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First BBQ Competition

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ILikeBigButts
ILikeBigButts Posts: 41
edited August 2015 in EggHead Forum
Plunging into the Competition world of BBQ the 29th of this month. Luckily I will be partnering with Byron Mixon's cousin haha  ;)

We will be using 3 Large eggs as well as an offset smoker. Meats include chicken, ribs and Boston butt. 

Anyone have any advice that has experienced a competition for themselves? I'm not really worried about losing because I was sponsored to do the event so my fees are paid for, but that doesn't mean I don't wanna win  =)
Large BGE | Gainesville, GA

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

Comments

  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    edited August 2015
    No advice but, good luck!
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • Black_Badger
    Black_Badger Posts: 1,182
    edited August 2015
    First piece of advice: don't call Myron Mixon Byron Mixon (haha). I'm guessing that may have been autocorrect messing with you.

    Honestly, the best advice I can give is pay attention, have fun, and listen to those around you that have more experience. You'll probably be surprised at how much there is to do and how busy you'll be when you're busy. There'll be down time too, but when it's time to rock and roll you'll know it!

    The other thing I thought was pretty helpful was to clean, clean, clean anything you can get your hands on when you're not doing something else. Clean tools are much easier to work with and if you stay on top of things throughout the day it'll be much easier to relax and enjoy after the last entry is turned in.

    Let us know how it goes, I'm sure there are lots of folks here that will be interested. Good luck!

    Cheers -
    B_B

    P.S. - which comp are you cooking for?
    Finally back in the Badger State!

    Middleton, WI
  • Nature Boy
    Nature Boy Posts: 8,687
    Howdy! As the Badger said, pay attention, listen, watch. Also, find people to try your food that are not afraid to tell you what's wrong. We've been keeping tabs on our competitions (all cooking on EGGs) for  the past 14 years. We've had many teams tell us they learned just from looking through the recaps on our website. There are a lot of pictures and stories of our adventures.
    Good luck out there!
    Chris
    DizzyPigBBQ.com
    Twitter: @dizzypigbbq
    Facebook: Dizzy Pig Seasonings
    Instagram: @DizzyPigBBQ
  • Nature Boy
    Nature Boy Posts: 8,687
    oh…BTW, a team called Game On BBQ just won the contest we were at last weekend in Floyd, VA. It was their 2nd or 3rd contest and they scored almost 700 points out of 720! Here are the scores

    Apparently they have been paying attention. Cheers!!
    Chris
    DizzyPigBBQ.com
    Twitter: @dizzypigbbq
    Facebook: Dizzy Pig Seasonings
    Instagram: @DizzyPigBBQ
  • First piece of advice: don't call Myron Mixon Byron Mixon (haha). I'm guessing that may have been autocorrect messing with you.


    P.S. - which comp are you cooking for?
    Yeah... It was autocorrect my bad haha! 

    And its a KCBS event called "Hawgin' on Lanier" it's in Gainesville, GA. And I plan to soak up as much info as I can from those guys. 
    Large BGE | Gainesville, GA

    Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
  • badinfluence
    badinfluence Posts: 1,774
    Hate to say it, but you are going to find that a lot of teams are going to be busy and not willing to help you a whole lot. Remember they are there to win also.

    Best advice I can give you is be on top of your cook. And DONT be late on the turn in time. If you are late well then you won't stand a chance as they won't even judge your food. 

    Place ice good in all categories and you stand a good chance at grand. 
    Good luck.
    1 XXL BGE,  1 LG BGE, 2 MED. BGE, 1 MINI BGE, 1 Peoria custom cooker Meat Monster.


    Clinton, Iowa
  • Nature Boy
    Nature Boy Posts: 8,687
    Hate to say it, but you are going to find that a lot of teams are going to be busy and not willing to help you a whole lot. Remember they are there to win also.


    badinfluence, Thursday night and most of Friday is a great time to get help from the more experienced teams. If you are respectful, and introduce yourself as rookies, you'd be surprised how many teams will help you. We've been quite open with our knowledge, and I even sat down with, then rookie, Tuffy Stone for an hour in his first competition 10 years ago. :) Don't be afraid to strike up a conversation with those more experienced! A majority of teams are willing to help.

    Cheers!
    Chris
    DizzyPigBBQ.com
    Twitter: @dizzypigbbq
    Facebook: Dizzy Pig Seasonings
    Instagram: @DizzyPigBBQ
  • Toxarch
    Toxarch Posts: 1,900
    Pay attention during the cooks' meeting and don't miss a turn-in time.
    If you can, see if there are any other cook-offs in the area before then. Go to one and just walk around and talk to people. Some teams are there for a good time and will be super helpful. Some teams are there for business and are super secretive in everything. I find most are nice people and like talking bbq. They really love sharing if they find out you are just there walking around and not competition.
    Aledo, Texas
    Large BGE
    KJ Jr.

    Exodus 12:9 KJV
    Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

  • Yeah, I do think teams are willing to help new teams when time allows.  All teams seem to appreciate the fact that they had a team help them when they first started and it is their part to give to the sport by helping others that are just starting.  Once you take a walk become a bit more of a threat...all bets are off. LOL

    I think back to our first competition and realize just how lost we were when it came to timelines that must be met.  We got these timelines dialed in on our second contest and took a couple of top 5's and overall top ten.  We were hooked and started to spend a lot more money on a hobby that we had just discovered.  Have fun and realize the first contest will teach you the most....good and bad.

    Good luck, let us know how it goes.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • Will definitely keep yall updated on the event. Just trying to cook as much as possible between now and then to hone in the times 
    Large BGE | Gainesville, GA

    Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
  • Get your meats trimmed ahead of time and wrap them tight with saran, but don't inject or rub until they are inspected. Do your boxes ahead of time. Great video on youtube of a guy who takes loose leaf lettuce, rolls in up in saran wrap (3-4" diameter) and then, with a very sharp brisket knife, cuts them to the depth of the box. He then carefully unwraps them, sitting them side by side and bingo...a perfect turn in box and no parsley blindness! Put your big meats on around 12:30 - 1:00 am, then your ribs in the morning, followed by your chicken. Many pros use meat glue for the scraped chix skin, although they never admit it, it's done all the time. Clean as you go. Drink plenty of fluids... Don't be offended if people are not overly endearing. As mentioned earlier on in this post, BBQ comps host a wide array of competitors. Some come for the fun, others are making a living at it. Have a comfortable place to rest (camper, tent, etc). You will be bushed out and may want to stay up and party but it is advisable to get some sleep, providing you are running a Guru. Make your turn ins on time. Try to make your turn in along with other not so well known attendees. You will see that the big names like to wait for the newbies to turn in and they will follow like a shark to meat. They want to get put on the judges table with the newbie entrants! This is a well know BBQ trick. Also, make sure your turn in boxes do not have ANYTHING on the inside or outside like a sauce smear. Most importantly...have fun. You will find out that the BBQ Pitmasters TV show leaves out a tone of what you had to do to get to the turn in.
  • allsid
    allsid Posts: 492
    edited August 2015
    Just had the exact same situation (I am guessing) as you earlier this year. Did my first KCBA event on all eggs.  Here are a few things I took away:

    1. Get your eggs stable for about midnight so you can get your brisket and butts going
    2. Cut, mark, and note in your phone the flat and point end of the brisket
    3. the notes app in your phone can be your friend for remembering things
    4. set a schedule and stick to it as best you can
    5. as mentioned before, have your meat totally prepped ahead of time, like a couple days ahead of time
    6. amazon has disposable cutting boards invest
    7. put pvc pipes into your prep tables to raise them to counter height for prep
    8. if you have a support staff, delegate, but plan the delegation.  If you have a frat buddy who you can trust to stay up and make sure the pit stays at 225- go for it
    9. Practice your chicken. I thought it would be hands down my very best because of how much I do on the egg. I still needed to do a late in the game butter-broth braise 
    10. get your knives professionally sharpened unless you are already shaving with them
    11. spray on and squeeze on margarine, apple juice, broths, and different sugar liquids are your friend have them in your quiver
    12. use really good foil
    13. I made amazing pork butt, but it looked like ****- took second to last- figure out what winning boxes look like and practice finding and dispatching a $muscle if you think that is important 
    14. some judges LOVE chicken wings
    15. brief your staff on the seriousness and importance of the top and bottom of the turn in box-
    16. if need be, use store bought sauces
    17. smoke rings do judge well regardless of what the man says
    18. dont blackout
    19. have fun
    20. holler if you want to chat about it  grillingmontana at gmail
    Good luck- P



    Proud resident of Missoula, MT
    https://www.facebook.com/GrillingMontana
    http://grillingmontana.com
    https://instagram.com/grillingmontana

    Check out my book on Kamado cooking called Exclusively Kamado:
    http://bit.ly/kamadobook

  • mshump
    mshump Posts: 212
    Good Luck
    Danville, Il
  • Texansurf
    Texansurf Posts: 507
    All the above and pay attention in the cooks meeting, there you will learn who the judges are and they will often tell you what their petpeeves are.

    Also nothing says you cannot have your eggs ready before the meat is inspected.  Normally you have a 20 minute window for turning the meat in.  I plan on finishing 2 hours before and ftc until 40 minutes before turn in then I take a little time to slice and present.  Also guard your turn in plates find a safe place to store them until needed.  If they get damaged your entry may not get judged.

    Most of all have fun,  or the Chupacabra might come by in the night....

    \
    Corpus Christi, Texas.  LBGE x 2, Weber Smoky Joe, and Aussie Walk-About