2016 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle – Washington, DC

by Mike Fay, MABA Past President and Pitmaster for Aporkalypse Now

I have that mixed emotional feeling of watching your evil in-law driving off a cliff in your brand new car every time the Giant National Capital BBQ battle comes around. It’s a great event located right down on Pennsylvania Ave between the White House and the Capitol in Washington DC, great prize money and you get to be in front of thousands of folks but this is all countered by the sometimes difficult load in / load out process, no running water, and an odd two day turn in schedule.

Image of the bbq competition in downtown DC
The location of the Giant National Capital BBQ Battle on Pennsylvania Avenue is unlike any other event!

This was Giant’s first year as the major sponsor and they did a tremendous job of raising the bar. Load in was the smoothest yet and the infrastructure was top notch; kudos to Giant. If you’ve ever considered this event but shied away due to the horror stories (they were probably all true) you should reconsider this event in 2017 as most if not all of these issues have been put to bed.

The event schedule is probably the oddest on the KCBS trail. Not only are turn ins at different times than a normal KCBS event, they are spread out over two days. Add to this the order of turn ins is different and you have quite the challenge. You turn in chicken and brisket at 6 & 6:30pm on Saturday then ribs and pork at Noon and 12:30 on Sunday. This makes for a long weekend.

Since it’s held DC, MABA had a large turnout, BeerBeQue, 3Eyz, Aporkalypse Now, Serial Griller, Dizzy Pig, Pork Barrel, Redneck Scientific, Black Cat BBQ & Wilbur’s Revenge just to name a few all headed downtown to face off against many of the famous names in BBQ such as Cool Smoke, Jack’s Old South, & Moe Cason.

Image of MABA teams participating in the National Capital BBQ Battle including Beer B Que, Dizzy Pig, Old Virginia Smoke, and Wilbur's Revenge!
MABA teams participating in the National Capital BBQ Battle including Beer B Que, Dizzy Pig, Old Virginia Smoke, and Wilbur’s Revenge!

When the Smoke cleared MABA members did themselves proud with Aporkalypse Now taking the Perdue Chicken Championship and Black Cat BBQ taking top honors in the Smithfield Rib Challenge.

First place winners:
Chicken – Aporkalypse Now
Ribs – Black Cat BBQ
Pork – Cool Smoke
Brisket – Historic BBQ
National Pork Champion – Cool Smoke

Grand Champion –Aporkalypse Now
Reserve Grand Champion – Bull Rush BBQ

Check out the full competition results here.

Image of champions Aporkalypse Now
Aporkalypse Now – Grand Champs and heading to the Jack!