The information on this page comes from an interview with Robert Horvath.

	The Meat
	What part of the pig do they cook?
	Use all parts, from the squeal to the tail. That means to use the whole pig, but no guts. You also use the ribs, the shoulders.
	What's your favorite type of barbecue?
	Ribs, spare ribs, baby back ribs, etc. PORK! Unique/unusual served with it? No, but here, the sandwiches have cole slaw on them. Robert likes his cole slaw on the side, not on the sandwich. There are more varieties of cole slaw in Memphis than anywhere else. (Grilling: vegetarian BBQ tofu, corn, zucchini, peppers, onions, pizza)
	What's the most unusual barbecue you've ever seen?
	I haven't eaten it, but I've seen barbecued alligator.
	Seasoning / recipes
	What flavors the meat?
	The wood imparts the flavors. Here, we use mostly hickory. In Texas, they use mesquite, and that makes for a different flavor.
	How else do you make the meat taste like BBQ?
	There's two things you can use to season the meat, besides the wood: a dry rub, and a wet mop. You start with a dry rub, and finish with a wet mop. Dry rub: various ingredients-brown sugar, onion, garlic, pepper, cumin, allspice, clove, etc. on some people's meat BBQ mop, or mop sauce: can go on the meat before you cook it, but if it's too hot it may burn because of the sugar. A mop is made of liquid smoke, cider vinegar, catsup, honey, molasses, cola, Worcestershire, butter, yellow mustard, etc. You can add to store-bought sauce.
	What do you like on it?
	Dry rub, no sauce
	Mechanics of Cookers
	What kind of cookers do they use at Memphis in May?
	Some simple kettle grills, some elaborate cooking machines. One team had one of Memphis' first fire engines, and had turned the truck into a barbecue. It was self-contained, carried its own water. You can use anything from a basic Weber grill to a converted airplane--I've seen that.
	What kind of cooker do you use?
	I have both a Weber grill and a cooker with the firebox on the side.
	What about Willingham's famous cooker?
	Willingham's cooker is stainless steel; he designed it in college.
	Is there a standard for the contest cookers?
	1983: standardized by the Kansas City BBQ Association. Newsletters, entry requirements, regulated the equipment allowed.
	How does a cooker work?
	There's a firebox off to the side, cooking chamber next to it, which usually needs to be kept at 300-325ºF. The meat goes off to the side of the firebox, in the cooking chamber.
	Cooking Methods
	How do you cook the barbecue?
	You have to understand the difference between orthodox methods and quick-charring, or grilling. Grilling means cooking hot and fast, directly over the heat. But for barbecue, you want it to cook low and slow, with indirect heat. You keep the meat away from the fire, where the hot air and smoke will cook the meat.
	Where should you put the meat to cook it that way?
	Cook the meat one foot or more from the cooking surface. You want low heat, and water. On a Weber type grill, push coals to the edge, and cook the meat in the middle. Cook the ribs standing up.
	How long should you cook the meat?
	Maintain temperature for 4-6 hours for a rack of ribs, 8-12 for a butt or shoulder, 24 hours for a whole hog. If it's too hot, you get dry meat. If it's too low, it'll take longer to cook. If you have more meat, it also takes longer. It's important to keep the temperature consistent.
	That's a long time! How do you keep the temperature consistent overnight?
	For a contest, you have a fire-tender for the night, to watch the hopper (where the fuel is kept) and the temperature.
	Historical Methods
	So is this how they've always cooked barbecue, everywhere?
	Cooking meat outdoors is an old art, and people everywhere did that. Europeans in America were enamored of cooking indoors, and lost the art of barbecue. The American Indians never lost it, so they carried it on, and folk picked it back up. Barbecue's not a thing of the South only; in Texas they slow-cook cattle over mesquite, but it's still a form of barbecue. In the Pacific Northwest, the American Indians preserve fish in a "Sun-Q'er" by smoke-drying them. Here we cook pork in hickory smoke.