During Saturday's judging, the thousands who have whooped and hollered for the last few days all speak in whispers.

"Let me tell you what we've been doing for the last 16 hours." The cooker invites the judge into the tent and thus begins the 15 minutes of truth--the on-site judging. A lifetime of learning and a week of prepping end in these precious minutes on Saturday. Gone are the whoops, hollers, and humor of the preceding days. Everyone speaks in whispers as the park cloaks itself in the reverence of a church service.

"For 15 minutes, they're praying pretty hard," says Wayne Lohman, a certified judge who has 15 years experience with MIM. He and his wife, Maria, judge more than 30 barbecue competitions annually, from Tennessee to Northern Europe. "It's like an addiction," Maria says with a laugh.