SAM JONES is the owner of Sam Jones BBQ and the grandson of Pete Jones, founder of the Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina, which won a James Beard Award and has been open since 1947—and which is where Sam started honing his chops as a boy. He returned to the family business after rediscovering barbecue through writing a 15-page essay on the topic for a college assignment. DANIEL VAUGHN is the country's first barbecue editor. He holds this post at Texas Monthly magazine and has also contributed to Bon Appétit, Lucky Peach, First We Feast, Los Angeles magazine, and Time. He is the author of Prophets of Smoked Meat.