It’s Labor Day Weekend in the Village of Pinehurst, and you can smell it a mile away: Aromas of smoked meats waft through the downtown area, beckoning you toward the Village Green. Over sounds of crackling wood fires, you hear euphoric voices: “OH, that is SO GOOD!”
This is the annual Pinehurst Barbecue Festival. If you’re wise, you arrived early and hungry.
Despite our tendencies to rally behind pork as the one true ’cue, we must acknowledge there is, in fact, a big, beautiful barbecue world out there. “This generation of pitmasters is eager to share their craft with you and expand what we think of when we think about barbecue,” David Droschak says, the festival’s co-founder. Over the three-day festival, seven pitmasters will provide attendees with unforgettable culinary experiences that celebrate barbecuing traditions from across the state and Southern U.S.
Spend Labor Day weekend at the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival. Experience three days of barbecue bliss featuring seven of the finest pitmasters in all of North Carolina. Packages including tickets are available, so get them while they’re hot!
Pitmaster and restaurateur Christopher Prieto was instrumental in starting the festival and remains a top participant in the delicious events. Photography courtesy of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB
When Droschak and partner Peter Stilwell of Tarheel Festivals launched the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival in 2021, it quickly became a cherished Labor Day tradition. Rather than a competition, the festival celebrates diversity and creativity in barbecue cuisine. “It’s about showcasing a variety of styles and flavors rather than competing to name one ‘winner,’” Droschak says.
With three days of innovative events, the potential for barbecue exploration runs deep and wide. In anticipation of the festival, we sat down with two of the pitmasters behind the event to get a sneak peek at their talents and what we can look forward to on Labor Day Weekend.
Want to learn how to prepare a spread of savory, smoked meats? Join Prieto for the “Q” School Grilling Class at the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival. Photography courtesy of Prime Barbecue
The self-proclaimed “barbecue nerd” Prieto is proud to be one of the original pitmasters of the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival. Inspired by Pinehurst’s charm, he wants the event to focus on the history and craft of ’cue culture.
“I look for folks who are connected to their craft and are telling a story with the food they cook, who will invite attendees to try — and love — new things when it comes to barbecue,” he says
Growing up in Texas with Puerto Rican roots, Prieto’s passion for competitive barbecue began in his teenage years. His father, a chemist, taught him the importance of noting all the details, elements, and steps that he put into his cooking. With a love for “Texas pepper simplicity,” Prieto emphasizes the fire and the meat over anything fancy at Prime Barbecue.
He spent years honing his craft on the professional barbecue circuit, competing in barbecue competitions, winning many awards and even judging competitions himself. Prieto has also been a featured pitmaster on the Food Network.
At Prime Barbecue, Prieto serves up a medley of Texas- and other Southern-style barbecue to hungry meat enthusiasts in Knightdale. Photography courtesy of Prime Barbecue
Christopher Prieto Photography courtesy of Prime Barbecue
Beyond competing, Prieto loves teaching barbecue techniques, and his “School of Barbecue” counts the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team among its alumni. He has also partnered with the Wounded Warrior Project to share his knowledge with veterans.
On Saturday morning of the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, Prieto’s “Q” School Grilling Class is in session, as he brings flavors from his Knightdale restaurant to life. And on Sunday, the Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational welcomes visitors to browse more than 50 vendor booths, and those with a punch pass can sample the barbecue stylings of all seven pitmasters featured at the event.
In between the two events, the Pinehurst Resort culinary team pairs small plates with a selection of whiskies at the sold-out Bourbon & Bites event on Saturday night. That evening also includes the festival’s newest program for 2024, Barbecue Reimagined. At this tasty gathering, Got To Be NC Ambassador Chefs from across the state showcase innovative barbecue dishes, desserts, and cocktails. Hawaiian lau lau with peach barbecue salsa and pork skin chili crunch as well as New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp with fresno relish and candied green onion are just a couple of chef-prepared delicacies attendees can expect.
Adam Hughes Photography courtesy of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB
Raised in Bertie County, Adam Hughes was steeped in the traditions of hog farming and butchery from birth. He came into the world on a hog-killing day in January and waited patiently in the hospital with his mother for visitors, who were still out finishing the job before they could come to visit.
From a young age, he studied and mastered the art of feeding a crowd. “I was raised knowing how to harvest, how to butcher, how to use all the parts and not waste any,” Hughes reflects. “I felt kind of young to get to experience all these traditions that were, for a lot of families, lost in the generation before. But I’m so grateful I did.”
In college at East Carolina University, he found an old grill and fixed it up. “Pretty soon, I was cooking every meal on that thing. And cooking for everybody.” He became known as the chicken and rib guy at game day tailgates. “That grill kind of set my whole life off. I’m amazed now to think of how many hundreds of people that thing fed.”
Hughes continued cooking after college, developing his reputation as a master of the grill. In 2015, he heard about a barbecue competition in Richmond, Virginia, and entered it. By 2017, he took first place in the World Rib Championship with a perfect score and won his first of five North Carolina State Barbecue Championships.
Hughes traveled the country on the competitive barbecue circuit, and in 2019, national recognition came after representing North Carolina on the Food Network’s Chopped. As an answer to his fans’ questions, “Where can we buy your food?” Hughes leased an old bait and tackle shop in Edenton that soon became Old Colony Smokehouse.
The restaurant, now in a new location, reflects different regional barbecue traditions Hughes learned while competing all over the country, as well as five scratch-made barbecue sauces and sides that are equally as good — and thoughtfully crafted — as the meats.
Hughes hosts the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival’s annual High on the Hog Dinner on Friday night, and each year, he serves up a colossal menu of Old Colony Smokehouse fare. He wants people to know how important it is to uphold familiar traditions as well as experiencing new ones. “I love this festival. It’s so relaxed and laid-back. People are genuinely interested; they’re here to soak it up.”
The Pinehurst Barbecue Festival embodies the “low and slow” philosophy, both in its traditional and innovative barbecue techniques and the welcoming atmosphere. While you savor the flavors and stories behind each dish, the convivial charm and inspired creations are what define this festival experience. Click here to learn more about the lineup of events and get your tickets.
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