Say you wanted to start dabbling in competition BBQ...

What advice, do's/dont's, and stories would you share with a rookie?

I'm not there yet, but it's a serious hobby of mine and I have the time and inclination to explore it.

Any competition cookers out there?

check out the book Barbecue Secrets Deluxe by Ronnie Shewchuk

I'm not a competition guy, but there's some good recipes and tips there

I'm a KCBS judge. Which sanctioning body's events do you plan on competing in?

Competition BBQ is not the same as cooking for family and friends. Try to cook to cookoff specs and see how you do.

Brisket: Not falling apart, but can easily pull apart. Defined smoke ring, some judges like it dry, some like it moist. Slices should be thickness of a #2 pencil.

Spare ribs: Tender but not falling off of the bone. Should leave a bite mark when eaten. No sauce, but can be glazed. We've done best with hot and sweet.

Chicken: Crispy skin, but still moist bird. Juices have to run clear. Turn in is usually an entire half chicken.

Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04

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I'm a KCBS judge. Which sanctioning body's events do you plan on competing in?

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Just getting started looking around. The few I've been to have all been KCBS.

Cody,

No doubt about it being different than home. If we get far enough to actually enter one, I'm prepared to be humbled. It's not so much that I think my BBQ is the best, it's just a serious hobby that I'd like to learn more about and improve.

Did you guys start with one meat and "perfect" your process/plan or did you guys go straight for all categories? I'm debating picking one category and really seeing what it takes to improve.

Complete and total noob other than a couple of smaller non-sanctioned events before I moved from Houston.

I believe KCBS is the largest sanctioning body. They only run a few in Florida though and I don't think too many in Texas either.
We get to judge some tremendous chicken, ribs and pork but as somebody who grew up in Texas, the brisket is a big let down most of the time.
The events are a blast. Everybody gets along. I've made a lot of friends with judges and competitors.
An expensive hobby though!

a couple of us from my faire clan are looking to start doing this as well. Interesting thread!

Thriller, if you do KCBS you should definitely try all four categories your first time out. Just making turn in times for all of them is an accomplishment.
The other teams will all root for you.

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Brisket: Not falling apart, but can easily pull apart. Defined smoke ring, some judges like it dry, some like it moist. Slices should be thickness of a #2 pencil.

Spare ribs: Tender but not falling off of the bone. Should leave a bite mark when eaten. No sauce, but can be glazed. We've done best with hot and sweet.

Chicken: Crispy skin, but still moist bird. Juices have to run clear.

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aren't these pretty much the same standards that most have for backyard bbq?

my understanding is that competition turn-ins differ in that folks use a lot saltier, sweeter and more savory flavors than in the backyard so that the sample stands out against the dozens the judges are consecutively trying.

just my take. and for the record, my knowledge of competition bbq comes from watching bbq pitmasters and youtube videos so take it with a grain of salt.

[This message has been edited by carter4133 (edited 4/22/2014 6:04p).]

carter,

I think most of us that really enjoy BBQing have those standards... not sure how I would fare in a KCBS competition. Cooking 4 meats to perfection has got to be stressful. I can get two meats to near perfection, but 4 would be a challenge. If I run late with my ribs at home... I have all day. At a competition... not so much.

I really hope some of you newbies to competition report back how it went. I would really be curious how the backyard to competition translated. Heck, I'll come help you for free for the experience if its in Texas!

From.what I have seen, competition BBQ is about "one bite" rather than the overall product (I.e..Select your 6 best ribs out of 4-5 racks, and then put them in a pretty box. ) To me, cooking to "one bite" isn't as fun as throwing on a brisket or pork butt for the family/friends.

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From.what I have seen, competition BBQ is about "one bite" rather than the overall product (I.e..Select your 6 best ribs out of 4-5 racks, and then put them in a pretty box. ) To me, cooking to "one bite" isn't as fun as throwing on a brisket or pork butt for the family/friends.

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From what you've seen? So you saw a couple of Pitmasters and suddenly you're the expert on competition BBQ? If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong. Competition cooking is like a 2 day tailgate with an awards ceremony instead of a game at the end of it. It's a ton of beer and time wasting with the end result of a lot of food to eat. Not to mention all of the aforementioned BBQs you have for "practice" leading up to said competition.

Go here texasbbqforum.com and start reading. There is a wealth of knowledge on bbq and there is also a forum dedicated to competition bbq.

We cook in IBCA and TGCBCA events, as well as a couple of non-sanctioned ones. The non-sanctioned are a little more laid back, and smaller. The sanctioned events have some teams that are super serious about this stuff.

We cooked at the Weiser Air park a few years ago. It was the Texas State Championship for one of the sanctioning bodies. It was open to everyone, but several teams had accumulated points throughout the year and were in the running. We showed up with one pickup towing the pit and one full of tables, canopies, etc. We were a little later than we wanted to be Friday, about 6 oclock. There were more than a dozen tandem axle RV's pulling fully contained catering-style pits. These folks were for real. The winner went on to win Houston that year (Texas Pepper Jelly)

We got 8th place ribs.

Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04

For the guys who have competed, what type/brand of pit do you have? What do you want to get to eventually?

I used to work with a guy that had a 19 or 20ft trailered pit, roof, sinks, the works. I can't remember the manufacturer, but it was a sweet setup.

My team is a mess. We have a Chargriller (think cheap offset), four Traegers of various sizes and a Weber Kettle. I would love to get a counterflow pit on a trailer at some point, probably a Jambo since those look so sweet. Unfortunately I don't really compete enough to justify that outlay and the cost of firing up a big pit is massive in comparison to cooking on a small offset or Traeger so I probably won't buy a big one anytime soon.

We have a few calls to our name and a first place in an ad hoc category. So we sort of know what we're doing but every year is an adventure.

Sooner... if you are judging a BBQ with 100's of entrants, don't you think it comes down to one bite?

Especially since the OP was asking about ideas for success at the competition... giving away hundreds of pounds of BBQ to the tailgate party is all well and good, and a lot of fun, but they don't give out the trophy for who hands out the most beer.

"It's not revenge... It's the reckoning... - Marcus Luttrell, USN Retired.

[This message has been edited by wadd96 (edited 4/23/2014 9:04a).]

Wadd, it absolutely comes down to a single bite, but in my experience, you can achieve that AND cook for a crowd at the same time, especially with the new Pork rules.

Just for reference, at a contest we cook 2 briskets, 6 racks of spares, 2 butts and about 30 thighs. We feed an army of friends with what we don't turn in and they love it and we still win money/prizes.

[This message has been edited by Sooner Born (edited 4/23/2014 11:15a).]

Wadd, in KCBS your stuff goes to one table of 6 judges, regardless of how many teams are entered. So you are trying to get 6 perfect samples of each category.

There is usually a pretty much equal amount of teams and judges. and they double blind it and switch where the entries go.

Let's say we happen to have an event with 24 teams and get lucky and have just the right amount of judges.

As judges we'd get chicken from 6 different teams. Then 1/2 hour later we'd get rib samples from 6 teams different than the first 6.

After we get done with pork and brisket we will have judged one sample from 24 different teams.

If you cook in Texas, you will turn in brisket, ribs, and half a chicken.

We cook on a homemade rig. It took us 6 months of late nights in a loaner shop, but we love her.

Nice dahouse!

That's pretty sweet for a homemade pit.

I'm probably going to be cooking on a couple of Weber Smokey Mountains. I don't feel like packing up and transporting my BGE and I left my offset in Houston when we moved to Amarillo two moves and 4 years ago.

edit: that's a pretty sweet pit, period. I don't have the skills or knowledge to design or build anything anywhere close to that.

[This message has been edited by Thriller (edited 4/23/2014 11:35a).]

That is a sweet pit. Wish I knew how to work with metal.

SRBS, you made my point. Having to sample food from 24 different teams over X number of hours, you are not going to eat a whole rack of ribs. Or a brisket sandwich. You are going to take a minimal number of bites simply due to the volume of food placed in front of you.

It's the same reason "tasing menus" have smaller portions at restaurants.

"It's not revenge... It's the reckoning... - Marcus Luttrell, USN Retired.

I don't think I did make your point, I was just doing a quick explanation of how the judging works.

The teams are certainly trying to get everything they cook as good as possible. Since it's a comp they cook plenty to get what are hopefully "perfect" samples. So they end up with plenty of killer leftovers to take home or give to friends.
The "one bite" thing is just a euphemism you hear on TV shows.
The stuff they don't turn in tastes just as good as what went to the judges tent. We judge on appearance too so teams are picking the best looking stuff to turn in.

Wadd...like I said, you can still cook for a perfect bite and cook for a crowd (and have a lot of fun doing it). I guess my point is that if the guy is asking for advice, why come in naysaying the whole process when you've never done it?

[This message has been edited by Sooner Born (edited 4/23/2014 12:48p).]

Sooner, your comment about it being like "a 2 day tailgate with an awards ceremony at the end" was spot on.

We are not allowed to fraternize with teams on Saturday before turn in but certainly can on Friday night and I make a point of doing so.

There is fierce competition between the teams but everybody gets along like old friends.
I take my duties as a judge VERY seriously but being involved in (a small way) the BBQ contest circuit is craploads of fun

www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/index.php

Lots of competition guys on this website.

You posters that compete and the OP who is pondering such, please bump this thread with results your next time out.

And rule #1 on your turn in boxes!!!!

My first turn in box may be a ways away. Baby steps...

Anybody going to Goldthwaite this weekend?

Competition in three weeks. Practicing pork tomorrow.

Sooner, what comp?