2026 Charcoal Challenge
All proceeds benefit the scholarship recipients of the Youth Fair Board
Please see the below documents for information about the Charcoal Challenge
The CHARCOAL CHALLENGE BBQ COOK-OFF will be celebrating its 25th year anniversary on May 14th, 15th & 16th at the Giddings Fireman’s Park. The very first cook-off registered a whopping 50 teams that entered this inaugural event and has grown to over 100 teams now competing for over $6,000 in prize money along with other prizes that are given out during the Friday & Saturday events.
The popular DJ, Johnny Condell, returns on Friday & Saturday to play some of your favorite tunes. Look for him on the event stage!
Friday events begin @ 4:00pm with the Jackpot Bean Competition followed by the Jackpot Open @ 5:30pm. The teams are known for entering some creative dishes in this popular category. The final Jackpot category is the Margarita contest. This category is known for a variety of tasty margarita entries.
The Chief Cooks will gather under the pavilion at 6:00pm to receive their instructions for the Chicken, Ribs & Brisket categories and pick up their containers for the Saturday rounds of competitions.
Friday winds down at 8:30pm with the announcement of winners for all the Jackpot competitions.
If you are interested in judging any of these Jackpot categories, please join us on Friday afternoon and evening under our brand new Pavillion to sign up to judge.
Saturday Morning Events kick off with the Bloody Mary Competition @ 10:00pm,
It’s a great way to start a Saturday morning and a busy day of competitions.
At 11:30am the Junior Division’s Pork Chop Flop & Mop and the Small Fry Burner Burn get underway for the younger & upcoming cookers. The excitement of these youngsters is priceless to witness.
The Chicken contest judging begins @ 11:00am followed by Ribs @ 1:00pm and finally the Brisket @ 3:00pm. The cook’s skills are put to the test to get their meats seasoned, grilled to perfection and turned in by judging on time!
The highlight of the evening is scheduled for 5:30pm beginning with the drawing for the Kid’s Bicycle Giveaway, followed by the Raffle Drawings, Coolest Pits and finally the winners of the Chicken, Ribs & Brisket categories. The awards round out with the naming of the Reserve & Grand Champion.
We encourage you to join us for a great time on May 14th, 15th & 16th for the Best BBQ Cook-off around. You’ll be glad you did!
If you currently do not have a team cooking in the Charcoal Challenge and would like to be added to the waitlist please fill out the form below and either Betty or Alma will get back with you confirming your addition to the list.