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Grill Masters of the Garden State
The NJ State Barbeque Championship is returning to Anglesea this July, in North Wildwood. JerseyMan caught up with Todd Price of the SmokeAholics, a yearly competitor, to talk about high-level BBQ.
If one of your life’s pleasures is “fall off the bone” ribs, Chef Todd Price has an interesting tidbit of info for you.
“If your ribs are falling off the bone,” he says, “they’re cooked wrong.”
He’s not judging. It’s meant as an epiphany for ribs fanatics.
“I’m not gonna put anybody down that eats them like that,” he says. “I’ll eat them like that, I don’t care. It’s just that there’s a difference between barbeque competition and barbeque for your backyard. There is a difference in taste, too, but most people don’t recognize it.
“When you cook ribs and they fall off the bone, it gets the pork mushy. You chew it in your mouth a little bit and push it up with your tongue, up against your palate. If it sticks there, and it most likely will, that’s one sign that your meat is overcooked.
“You want them to pull away from the bone, but when you want them to pull away, not when the meat feels like pulling away from the bone.”
He adds a braggadocious-sounding assertion, but it’s just helpful advice for aspiring BBQ enthusiasts.
“I guarantee you, if you had my ribs and you had a rack of ribs next to you, it’s falling off the bone, mine are gonna be better.”
Price can go into similar details about any aspect of professional BBQ. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he spent time preparing food in high-end Manhattan restaurants, but he decided comfort food was a better use of his education.
“I got my first smoker from Lowe’s, an old Oklahoma Joe. Really nice smoker. They were basically giving it away, because they’d used it for employee lunches and stuff.”
His first foray into competitive BBQ went well. “It was the Garry Maddox Rib Challenge at Citizens Bank Park, when it was being built. We took home every award, first place. We won a trip to the World Series.”
The victory earned him enough notoriety to cater Eagles tailgates for several years, another venue where lacking skills isn’t an option.
Just saying, if you’re planning to compete in the New Jersey State BBQ Championship, guys like Todd Price are who you’ll be up against.
Bring your “A” game. And keep the ribs on the bone.
The New Jersey State Barbeque Championship in North Wildwood is now in its 27th year. It’s one of the oldest BBQ competitions on the East Coast. It began as a fundraiser by the Anglesea Fire Company and has grown from 22 competing teams in its inaugural event to close to 70 in 2025. The event takes place July 11–13.
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS)—an organization of over 16,000 barbeque enthusiasts—sanctions the event. KCBS has strict rules, right down to acceptable garnishes and their placement.
As the event’s website warns, “It is important that you know what you are getting into.” Price knows that’s no exaggeration.
“There are six judges at a table, you’ve got to put six ribs in a box. There’s a table captain, he walks around and shows everybody the box, they go, ‘Ooh,’ and they score you for that.
“They each pull a rib out of the box. If your rib is connected to another rib, it might pull out with it. I’ve seen it happen; somebody is getting a DQ. They can’t reach in there and shake it off.
“They’re gonna hold the rib, and bite into the middle of the rib. When you pull that rib away, you should see a clean bite mark. You’re gonna see the bone in front of their face when they pull it away, that bone should turn from gray into a bone white. You’ll see the moisture leave the bone. That’s what they’ll call a perfectly cooked rib.”
Competitors are judged on presentation, feel, aroma, and of course the taste of their chicken, pork, ribs, brisket and other items. The champion is the team with the highest combined score.
Judges must be official KCBS judges. As per the NJ BBQ website, they must swear to be completely impartial, “so that truth, justice, excellence in Barbeque and the American Way of Life may be strengthened and preserved forever.” They must face Kansas City while reciting the oath.
Unfortunately, the competition chow is for judges only; participants aren’t allowed to serve it to event attendees. Visitors can partake of eats and drinks from vendors, but not the competition food.
That’s a bummer, but it’s understandable. Competitors have enough on their plate, so to speak.
That said, if you want to learn how to kick some barbeque tail, the event is a great place to do it. Price can share a wealth of knowledge about smokers, meat probes, trailers, different types of wood, and the advancements in BBQ methods. He says many others will too.
“A lot of the guys like myself, they’ll talk to anybody,” he says. “You want to step up your game and get the pellet smoker, these are perfect guys to talk to. Anything that’s new and good, these guys are using it.
“If you’re into boats, you’re gonna go to a boat show. If you’re into barbeque, you go to the barbeque competition. You get to see a lot of this stuff in action.”
It may also be worth the trip to see if Price’s SmokeAholics or another challenger can topple Chunky BBQ, who’s won the last three competitions. Price knows beating them is a formidable task.
“If, say, Chunky finds what works for them in Wildwood, okay, they figured that one out. So they go to Vermont, New Hampshire, whatever. They put maple barbeque sauce on up there. How are they getting that one, too? Because they’re winning all over the place. Their trophy list is extensive.”
Even for someone good enough at BBQ to win a World Series trip, Price acknowledges that this contest is a whole new level.
“We went from doing the Garry Maddox Challenge to ‘Oh, we gotta find more contests.’ I found the one in Wildwood. ‘Wow, we’ll do that one.’ I went in with a big ego and I got smoked.”
Pun intended. But since then, the SmokeAholics have fared better. In one recent event, they placed first in brisket, third in chicken, and sixth in pulled pork. Only a middle-of-the-pack ribs finish denied them the title, and no, it’s not because judges want ribs to fall off the bone. He used a different seasoning than a brand he trusted and paid the price.
Even with all of the expertise Price has to share, he hasn’t taken home the trophy yet. But to him, it’s about bringing his best and delivering great grub.
“I worked at Per Se in New York, dinner for two is like a thousand bucks. Real high-end, fine dining. But barbeque is just as technical. It may not look as pretty, but it’s really hard to pull off if you want it good…
I do this not to win, I do it because I love doing it.”
BBQ Tips for the Rest of Us
- Have different zones on the grill: “Have a hot side and a cooler side. That way you can easily move your food around, so you’re not redoing it.”
- Don’t add sauce till it’s done: “Their chicken comes out all black and stuff. They wonder, why is my meat burning up on the grill? Well, because it’s full of sugar, dude.”
- Use marinades properly: “If you marinate a filet mignon overnight… mushy. But a New York strip will hold up. The tougher the cut, the longer the marinate.”
- Know how to cut your meats: “Cut on an angle across the grain. If not, you’re gonna be chewing it forever.”
- Be prepared: “Always have a spray bottle with water so you don’t have to waste your beer, which I actually just did at a friend’s house.”
- Stick with what works: “Once you find that one thing, don’t change it. Even the sauce brand matters.”
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS)
If this article was the first you’d ever heard of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, you’ve probably never been in a BBQ competition.
KCBS was founded in 1985 in the BBQ capital of the world—Kansas City—by Carolyn and Gary Wells and Rick Welch (“Sir Loin”). It started with 20 members, a $12 annual fee, and a newsletter called The Bullsheet.
Today, KCBS has over 16,000 members, sanctions 375+ competitions a year, and still publishes The Bullsheet. Visit www.kcbs.us to learn more or join.
BBQ and the Blues
In addition to world-class BBQ competition, the town of Anglesea also hosts the Anglesea Blues Festival at the same time and location.
The 2025 event features acts like The Outcrops, The Michael Allman Band (yes, Gregg’s son), Bluestime, and SlideWinder Blues Band.
The main stage is at Olde New Jersey Avenue and 2nd Avenue, just blocks from the competition area. Nothing like the blues and the smell of BBQ pits!
This scribe asked ChatGPT why the two go together. Its answer:
“Blues music is raw and emotive—it tells stories of heartache, resilience, and daily life. BBQ is similarly soulful: it takes patience, care, and attention to craft. Neither is flashy, but both are rich with depth and feeling. They’re working-class arts, passed down through hands-on experience, not textbooks.”
Learn more at www.angleseablues.com.
