Team HOH is a mostly carnivorous bunch, which is why the return of DC Meat Week, now in its fourth year, has our stomachs already grumbling.

The epic celebration of slowly cooked carcasses stretches a whopping eight days (Jan. 27 to Feb. 3), kicking off with a visit to long-standing Meat Week participants Urban Bar-B-Que (four years running) and culminating with a trip to Mr. P’s (ditto) on Super Bowl Sunday.

In between, barbecue lovers will be treated to all-you-can-eat barbecue buffets (Hill Country Barbecue, Jan. 28), prix fixe gourmet meals (Epic Smokehouse, Jan. 29) and exclusive brunches (Kangaroo Boxing Club, Feb. 2; this event is sold out).

But the two main events are a terrifying eating challenge and a barbecue truck battle royal.

First up is Pork Barrel BBQ (Jan. 31), with its “High on the Hog” challenge for hard-core barbecue enthusiasts. Participants will attempt to consume the following in
45 minutes:

• 1 Smackin’ Big Daddy Sandwich (an oversized sandwich with a half-pound of pulled pork and a Texas brisket sausage, topped with Monster Cheese Sauce, coleslaw and barbecue sauce)
• 1 slab pork ribs
• 2 Texas brisket sausages
• 1 side Monster Mac & Cheese
• 1 side baked beans
• 1 side coleslaw

Mow through the almost 4 pounds of food in time, and you’ll waddle away with a commemorative T-shirt, a $50 Pork Barrel BBQ gift card and your name on the “High on the Hog Challenge” Hall of Fame. Fail and you fork over $49.95.

Those brave/foolish enough to attempt the challenge need to let Pork Barrel BBQ know of their intentions by Jan. 29.

LivingSocial jumps into the spotlight Feb. 1 with the inaugural BBQ Truck Face-Off. The $49 ticket to the event — capped at 200 admissions — entitles each attendee to: three Pabst Blue Ribbon beers, a sampling of two meats and two sides from each of the four competing food trucks and a vote in LivingSocial’s “King of Meat Week” contest.

The featured foodstuffs include:

• BBQ Bus: pulled pork, sliced brisket, BBQ Bus beans, crispy slaw, buttermilk cornmeal biscuit
• PORC: Hickory-smoked pulled pork with PORC sauce, house-made pastrami, vinegar coleslaw, BBQ beans
• Carnivore BBQ: pulled pork, beef brisket, North Carolina-style slaw, loaded smoked baked beans, house sauces
• Curley’s Q BBQ: pork sandwich, brisket, mac ’n’ cheese, baked beans

Attendees file in every half-hour from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will all be provided Kansas City Barbecue Society-style scorecards.

Meat Week founder and Capital Spice blogger Mike Bober said he’s always thrilled to see familiar faces but suggested even diehards have their limits.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody come out for every night of a full week,” he said.