AmazingRibs.com Won Best Website, Best Cookbook, and Best Photography Awards of Excellence from the National Barbecue & Grilling Association
The 2026 National Barbecue & Grilling Association (NBBQA) Awards of Excellence ceremony was held in Nashville, TN, on March 26, 2026, as part of the organization’s 3-day annual conference. NBBQA celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and this year’s conference featured barbecue restaurant tours, education sessions, cooking demonstrations, as well as a Steak Cookoff, Rib Cookoff, and Live Fire cooking competitions.
We’re thrilled that NBBQA awarded AmazingRibs.com a total of six (6!) Awards of Excellence. The winning photos are all from the book, The Meathead Method:
1st Place Website: AmazingRibs.com
1st Place BBQ Book: The Meathead Method
1st Place Commercial Photo: Smoked Dirty Rice Crayfish (see below)
2nd Place Commercial Photo: Marinade (see below)
3rd Place Commercial Photo: Red Snapper (see below)
5th Place Commercial Photo: Smoked Squash Bisque (see below)
Here’s the cover of the winning book! The photos are below.
Clint Cantwell, President of AmazingRibs.com, attended the conference and accepted the awards during the ceremony. “I knew we were up for a couple awards,” said Cantwell, “but I was blown away that we won so many.” The awards add to the many accolades that AmazingRibs.com and its founder, Meathead, have won since the website’s founding in 2005. Those accolades include:
2017 – Best Technical Book finalist for the bestselling Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) and called “One of the 100 Best Cookbooks Of All Time” by Southern Living Magazine
2020 – Best Culinary Website finalist for AmazingRibs.com from the IACP
2020 – U.S. Library of Congress archived AmazingRibs.com, one of only 44 food sites
2021- BBQ Hall of Fame induction of Meathead, one of only 40 living members as of this date
Here are the winning photos, all of which are in the winning cookbook, The Meathead Method!
1st Place BBQ Commercial Photo, Smoked Dirty Rice Crayfish
2nd Place BBQ Commercial Photo, Marinade
3rd Place BBQ Commercial Photo, Red Snapper
5th Place BBQ Commercial Photo, Smoked Squash Bisque
We’re also thrilled to share that AmazingRibs.com surpassed 50 million visitors in 2025 and our Pitmaster Club remains the largest BBQ association in the world. For more information about the National Barbecue & Grilling Association, visit the NBBQA website.
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