Hog Wild

Hogs for the Cause has all of the ingredients for a spectacular spring festival: live music, libations, and prize-winning barbecue.  

Host Poppy Tooker with Michael Brewer Chris Montero and Justin Kennedy

Credit Reggie Morris / Louisiana Eats

But Hogs is so much more than that. It's one of the top fundraisers for families battling pediatric brain cancer. On this week's Louisiana Eats, we sit down with co-founder Becker Hall to hear the story of how this worthwhile – now legendary – event came to be, and their plans for the future.

Then, we talk with three members of a team going above and beyond, finding a way to bring home the bacon for Hogs all year round. Silence of da Hams is comprised of Chris Montero of the Napoleon House, Michael Brewer of Baton Rouge’s City Pork, Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace, Jared Ralls, and its newest member, Parkway Bakery’s Justin Kennedy. To increase their annual giving to the Hogs cause, the original four chefs developed a Louisiana-style smoked sausage now available at Rouse’s Markets and other groceries throughout the Gulf South.

Finally, we speak with pitmaster and food writer Colleen Rush, who has been setting the world of backyard barbeque on fire. Along with co-author Gary Wiviott, the Louisiana native has created a comprehensive guide to barbecue and charcoal cooking techniques in their book, Low & Slow 2: The Art of Barbecue, Smoke-Roasting, and Basic Curing.