Sam's Club meats need for competition

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club has announced the third installment of The Sam's Club National BBQ Tour, the largest continuous barbecue competition in the United States, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). As the official supplier of KCBS, Sam's Club is the 'choice' destination for the highest quality meats and ingredients for backyard grillers, restaurateurs and more than 750 professional teams who will compete in the 2013 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour.

"I am delighted that Sam's Club has joined forces with the Kansas City Barbeque Society for three years running to allow members and BBQ fans to experience the freshness, quality and value of Sam's Club premium fresh meat selection," said Shawn Baldwin, senior vice president for fresh, freezer and cooler grocery at Sam's Club. "We know that grilling, barbecuing and outdoor entertaining are important to our members. The Sam's Club National BBQ Tour celebrates their passion for everyday barbecuing and grilling with our commitment to giving them the fresh ingredients and items they need at a value they deserve."

Hosted by Series Director, barbecue aficionado and cookbook author Troy Black, the National BBQ Tour will journey to 31 Sam's Club parking lots from Albuquerque to Alabama with barbecue demonstrations and free samples of premium-quality Sam's Club meats, hand-cut fresh daily from butchers inside each local Sam's Club. Each event is open to members and the public.

"Each of our world-class competitive teams knows the best barbecue starts with premium fresh meat," said Black. "Having quality chicken, ribs, pork and brisket from Sam's Club on the smoker sets the stage for a mouth-watering competition."

Introduced in 2011 as the largest competition series with the largest prize purse in the history of competitive barbecue, the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour has distributed nearly $1 million in prizes since its inception. Previous Grand Champions from 2011, TippyCanoe BBQ Crew of St. Ansgar, Iowa, and 2012, Lucky's Q of Denver, Iowa, will be among 750 teams competing for a portion of the $500,000 prize purse this year.

Each National BBQ Tour competition awards overall winners as well as winners in each of four barbecue categories: chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. Events are free and open to the public and take place in Sam's Club parking lots from February through September leading up to the National Championship on Oct. 19, 2013 in Bentonville, Ark. KCBS will sanction the events and provide certified barbecue judges for the competitions. For a full schedule of events, visit SamsClub.com/bbq.

Partnering sponsors and brands for the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour include: Kingsford, KC Masterpiece, Coca-Cola, Heinz, Tyson Foods, Cattlemen's BBQ, New Zealand Lamb, Tone's, Stonemill Kitchens, Pillsbury, National Pork Board, Cargill and Bush's Best Baked Beans.