Joe Pearce
Joe Pearce and his older brother, Mike, opened Slap's BBQ at 535 Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, in June 2014. The brothers began competing in 2012 as the team Squeal Like a Pig, starting with a contest in their hometown of North Kansas City, and they finished runner-up on Destination America's BBQ Pitmasters. Slap's sold out every day for its first three and a half to four years. Unlike many restaurants, it kept competing: its chicken won world championships in 2022 and 2023. Slap's is best known for its spare ribs, burnt ends and jalapeño-cheddar sausage.
Philosophy
Pearce has said he wants "the meat to speak for itself."
Technique
Pearce cooks "hot and fast" rather than low and slow. In 2015 he said he had gradually raised his smoker from 275 to 350 degrees and cooked a brisket over hickory and Missouri oak in about three and a half hours. At the restaurant he uses a mild mix of hickory and oak; in competition he switches to pecan.