Did a BBQ Contest this last weekend... Didn't do great, but wanted to share.
imgur.com/a/HS35x
imgur.comPosted May 12, 2014, 5:41 PM UTC
2014
imgur.comLooks pretty slick. My roommate and I entered our first one at the end of September. Any advice? We have no idea what to expect..
2
I've done a few with friends... Never scored too high. I think the most important thing is to get your supplies/packing/setup pretty standardized. That way you concentrate the important stuff. Get your submission boxes done ahead of time if you can. Have fun. I know our team with our backyard smokers will never be able to match the volume of teams with RVs and massive trailer smokers, but we go out and try to do the best we can. Don't get down if you end up towards the back of the pack. Learn from the contest and bring what you learned to the next one.
1
Practice, practice, practice...don't ever assume you've mastered a meat and stop practicing it. Concentrate on practicing consistency on all 4 meats. Also work out your timing, write down what time to put the meats on the smoker, what time to take out and wrap/store in cooler. Also just have fun, meet/talk to your neighbor teams. If you forgot something they might let you borrow theirs. My first comp i went home to change clothes after the mandatory cooks meeting. I didn't realize i left my lighter in my pocket so i came back to the comp site with no freaking source of fire, luckily my neighbors were kind enough to share their lighters with me lol.
1
I'm a KCBS Certified Judge with 14 competitions under my belt. Most practiced judges can not only identify "bad meat," but can identify the type of smoke used in the preparation of meat. Make sure that your wood/smoke and rub compliment the type of meat. Another thing that teams should think about is the location of the competition. Are you in Kansas? Are you in Texas? It's likely that the judges will (even though they are instructed not to do so) subtract points for a meat not prepared in the way that is traditional to that region. A quick google search will bring up this article. This is pretty spot on. http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/10/28/competitive-barbecue/
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I see the problem right there. Too many greens! Hah anyways it looks great. Just competing is a step in the right direction.
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What is picture 3? FWIW, it all looks like good eating!
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3 is our chicken submission. Deboned chicken thighs cooked upside down in a cupcake tin. If you look up 'cupcake chicken' on youtube, you can find a bunch of how-tos.
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sounds good! Thighs are my default chicken cut when I grill. I have never tried smoking them though.
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I have never even heard of this before...going to try it out on Saturday now! Thanks!
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What's your method for brisket?
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I actually like your presentation of the brisket, unique layout IMO.
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Disclaimer: I've never had to build a turn in box but I've seen them on TV... Your pork box looks the best. Great color and contrast. Cool brisket presentation. Nothing wrong with trying something different. Chicken thighs look good also. Lots of respect for those of you who compete. It's a different game than cooking for family and friends.
1
Some ideas for getting better scores -
Pack as many pieces of each meat into a box that you can. Judges like to see a full box and like to have some selection, even when it gets down to the 6th judge grabbing their sample from the box. For example, on the brisket, I'd recommend putting slices full-width across the box (horizontally) and you can probably get 8-10 slices in there. Not much green will be showing but the box will be nice and fat with brisket. Try to get 9 cupcake chicken thighs into the box.
On the thighs, rather than deboning them, try to only cut the knuckles off. I know a few judges that will knock scores down if there isn't a bone in the thigh.
With the ribs, try to stack them with the bark showing rather than the side showing. You can likely get 8-10 ribs in a box. Put a row of 4-5 down and then stack another row of 4-5 about half way on the first row so you can see both rows while still being able to close the box with clearance. When you put them side-by-side like that, it'll help protect the meat the judges are biting into from drying out or getting cold.
The pork doesn't appear to have much/any sauce. Judges typically want to see at least a little sauce on there. My best scores/most money in pork have come from entries that I thought were slightly oversauced.
Hope that helps :)
Excellent suggestions. I just wanted to add, other than the chicken, the other meats look dry. Judges, like some women, like shinny things! Make sure the meat is dipped (and drained properly) before you put it in the box and add a bit of glaze with a brush if necessary.