Saturday night: otherwise known as the fourth night of partying for many barbecue teams competing in the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

 We watched some of our rivals pack up shortly after the winners were announced. But we won’t be going home early this evening. We’ll be here until the wee hours. We’re celebrating.

 The Ques Brothers, the barbecue team I am on, took third place in the country (and by simple math, the world) for our pork shoulder. I would love to report the names of all the other winners. But as soon as our team was announced in third place the whole team jumped up on stage. I was taking pictures with two cameras. The trophy is huge. Three people carried it back to our booth, triumphantly. More champagne. This scene was repeated throughout the park as the other winners celebrated. Music, beer, more food. Good times.

Willie, our head chef, will go back to his small barbecue joint in South Chicago and display his trophy. It will invariably bring recognition and hungry eaters. After last year, our first, he changed his recipe and to 9 primary ingredients instead of 3. He thinks this could have cinched it. There will always be speculation in this contest. On the way back to our booth lugging the trophy – the equivalent of a winning trot around the course – Willie and his cooks were already discussing what to do differently next year.

That’s barbecue for you. You can get an amazing flavor, master a recipe, smoke the hell out of a rib, a shoulder or a whole hog. In the end, it’s all about the next light of the grill. It’s an obsession that has made Memphis the epicenter of barbecue.  Year after year, we come, we cook, we eat, we party, we ask: how are we going to top ourselves next May? 

Congratulations to all the teams who competed. The Ques Brothers will see you next year.