Barbecue competitions have become a staple in American pop culture inspiring books and television shows, but to the fierce competitors Chris and Heather Turner of Under Construction BBQ, competition newcomer Stephen “Bud” Wilkes of Best Buds BBQ, and competitor Shannon Allen, who is spreading some joy through barbecue with Fatboy Grillers — it’s a lifestyle.

To Chris and Heather Turner, along with daughter Kaitlin, it’s all about the competition. When asked why they got into barbecue competitions, Chris  laughed and jokingly said, “The money!” but it’s no laughing matter. Under Construction BBQ has won almost $4,000 along with trophies and certificates in the few short years the team has competed. He went on to give the real reason as to why he got started in the competitions.

“It’s a way to spend time with my family, and it’s a getaway from work. When you’re barbecuing, that’s all you’re thinking about,” said Turner.

Turner says when he started competing, he didn’t win anything for the first year, but with time, practice, and developing a method for the competitions, the team has it down to an art form. Turner’s sauce and seasonings, which he keeps secret, is “sweet with bite.” Turner has a taste for anything spicy, with many of his dishes, aside from barbecue, rarely being made without a jalapeño or two thrown in, but he says his barbecue is sticky sweet with just a bit of spicy kick at the finish. And it is a taste the judges look for during competitions. Along with the flavor, timing is also a skill when it comes to winning it big. Turner and his team have the cook times and the run times to the judges table down to a science. His daughter Kaitlin is their “runner,” the team member who makes sure the meat makes it to the judging table in time. Sounds easy? Think again. Getting the barbecue boxes to the judging table turns into a stampede across what is sometimes a long distance.  Kaitlin has had to run a mile and half to a judging table, with only minutes left in the competition to turn in the meat that has taken hours to cook. Wait too long and the team’s box won’t make it to the table, turn it in too early and the box sits too long before being tasted. But making sure the flavor and timing is right where it needs to be isn’t the only thing Under Construction BBQ has to worry about. With any competition, there are going to be certain people looking to derail teams and steal techniques, and the world of barbecue competitions is not exempt. This practice is called “shigging.” Members of other teams go to their competitors’ tents and try to distract the cookers and see what their secrets are to their winning barbecue. Heather is the eyes and ears for the team when it comes to shigging and is their first defense when it comes to keeping their prize winning barbecue a product that cannot be imitated and something only they can deliver.

It wasn’t until the team entered a competition held by Modern Gas in 2014 that they had their first taste of success. Under Construction BBQ placed third out of 27 teams and have been “smoking” the competition since. Out of 11 competitions they have placed in 7, the roughest being when they placed 2nd overall in a competition at Jekyll Island on a beach in 48-degree weather with blistering winds that caused the team to sand bag their tent.

“It was the hardest cook weather-wise,” said Turner.

The team’s dedication and hard work have caught the eyes of some prestigious pros in the competition world, one being BBQ Pitmaster Robby Royal. The Under Construction BBQ team met him during a competition at the Moultrie Moose Lodge and after trying their barbecue, he has been pushing them to take his cooking school. After the school, Under Construction BBQ plans to continue in competitions and most importantly, spend time with each other.

Though Stephen “Bud” Wilkes of Best Buds BBQ has been in only two competitions, Moultrie’s Spring Fling and May Day in Doerun, he believes he has an advantage — a one-of-a-kind smoker he built by hand, complete with precise temperature control, storage, and a working sink. Wilkes has been barbecuing for years for family functions and as a hobby, and only recently got into the competition scene with long-time family friend Scotty Tucker.

“I like barbecuing for the relaxation and enjoyment. You know, you can just sit back and actually talk. Everyone’s talking through texting on their phones nowadays, and with barbecue you can just talk. Over at the Spring Fling, Scotty and I just sat for hours and just talked. We looked around at the Square and talked about how much the town has changed and what we used to run around and do as kids. I’ve always wanted to get into competition barbecue,” said Wilkes.

He didn’t just decide to try and enter into a competition the next day, however. Wilkes, a professional mechanic since his early 20s, spent a year gathering materials and designing his ideal smoker through research and advice from an engineering professor at the University of Georgia, and he spent three months building his smoker in his shop at his home. The same shop was used for his business, Wilkes Mechanical and Consultants, Inc., where he rebuilt hydraulics and military tires for the Albany Marine Base. But after converting the office into a barbecue prep space, it is now his practice area and used to store his secret rubs and sauces. Wilkes says his hand-built smoker would retail for around $5,000 and has had many offers from other barbecue enthusiasts to build them one as well — but Wilkes has declined the offers saying “I kind of like being the only one who has one.” Best Buds BBQ says it will continue on in the competitions that start back in September and hope to start winning it big.

Between the rising competitors and the newcomers, there is Shannon Allen of Fatboy Grillers, a veteran of the military and barbecue. When asked why barbecue he exclaimed “Why not barbecue?” Allen says he got into the world of barbecue competitions as a fluke. He had barbecued for a friend’s birthday, and when Southwest Georgia Bank needed a barbecue competition team, his name was put in by the friend he had cooked for. Allen along with team mate Jamie Smith “whooped” the competition by snagging first place on a homemade $300 grill and winning the Rocky Jones Spirit Award, which Allen says had him hooked. Greg Monfort helped Allen learn the techniques to barbecuing and Fatboy Grillers, now consisting of Allen, Tommy Smith, Greg Smith, and Mike Wiggins, have been in the competition scene for eight years sponsored by Southwest Georgia Bank. But Fatboy Grillers is doing more than just competing. Allen says cooking and helping people are two of his favorite things and is combining barbecue and charity events to satisfy both. Fatboy Grillers has hosted and catered numerous charity events from raising money for a mother to send her son on a trip to Washington to veterans functions.

Spending time on charities and helping the community doesn’t stop them from still going after the gold. Fatboy Grillers has won the Rocky Jones Spirit award five years out of the eight that they have been competing for Southwest Georgia Bank, as well as placing in other areas of the competitions. Their spirit and barbecue, glazed in a thick sweet vinegar sauce with “a little cayenne pepper to know you’re alive” set them apart along with their undeniable love of the trade.

“I love to cook for large groups of people,” said Allen. He says it takes a little skill, a lot of practice, a lot of eating, and a lot of fun to have successful barbecue.

“I want people to feel satisfied. Ain’t nobody going away hungry around me,” Allen laughed.

For those just starting out, Allen says it’s all about what you like and how you want the product to turn out. From treating the meat right with rubs and sauces, temperature and timing, to getting the fire right, Allen says the first step is always deciding what you want, but you’ll know when you nail it if “it don’t make it into the house” when it comes off the cooker. But Allen’s goal is making sure that in whatever event he or Fatboy Grillers are cooking, that everyone is full, having a great time, and enjoying the company of one another.

“That’s the best thing,” said Allen, “food always brings people together.”