Here's an early roundup:

Ignore all the pretenders and go to Carolina Rib Kings for a full slab of their authentic ribs. However if you like a lot of sauce you should ask them because they don’t tend to put a lot of sauce on their ribs - just rub. I like ‘em dry however and you should give it a try that way.

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Two other decent contenders who are new this year are Howling Coyote (although the ribs were a little fatty) and Blazin BBQ (perfect texture not to soft not too tough). Howling Coyote’s sauces on their ribs was good - strong molasses base. However the extra sauce I dumped on their pulled pork tasted sharply of cloves. The pulled pork it self was decent with a nice vinegar flavour although it needed a dollop of smoke.

Also the official website has printable coupons that give you 3.00 off a half slab of ribs. That brings the price of a half down to 10.00 which makes sampling in a group of four very reasonable. We would each buy a half slab and sit around tasting each one.

Go here to print the coupon.