The tangy, sweet aroma of Southern-style, pulled pork barbecue filled the air on the south end of Newberry Street at the fifth annual Horsin' and Hoggin' Barbecue Cook-off on Saturday morning.
Sixteen teams from throughout South Carolina competed in the event, which featured three of the state's top four barbecue cooks-all from the local area-as ranked by the S.C. Barbecue Association: Jeff Smith, of Smokin' Stacks in Aiken, ranked No. 1; Gene Culbertson, of Backwoods Bar-B-Que in Trenton, No. 2; and Dewayne Jones, of Buckwheat's BBQ and Catering of Windsor, No. 4,
Proceeds from the event will benefit Hitchcock Healthcare.
"We had some great teams here today, so everybody should have gotten to eat some good barbecue," said Jones, who organized the event. "We had a cool night last night, but after the weather warmed up this morning, we had a good turnout."
Teams arrived as early as 7 a.m. Friday, set up during the day and started cooking that night. Each team uses a different recipe and special ingredients.
"Special sauce, special rubs, special everything," Jones said. "The teams can cook their barbecue from six up to 12 or 14 hours."
Barbecue lovers tasted the results of the slow-cooked delicacy as they strolled from vendor to vendor. Volunteers from Hitchcock Healthcare and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority served up the samples in two-ounce cups.
Jan Kirkland of Aiken said she wanted to spend some sister time together with her sister, Rita Evans, also of Aiken.
"It's perfect timing; it's a nice venue; we like barbecue; and we're hungry," Kirkland said and laughed. "So far, it's been absolutely delicious."
Evans agreed.
"You could have made the weather a little bit warmer, but the barbecue is delicious," she said. "We'll be back next year."
Heather Raynack, the executive director of Hitchcock Healthcare, said she's excited to be part of Horsin' and Hoggin' this year.
"The benefits will go toward our children's therapy and our adult rehab programs to benefit our charitable care programs," she said. "These are for people who have no insurance or poor insurance with no coverage to help them get rehab, whether it's physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy."
A native of Aiken, Larry Wood is a general assignment reporter.