The country’s best BBQers are heading to Chicago.
Every year, the country’s top pitmasters migrate to Chicago and transform the city into a mecca of meat for one weekend of BBQ, country music and beer called the Windy City Smokeout. This year’s event will take place on July 15-17 and tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. CDT. The music lineup is packed with country music talents like Billy Currington and Big & Rich and the non-BBQ offerings aren’t anything to sneer at either. Big Gay Ice Cream will be there, sating all the guests’ ice cream needs, along with Three Dots and a Dash, Drago’s Seafood, The Salsa Truck and Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. But we know why you’re here—you want to know about the main event: the BBQ. Well, we’ve got the scoop on the insanely talented, finger-lickin’ lineup. Here they are:
Bub City Chicago, IL
Pitmasters: Doug Psaltis, Christian Eckmann
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Syracuse, NY
Pitmaster: Leland Avellino
Hogapalooza Wynne, AR
Pitmaster: Kelly Dallas
Jack’s Old South Unadilla, GA
Pitmaster: Myron Mixon
Pappy’s Smokehouse St. Louis, MO
Pitmaster: Skip Steele
The Salt Lick BBQ Driftwood, TX
Pitmaster: Scott Roberts
Smoque Chicago, IL
Pitmaster: Barry Sorkin
Ubon’s Yazoo City, MS
Pitmaster: Leslie Roark Scott
17th Street BBQ Murphysboro, IL
Pitmasters: Mike Mills and Amy Mills
Peg Leg Porker Nashville, TN
Pitmaster: Carey Bringle
Memphis BBQ Company Horn Lake, MS
Pitmaster: John Wheeler
Skylight Inn Ayden, NC
Pitmaster: Sam Jones
Martin’s BBQ Nashville, TN
Pitmaster: Patrick Martin
Lillie’s Q Chicago, IL
Pitmaster: Charlie McKenna and Quito McKenna
Blackwood BBQ Chicago, IL
Pitmaster: Dylan Lipe