The Cooking Contest That Al Gore Competed In While He Was In Office

He was the Vice President of the United States for most of the 1990s, serving under noted peanut butter and banana sandwich fan Bill Clinton. He offered us an inconvenient truth about climate change, and although he never claimed to have invented the internet, he helped pave a legislative path for the World Wide Web's dominance. But did you know that Al Gore was also a certified pitmaster? Well, that's because he wasn't — but he did take part in the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, one of the most prestigious barbecue contests in the world.

Before Gore became the vice president, he was a Democratic senator for Tennessee, back when Tennessee still elected Democratic senators. In that capacity, and as vice president, he regularly attended the Memphis in May barbecue contest — not necessarily to compete against the best pitmasters in the world, but simply to show his appreciation for some solid Memphis BBQ. He even offered a bit of tongue-in-cheek advice: "the secret is to remain stiff and wooden throughout the cooking process." (Gore was famously considered something of a bore, in stark contrast with the ultra-charismatic "Slick Willie" at the top of the ticket.)

Anyone who's gotten into an argument about the relative superiority of North Carolina vs. deliciously unique South Carolina barbecue, or bickered over whether Texas-style barbecue is really so superior, will tell you that smoking meat is serious business. But at Memphis In May, competitors truly go above and beyond. In 1994, one of the years Vice President Gore visited, there were competitors from places as distant as the Ivory Coast and even Ireland — not exactly known as a BBQ powerhouse. The stakes have only grown since then: The 1994 contest offered $25,000 in total prize money, while today, the purse is over $190,000.

There's the Grand Championship, focused on whole hog, pork shoulder, and ribs, as well as a number of ancillary competitions focused on different aspects of barbecue: There are competitions for best smoked turkey, best hot wings, and the best "anything but" (which can include beef, poultry, or exotic meats like alligator.) If you're lucky enough to win one of those prizes, we certainly wouldn't be able to tell you what to do with all that money — but maybe take the advice of Pitmaster Gore and put it in your lockbox.