The Shed BBQ took the Grand Prize at the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in 2024, bringing praise and bragging rights back to their home state.
Mississippi Brings Home the Gold
Fire up the smokers and break out that rub - The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, just took home the biggest prize in competitive barbecue. This family-run operation won the whole hog division and was crowned the overall Grand Champion at the 2024 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Memphis over the weekend.
The BBQ Pork World Championship
This annual Memphis contest is the Super Bowl of smoking meats to perfection. Every May, hundreds of seasoned pit and grill masters from across America and the world descend on Memphis, Tennessee. They suffer through sweltering, smoke-filled days, tending to their fire-kissed creations in hopes of bringing home barbecue glory. With over $150,000 in total prize money up for grabs across categories like ribs, pork shoulder, and the coveted whole hog division, the competition is hotter than Arizona asphalt in July.
America Loves It's BBQ
Barbecue has become a national obsession in recent years, with amateur smokers and top chefs alike, constantly trying to one-up each other with the juiciest, most flavorful cuts of smoked meats. You can't blink without a clutch of new restaurants opening featuring their take on smoked meats. Shows, videos, books, and products focused on smoking have flooded food media, fueling the craze, but claiming a top spot at the Memphis event is the ultimate barbecue bragging right.
And The Winners Are...
This year's winners, siblings Brad Orrison and Brooke Lewis, have been on the competition circuit for 17 years, representing The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint, their famous restaurant in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. If that name sounds familiar, it's because these folks were also the cast of the reality show The Shed on Food Network. Their signature whole hog took top honors, which involves perfectly cooking an entire pig at once - no easy feat, my friends! Overall, The Shed team claimed its third grand championship title at the event. The Shed is a family affair, founded in 2001 by siblings Orrison and Lewis on a "shoestring budget without the shoestrings." What started as a humble sweat-shack has grown into a full-blown BBQ mecca destination on over 30 acres. They even have their own sauce line and production facility called The Saucery. They put a distinctly Mississippi spin on the 'que by using brown sugar in their rubs and smoking over pecan wood. In addition to their latest Memphis wins, The Shed has racked up plenty of accolades over the years, like multiple wins at the Houston World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. With such amazing food and some blues, it's no surprise this down-home juke joint has amassed a following of die-hard grill fans. So though Texas, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis have enjoyed top marks as BBQ destinations, Mississippi is all up in the mix now, proving they have serious chops when it comes to cookin' up some pork.
