The Big BBQ Dates

Texas Monthly's two-day BBQ Fest returns to Lockhart, which calls itself the barbecue capital of Texas, on November 7 and 8. Saturday's BBQ World's Fair runs from noon to 6 p.m. around the downtown square, with barbecue joints, the returning Taco Trail of Texas taquerias, cooking demos, live music and an artisan market. It is free to attend; the magazine asks people to RSVP for updates, and you pay for what you eat. The fair benefits Feeding Texas.

Holy Smokes, A Lowcountry Barbecue Festival, returns to Riverfront Park in North Charleston on Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., for its sixth year. More than 40 pitmasters and chefs from around the country will cook across four villages, Traditional, Texas, New School and Coastal, from whole hog to Texas brisket and smoked Lowcountry seafood, and every ticket includes all-you-can-eat access to all four, the Charleston visitors bureau says.

SmellaQue, a team from Calgary, Alberta, was named grand champion of the 37th Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Lynchburg, Tennessee, on October 10, winning $25,000 and a chance to defend its title next year, the Lynchburg Times reports. B's Que was reserve grand champion and took $10,000. Ninety-nine teams from around the world competed in categories including pork ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, chicken, dessert, Jack Daniel's sauce and cook's choice. "This title means so much to us because it's a win for the entire international community," pitmaster Janice Smella said, according to Jack Daniel's. Last year's winner was Kings BBQ of Jacksonville, Florida.

The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, known as the Jack, runs October 9 and 10 at Wiseman Park in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Only around 90 teams get in, each having won a qualifying contest such as a state championship, and the field usually includes a deep international contingent. Admission has traditionally been free, with a voluntary donation to the Moore County schools.

Walmart is recalling about 4,477,655 Expert Grill metal wire-bristle grill brushes, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced October 1. Small wire bristles can come loose, stick to the grill or the food, and be swallowed, which the agency says can cause serious internal injuries that may need surgery. No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The BBQ World Cup ran a global qualifier series through spring, with grand champions and reserves at contests around the country punching tickets to a hundred-team final in Las Vegas for a one million dollar prize. That is the largest purse the sport has had, by a distance, and it changes the arithmetic of competing. A circuit where a good weekend paid for the fuel now has an event where one weekend pays for the rig.

If your smoke flavour is thin, run the cook lower for the first stretch. Smoke adheres best to cool, damp meat, and the fire burns cleanest — which is to say, least smokily — at higher set points. Start at the bottom of the dial, let the surface dry slowly, and raise the temperature once the colour is where you want it.

Traeger launched the Westwood series in April, an entirely new grill lineup aimed at cooks getting into wood-fired cooking rather than at people replacing a worn-out smoker. It sits alongside the Woodridge range the company built out for its fortieth year, which runs from a base model through Pro and Elite.

The pellet grill won the backyard because it removed the part of barbecue that beats beginners: holding a temperature for nine hours without babysitting a fire. An auger feeds pellets, a controller holds the set point, and a first brisket comes out edible. That is a genuine achievement and it is why the category exploded.

Roughly 37,000 Traeger Flatrock flat-top propane griddles, SKU 1DFL42LLA, were recalled because burner control knobs can be incorrectly labeled, which can leave the grill unintentionally running. Sold at Ace, Home Depot and Scheels from February through October 2023 for about $900. Fifty-seven reports of mislabeled knobs, no fires or injuries reported. The remedy is a free repair kit. It is an old recall, which is exactly why a griddle bought secondhand may never have been checked.