Costco members Maddie and Kiki Longo (maddieandkiki.com) spent their childhoods in Oshawa, Ontario, watching their mother, Gina, barbecuing. "We grew up thinking women rocked the grill," says Maddie. The sisters, who co-host a weekly YouTube barbecue cooking show, are accustomed to being the only women at barbecue events. "We get comments like 'Look at these girls standing with their husbands' barbecues,' " says Kiki.

Costco member Brooke Lewis (@brookeo lewis), who co-owns The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint (theshedbbq.com) in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, with her brother, Brad Orrison, has also raised eyebrows on the competition circuit over the past 17 years.

"We were raised in a family of foodies, breaking brisket versus bread around the dinner table. When we first started hovering over the grills doing a cook, it was very male-driven, and people said, 'There's Brad. Oh, and his sister's here, helping,' " recalls Lewis. "But that has changed; every year, there are more and more women in this field, and they're killing it.

"I love the process of fast and fiery direct cooking over wood or coal, or slow and low smoking. Since pork is king in Mississippi, our baby back ribs are our labor of love," notes Lewis, who also teaches barbecue classes and helps charities like Operation BBQ Relief, which feeds first responders and communities in times of need.