World-class barbecue comes to Gadsden with KCBS World Invitational

Donna Thornton, The Gadsden Times
·2 min read
Some of the country's top pitmasters will be competing in the KCBS World Invitational Nov. 11-13 at Noccalula Falls.
Some of the country's top pitmasters will be competing in the KCBS World Invitational Nov. 11-13 at Noccalula Falls.

The City of Gadsden, for the first time, plays host this weekend to the Kansas City Barbeque Society World Invitational Barbeque Competition, which brings pitmasters from across the United States and beyond to compete for large cash prizes and the title of KCBS World Champion.

When KCBS representatives were in town months ago they made it clear: What brought them to Gadsden for this competition is the work of the Noccalula Falls Park/Gadsden Parks and Recreation staff in organizing and accommodating past barbeque events, and the beautiful backdrop of Noccalula Falls didn't hurt.

Tarrance said the public can come and observe, but she noted that these competitors are "hard core," and may not have time to interact. The public also may attend the awards ceremonies, at 5 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Lighting the fire: Kansas City Barbeque Society in Gadsden to prep for World Invitational

There will be 123 teams competing in Gadsden, Tarrance said. They could be "one-man bands" or teams of five or six people, she said. They come from across the U.S., and from Canada and Costa Rica.

The competition is three days, Event Supervisor Janet Tarrance said, though she expected teams to start coming in Thursday. The first day of competition will feature meat inspection, she said, and on Saturday and Sunday there will be cooking, followed by awards ceremonies.

This is KCBS's fourth annual competition, presented by Smithfield. To compete in the Master Series Invitation, Master Series pitmasters must have won Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion at a KCBS-sanctioned Master series barbeque contest between Jan. 1, 2020, and July 31, 2022.

To compete in the Backyard Invitation, KCBS Backyard Series pitmasters must have won first-place Ribs or first-place Chicken at a KCBS-sanctioned Backyard contest during the same time period.

Gadsden's annual Smoke on the Falls barbeque competition is KCBS sanctioned.

The invitational will include the finale of the Turkey Smoke Series contest and the Turkey Smoke Team of the Year program that KCBS leads with the National Turkey Federation, which showcases the versatility of turkey on the smoker, according to the society's website.

The competition also includes a National Steak Championship series and a cocktail contest with 360 Vodka.

According to KCBS, the society's annual banquet is Friday night, with its Team of the Year program. Saturday is open competition, with the ancillary turkey smoke, cocktail and steak championships. Sunday brings the Master Series Invitational and Backyard Invitationals.

There is big money up for grabs in these contests: $30,050 in the Master Series Invitational, $25,000 in the Open and $8,000 in the Backyard Invitational.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: KCBS World Invitation competition setting features waterfall, park