Houston's premiere barbecue cook-off is happening now

State of play: The cook-off is open through Saturday at NRG Park.

• The grounds are open to the public 5pm-11pm Thursday, 12pm-11pm Friday and 9am-11pm Saturday.

The intrigue: The competition features more than 700 dishes from 250 pitmaster teams who will be critiqued by a panel of judges.

• They'll be working in invite-only tents, but the public will be able to gawk as they cook with creative barbecue rigs and sacred recipes.

How it works: Tickets are $30 for people 13 and older, $10 for kids 3-12 and free for 2 and under.

• That will get you into the cook-off and carnival grounds, access to live music throughout the park, plus a brisket and sausage plate with fixings.

Flashback: Last year's cook-off saw more than 226,400 people attend.

• That's when pitmaster team Always Able But Confused Cookers took home the grand overall champion prize.

What's next: One team will be crowned for best overall barbecue this year at 7pm Saturday.