First let's get one thing straight: Grilling is not barbecuing, and most people don't know the difference. Grilling -- over charcoal or gas -- generates temperatures up to 750°F, sears meat, and cooks it quickly. True barbecuing is long, and slow and low. Temperatures range from 200 to 250 or thereabouts. Meat is cooked indirectly by wood and/or charcoal that is arranged around, beside or far, far beneath it in a variety of pits, kettles and smokers. And the smoke that circulates and permeates the meat is essential to the flavor. At America's 500 some-odd annual barbecue contests you can see every manner of barbecue equipment -- from state-of-the-art commercial smokers, and custom-designed grills in the shape of jet planes, pickup trucks or locomotives, to jerrybuilt 50-gallon oil drums. But the cooking process -- long, slow and low -- is always the same. When it comes to barbecue, individuality rules. Take ribs, Memphis, Tennessee-style. Here in the epicenter of one of America's major barbecue regions, there are two ways of doing ribs -- wet and dry. Dry means pork ribs (spare, baby back or country-style) cooked over a grill then sprinkled with a dry spice mixture, giving the cooked ribs their spicy, tasty crust. Since it opened in 1948, Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous restaurant in Memphis has been famous for dry ribs, not only locally but nationwide. The restaurant owns and operates a full-time shipping branch that, if you call 1-888-Hogs Fly, will ship ribs overnight. "So, what is your secret?" we asked Nick Vergos, son of founder Charlie. "First we use loin back ribs; there's a lot more meat in that cut and it's leaner. It's off the back of the hog, not the belly. And we use our special seasoning." "Could we get the recipe?" we asked. "Of course not," Nick replied, "but you can buy it in 4-1/2-ounce jars." "And, do you cook your ribs very slow at low temperatures?" "Don't be silly," Nick chided. "We cook one ton of ribs every day. We cook them and serve them as fast as we can. There's not enough hours in the day to cook them slow. We cook them about 18 inches over pure hardwood charcoal with the fire as hot as it can go. First bone side down, then we flip them over with the meat side down. Just before they come out we baste them with hot vinegar and water and then sprinkle them with the seasoning to make the crust." So much for long and slow. But, also in Memphis, is Corky's Bar-B-Q where ribs -- especially the wet style -- are equally famous (and shipped all over the nation). But at Corky's, the St. Louis-style spare ribs are traditionally slow-cooked in a smoker over hickory and oak for about eight hours. Right before being served, the wet ribs are slathered with Corky's (secret of course) spicy-sweet sauce. Robbie Levine, catering manager, says that when it comes to dry and wet ribs, "It's like anything else. Some people like chocolate, some like vanilla. That's why here we offer both wet and dry ribs. You want the best of both worlds? Then order half and half -- half wet, half dry." Up Midwest in Kansas City, at the famous Arthur Bryant's Barbecue (Calvin Trillin called it the best three restaurants in the world), they slow hot-smoke over oak and hickory 15-pound pork shoulders (for sliced pork) for six to eight hours, beef brisket for eight hours and ribs for four to six. Of course there is the famous Arthur Bryant's barbecue sauce -- tomato-red, thick, spicy-hot and not too sweet. Could we have the recipe? "No," says night manager Willis Simpson, "but you can buy them both, the original and the rich and spicy, in 18-ounce bottles -- or by the gallon." Over east at Maurice's Piggie Park in West Columbia, South Carolina, it's the same story. Lloyd Bessinger, whose Dad founded the place in 1954, barbecues fresh pork hams, "the leanest part of the pig," over hickory wood in an exposed brick pit for 20 to 24 hours, then chops it and serves it with a mustard-based sauce that comes in mild and spicy-hot versions. You can buy the sauce in 16- and 28-ounce sizes, but you can't beg, borrow or steal the recipe. In Lexington, North Carolina, at the Lexington Barbecue No. 1, Rick Monk, owner (and son of the founder), waxes eloquent about pork shoulder: "I've been doing this for 38 years -- it's just like breathing." A 15-pound pork shoulder smokes over oak and hickory for 9 to 10 hours, then it's chopped or sliced and served on break with -- you guessed it -- sauce. Lexington's sauce is vinegar- and ketchup-based, comes in mild and hot, and is available in bottles or gallons. Last stop Texas, and Kreuz Market in Lockhart, about 20 miles north of San Antonio -- this year celebrating its 100th anniversary. This bare-bones temple of barbecue beef -- and house-made sausage -- also serves up pork chops. "We cut them ourselves from the whole loin," says Keith Schmidt, general manager (and the owner's son). But -- here's a shock -- no secret sauce. "Sauce is used to keep meat moist or to cover up inferior meat. We serve ours right when it's done."

	"Q" Contests and Societies Annual Barbecue Cookoffs and Festivals number well over 500, and an estimated 6 million Americans attend one every year. Here's a sampler from Don Gillis, editor of the National Barbecue News of the five biggest contests, based on the number of teams competing: The American Royal/ Diddy-Wa-Diddy Sauce Contest -- Kansas City, Mo., October Memphis-in-May World Championship Cook-off -- Memphis, Tenn., May Houston Livestock Show/Barbecue Cook-off -- Houston, Texas, January Big Pig Jig -- Vienna, Ga., October Taylor Texas Invitational -- Taylor, Texas, August Regional Barbecue Get the scoop on barbecue's various regions.