Did you know? 4 BBQ celebrities coming to When Pigs Fly contest

It is no surprise the barbecue season is considered "dead" during the winter months. It's cold outside, gets dark early and it's just too cold to go out and stand by a grill. That said, the Smokin Brothers wanted to change this and created an indoor barbecue contest in the wintertime to keep the creativity of grilling and smoking meat alive through all months.

The fourth When Pigs Fly Indoor BBQ Bash will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

At this contest, there will be several barbecue "celebrities" who will team up with local fire responders to help win the Heroes Cup. So who are some of these barbecue celebrities coming to Cape Girardeau and what type of judging do they have to do?

Myron Mixon, also known as the winningest man in barbecue, will be at the contest. According to his website, Mixon has won more than 200 grand championships resulting in more than 1,800 total trophies, 30 state championships, eight Team of the Year awards and 11 national championships. Mixon said, "I love cooking a whole hog. I like cooking a whole hog better than anything else in the world, to tell you the truth." Those who are cooking a hog or want to, make sure to stop by and ask a question or two. Along with Mixon, his sons, David and Michael, will be team coaches for the Heroes Cup.

Another Heroes Cup coach is Heath Riles. Riles has been grilling since he was 18 years old and participated on a competition barbecue team in Ashland, Mississippi. He has since created a name for himself as an expert in both competitive barbecue and grilling, according to his website, www.heathrilesbbq.com. Along with the title of pitmaster, Riles also is a creator of an award-winning line of barbecue rubs, sauces, marinades and injections. Riles has been recognized by Memphis BBQ Network, the Kansas City BBQ Society and the Steak Cook-Off Association for mastering various cooking styles. He also has managed to get multiple perfect scores at various contests and competitions.

With some Missouri roots, Megan Day is a name many may know from the professional barbecue team Burnt Finger BBQ. Day will be a Heroes Cup coach bringing her knowledge of barbecue cooking from Kansas City, the barbecue capital of the world. Day, who has been named one of Southern Living's "Most Influential Women in Southern Barbecue", is a Chopped Grill Masters Champion and is regularly seen promoting barbecue on the "Today" show and Food Network shows such as "The Kitchen", "Chopped", "BBQ Brawl" and "Beat Bobby Flay".

Moe Cason is a Navy veteran and a self-taught pitmaster who will be another Heroes Cup coach. He will be bringing all the knowledge he received from his grandmother on cooking. In an article from the Des Moines Register, he said "Marlando 'Moe' Cason has the best barbecue in Des Moines, according to Marlando 'Moe' Cason. It's a fact, and you can put an exclamation point on it," he said. "My beans will make you smack somebody," he added. "My mac and cheese -- my hot pepper mac and cheese that my wife created -- made Steve Harvey lie down on the floor." With that type of confidence, as well as being a renowned Pitmaster Chef and BBQ Pitmaster, Cason has tips and tricks to give his team during the competition.

To judge a barbecue competition, there are rules according to the Barbecue Competitors Alliance. Each judge is instructed to score each box from 1 to 10 on color, aroma, taste, tenderness and overall impression, according to www.bcabbq.org.

The judges rate each entry box on a score of 1 to 10 with one being the lowest score and 10 being the highest. Judges may award an entry any score from 1 to 10, as long as whole numbers are used. A score of one usually means the entry is so bad it cannot be kept in the mouth; a score of 10 means excellence in barbecue has been achieved. Judges are also asked not to compare entries or change scores once they have been assigned.

Going into the When Pigs Fly BBQ competition with the People's Choice award on the line, think of all this while sampling the different cooking by each team, and how you, as a judge, would rate them.