The Rusty Porker

10/12/2026

GRAND CHAMPIONS AT BAR-BA-BREW!

What an incredible weekend at Bar-Ba-Brew in Harrisburg, NC! We're proud to announce that The Rusty Porker took home the GRAND CHAMPION title, along with two awesome category finishes!

GRAND CHAMPION – OVERALL

2nd Place – Pork

2nd Place – Ribs

What makes this event even more special is knowing that the proceeds benefit the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation! We're proud to be part of an event that brings the BBQ community together to support such a great cause.

A huge congratulations to all the teams that competed and heard their names called! It's always an honor to cook alongside some of the best pitmasters around. Congrats to BigBackdraft BBQ SC for the RGC!

Thank you to the Bar-Ba-Brew organizers, judges, volunteers, and everyone who helped make this charity event possible.

We're beyond grateful for the continued support of our friends, family, and BBQ community!

THE RUSTY PORKER – GRAND CHAMPIONS!

10/12/2026

What an incredible weekend at Bar-Ba-Brew in Harrisburg, NC! We're proud to announce that The Rusty Porker took home the GRAND CHAMPION title, along with two awesome category finishes!

GRAND CHAMPION – OVERALL

2nd Place – Pork

2nd Place – Ribs

What makes this event even more special is knowing that the proceeds benefit the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation! We're proud to be part of an event that brings the BBQ community together to support such a great cause.

A huge congratulations Backdraft BBQ SC for the RGC and to all the teams that competed and heard their names called! It's always an honor to cook alongside some of the best pitmasters around.

Thank you to the Bar-Ba-Brew organizers, judges, volunteers, and everyone who helped make this charity event possible.

We're beyond grateful for the continued support of our friends, family, and BBQ community!

10/09/2026

Set up and ready to go at Bar Ba Brew in Harrisburg North Carolina. Hopefully the rain holds out for a little while.

09/24/2026

🔥🐷 BESSEMER CITY, WE’RE COMING BACK — AND THIS TIME WE’RE SERVING! 🐷🔥

The Rusty Porker is excited to be returning for the 5th Annual Bessemer City Brew & Que on October 2nd!

This year is a little different…

🔥 FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE’LL BE VENDING! 🔥

We’ll start serving at 6:00 PM and keep the BBQ coming UNTIL WE SELL OUT!

Come by The Rusty Porker booth and grab some:

🍗 Smoked Chicken
🐷 Pulled Pork
🍖 St. Louis Ribs
🥪 BBQ Sandwiches & the Sloppy Hog
🥘 Cowboy Beans & Creamy Coleslaw

We’re excited to be back in Bessemer City and even more excited to have the opportunity to serve y’all this year!

📅 October 2nd
⏰ Serving from 6:00 PM until SOLD OUT!
📍 5th Annual Bessemer City Brew & Que

Come hungry. Come early. When it’s gone, it’s gone! 🔥🐷

Southern BBQ Network
Bessemer City Parks and Recreation

09/17/2026

09/14/2026

UNIQUELY UNION IS IN THE BOOKS!

What a weekend at Uniquely Union in Union, SC!

We finished 7th Overall against a great field of teams and brought home some hardware along the way:

🏆 2nd Place Brisket
🔥 6th Place Ribs
🐔 7th Place Chicken
🐷 9th Place Pork

And Friday night's Anything Butt competition treated us pretty well too:

🥇 1st Place Anything Butt – Savory
🥈 2nd Place Anything Butt – Sweet

We're especially proud of that brisket call and the strong showing across the weekend. Every contest gives us another opportunity to learn, improve, and keep pushing forward.

A huge congratulations to Maya Jane BBQ Co on the Grand Championship and Smokin Skullies BBQ on the Reserve. Outstanding cooking from both teams and well deserved!

Thank you to the organizers, KCBS reps, judges, volunteers, sponsors, and everyone who made Uniquely Union possible. We always enjoy getting out there, catching up with our BBQ family, and competing against some incredibly talented cooks.

🔥 Keep the smoke rolling! 🔥

09/12/2026

Rolling smoke this morning Uniquely Union. Hopefully the rain holds out.

08/14/2026

🐷🔥🏆 2025–2026 SBN TEAM OF THE YEAR 🏆🔥🐷

What an incredible way to wrap up an amazing season!

We’re beyond proud and grateful to have The Rusty Porker named the 2025–2026 Southern BBQ Network Team of the Year and to bring home the AL Wirts Trophy!

This award belongs to our entire team. Competition BBQ takes a lot more than what happens on turn-in day. It’s the late nights, early mornings, practice cooks, miles on the road, loading and unloading, battling the weather, and countless hours spent around the smoker trying to get just a little bit better every time.

I can’t thank our team members enough for the time, hard work, and dedication they put into The Rusty Porker this season. We earned this one together.

A huge thank you to the Southern BBQ Network, the contest organizers, volunteers, judges, and all of the other cook teams we’ve had the opportunity to compete alongside. The friendships, laughs, and competition are a big part of what makes this BBQ family so special.

And of course, THANK YOU to our families, friends, , and everyone who supported The Rusty Porker throughout the year. Every like, share, comment, visit to our cook site, and word of encouragement means more to us than you know.

It was one hell of a season, and we couldn’t be more proud of what this team accomplished. 🐷🏆

Now it’s time to get ready for the 2026–2027 Southern BBQ Network season! We’re looking forward to getting back out there, seeing our BBQ family, and rolling some more smoke.

Stay tuned to our page — our fall event schedule is coming soon, and we’ve got plenty more BBQ ahead!

From all of us at The Rusty Porker, thank you for being along for the ride!

🐷🔥🏆 2025–2026 SBN TEAM OF THE YEAR 🏆🔥🐷

Smoke. Blood. Sweat. Sauce.

08/14/2026

I wanted to share something on behalf of Shawn and his family and ask that you please consider helping if you’re able.

Shawn is one of my long-term employees and has been a valued member of my team for many years. His sister, Ashley, is a single mom of three who was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and is preparing to begin treatment. As the sole provider for her family, she’s facing not only the physical and emotional challenges of cancer treatment and being unable to work, but also a significant financial burden.

Unfortunately, that burden has become even greater as her insurance provider is attempting to deny coverage for medical procedures related to her treatment. While the family works through that process, Ashley still has three children to support and needs to be able to focus on her health, treatment, and recovery.

I’m asking friends, colleagues, and anyone who is able to please consider making a donation to help Shawn’s sister and her children during this incredibly difficult time. Any amount can make a meaningful difference by helping with medical expenses, household bills, and everyday necessities while she undergoes treatment.

If you’re unable to donate, simply sharing the fundraiser with others would also be greatly appreciated.

Shawn has been a dedicated part of my team for a long time, and I’d love to see our community rally around him and his family when they need it most.

Thank you for considering supporting Ashley, Shawn, and their family.

Many of you have reached out asking how you can help my sister, Ashley, and … Holly Yang needs your support for Support Ashley’s Fight Against Breast Cancer

07/20/2026

🔥🐖 2025-2026 SBN SEASON WRAP-UP 🐖🔥

What a season it's been for The Rusty Porker crew! As we closed the books on the 2025-2026 Southern BBQ Network season, we're proud to look back at a run that included:

🏆 2 Grand Championships

Abbeville Hogs and Hens (Oct 2025) — swept Rib, Chicken, AND Beef on our way to the overall win
SAL American Legion BBQ Cook Off (Oct 2025) — took Chicken and held on for the overall title

🥈 3 Reserve Grand Championships

Jamil BBQ Cook Off (Sept 2025) — won Pork on the way to 2nd overall
Bessemer City Brew and Que (Oct 2025)
Lincolnton GA American Legion BBQ (Nov 2025)

That's 5 top-2 overall finishes in a 13-event season, plus category wins in Pork, Rib, Chicken, and Beef along the way. Our best stretch came in that October run — five straight events, five straight top-2 finishes. Y'all can't buy that kind of momentum.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to support us at events all across the Southeast this year, to our fellow competitors who keep pushing us to bring our A-game, and to SBN for putting on a great series of contests for a great cause.

On to next season — same smoke, same fire, same Rusty Porker. 🔥