Top tips for first KCBS competition?

[Woodson]

The lingo is weird sometimes. Then there are those guys who only speak in acronym. Frustrating. I overkill on comps. I bring so much stuff, I really need to lighten my load.

[Donw]

Sounds like really good advice. Had to do a little research on what Shigging means. Funny how ever profession and activity has its own language that you have to learn to fully understand it.

[Woodson]

Glad your wife is in on it. Once my wife joined the team we started walking a lot more often.

Don’t be intimidated by the fancy equipment of other teams. For some of us, it is humble beginnings, it was for me.

Gordon Ramsey says you lose 30% of whatever rub you use on meat, so use 30% more.

Inject everything. Get either Kosmo’s or butchers phosphates. Phosphates help the food retain moisture. Good moist food will not tighten up as much when it gets cold.

Sharpen your knives, for obvious reasons. Be sure to have a razor-sharp slicing knife, you don’t want to go sawing through your perfect brisket and make it look like Freddy Krueger did it.

If rules allow, prep your meat ahead of time. Angie and I have meat prep parties where we trim 12 thighs and vac pack them, makes less work the day of event.

Chicken skin: Bite through does not mean crispy. It means tender. If your chicken skin isn’t right, but your meat is tender, consider losing the skin, re-rub it and sauce it well.

Be careful with your tongs. We barely use em anymore, but aggressive tonging can damage appearance.

Comfortable shoes. After a comp, you’ll feel like you walked 12 miles at Disney World.

Hang your paper towels. Use a bungee cord to hang from your canopy, and/or a wood clamp secured to your table.

Plan for the weather.

Keep your area organized. They don’t judge you on this but other competitors do. If you organized, you appear more professional, and other teams will notice and take you more seriously.

if you’re inviting friends, be sure they know it’s business first. I’ve had people who came to party and eat a free buffet, I had to reality-check them.

If health code permits, offer to trade a rib or something with the other teams next to you. Note how their taste/tenderness differs from yours, then see where they place.

Shigging isn't shigging your first time out. Yes, focus on your tasks, but see what others are doing. Go so far as to even flat out ask. You’ll seem like a young inquisitive Harry Potter on his first day at Hogwarts, and some people will spill their guts on their processes and flavors.

Shiny sauce. I take corn syrup with me to brighten up my sauces. Just a little will enhance your shine without affecting taste too much.

A cooker cooks differently when completely loaded with meat. A lot of people test run at home with one meat at a time, then the day of the event they are turning in undercooked product and not knowing why. Everything takes a little longer when it’s a full cooker. Larger cookers are less affected by this, but it still applies.

Use a faux Cambro. A dry cooler will hold meat hot for hours.

Take a stroll. You need to know how long it takes to get to the turn in. Only one way to know.

I've gone on too far, but there are a million things. Let us see photos of your trophy when you take grand champion.

[HawkerXP]

Have FUN!

[Know Bull]

One could write a book with tips... Wait, I think someone has....

First of all, leave the gas cooker at home. Wasted effort. You cannot use it to cook; not even to keep the cooked food warm. Automatic disqualification to use gas or electricity to apply heat to meat. You would only be able to use the gas grill to heat water for doing dishes.

Forget about "chef's choice." You need no distractions. Cook the four KCBS entries only as your only focus. Besides, you do not have cooker room.

You need a second cooker. Either recruit a partner, or borrow a cooker. IF, and I mean IF, you attempt to cook an entire contest on one cooker - you will need to cook big meats to be done before 8:00 AM, ribs fast to be done at 11:00, and chicken VERY fast to be done at 11:50. You have no room for error.

KCBS food is not the same as food you make at home. The judges take one bite of your food for judging. So you have to impress those taste buds on that single bite, and not worry about what it tastes like when consuming the whole piece of meat. KCBS entries are over-salted and over-sugared to achieve this. The saucing of your meat is expected by most judges.

Put some effort into box garnish. It matters, no matter what the rules say.

Before you compete again, sign up for a KCBS judging class. Find out what is expected in your entry, and it will vastly improve your cooking.

Lastly, have fun, but do not over indulge in the adult beverages. KCBS events are fun... but it is no fun attempting to put together your entries when hung over.

[TripleB]

Sorry, but I was emphasizing that your food needs to be warm as possible when you turn in. Prep your box, don't slice too soon, keep your box warm in a hot box, get a thermal carrying case to transport your food to the turn in. When the meat is turned in, it does not immediately go to the judges. There are checks, double checks, triple checks before the judges get the meat to judge. Don't over think or over plan this. Just a tip.

[Smoke Trails BBQ]

Thanks Jamie. Since my wife is going to be my sous chef I better not take it to seriously

[Smoke Trails BBQ]

Thanks Triple B. I hadn't considered the hot factor. I suppose in that case it would be important to slice and prep the box at a higher internal temp while balancing rest time? And perhaps turning it in as close to the turn in time as possible (or within the 5 min period before/after)

[Smoke Trails BBQ]

Thanks dshaffes, I may look at borrowing my neighbors WSM or sourcing another smoker for the cook. Sounds like it could be tough managing with just the one

[TripleB]

Yes and it's too bad that teams are turning in everything, except brisket, sweet. It use to be quite a range of flavors. Savory, simple rub, heat, etc. Now I see the flavor profiles about all the same. Talking to cooks after a contest they stated that the judges want it sweet and if you want to win, that's what you do. Again, too bad.

[JamieBBQ]

Remember KCBS likes sugar sweet not savory. And don’t overcook, meaning no fall of the bone. Meat needs to bite clean. Have fun and don’t take it to seriously.

[TripleB]

My 2 cents:

In the future, I’d get another smoker. If you are competing at the end of August, you don’t have much time to practice with a new smoker. Go with what your practicing on now, especially if you have a firm grasp on how your going to cook. Just dial it in.

I judge so make sure you turn in HOT food. Don’t spend a lot of time dressing up your box and then the food gets cold. Cold meat will affect the taste and tenderness. When judges look at boxes, their really looking for legalities. If it looks Like good BBQ, straight cuts, appetizing, rather than a hot mess, you’ll score a 9. Appearance does not score as high as Taste and Tenderness. Im always amazed when I get "cold" meat.

Make sure there are at least 6 entries to a box and they are detached. It happens occasionally when two pieces of meat are not detached (e.g. ribs) and one judge does not get a piece of meat. Judges are not allowed to pull the pieces apart.

Biggest legality that is caught is foreign objects in a box. A tiny piece of tin foil, a toothpick, etc. if you use toothpicks to hold your chicken skin down, then make sure you count your toothpicks.

Good luck and have fun. And don’t worry if you forget to bring something. The teams are always friendly and willing to help out other pit masters, especially if it is their first time.

[dshaffes]

Many teams will cook a lot more food than is required for turn in so they can select the best meat for their boxes. Our team will generally cook 4 racks of ribs, 2 butts, 12-18 thighs, and 1 brisket. At a bare minimum you could go with 2 racks of ribs, 1 butt, 9 thighs, 1 brisket. With one smoker, you will need to have a well though out and closely managed cook plan to pull it off. I competed with just a WSM 22" at my first comp and was just happy to have all 4 entries successfully submitted on time. In my opinion, adding another smoker would be helpful. Good luck and let me know if you have other questions.

[Smoke Trails BBQ]

Hi everyone,

I'm competing in my first BBQ competition at the end of August. Wondering if you could give me a few of the top tips for first time competitors? (e.g. have a schedule, plan ahead, have multiple smokers, timing etc.)

I have a solid grasp of how I'm going to cook my brisket, butt, chicken thighs and ribs. Also competing in a "chefs choice" category of "pizza" which should be interesting.

The main question I have is should I obtain another smoker before the competition? All I have is a Oklahoma Joe's stick burner at the moment.

Thanks,


Equipment:

- MES 30
- Oklahoma Joe's offset (Highland)
- Blackstone griddle
- Gas Grill
- Thermapen instant read thermometer
- Various wifi and wired meat probes
- Amaz'n pellet smoker

(next on the wishlist is a kettle, pellet smoker and egg)