competition vs house bbq styles

It doesn't sound like you are doing brisket, but you asked about it and the associated timing so I will tell you what I know.

The competition cooks I've seen usually do it either one of two ways:

1) The Traeger teams (and others that potentially have a "set it and forget it" cooker) mostly cook whole briskets and put them on about 10-11PM the night before a 3:30 turn-in.  These teams typically still check the cook every 2 hours or so through the night, but they don't have to feed sticks every 20-30 minutes like the offset teams.

2) Most of the teams with offsets cut their brisket quite small - like a "center cut" brisket if you will.  They try to get a section that has some flat muscle and some point muscle in each slice so that judges can choose either (they are instructed to pick one and stick with it).  After the trimming, these tend to only weigh about 5-7 pounds so they can be cooked on the day of the competition with a relatively early start.

All of the teams seem to have a braise portion of the cook toward the end as they want it to be very moist for the judges.  And they all try to set it up so it finished early to give them some cushion and during the time between finish and turn-in they typically keep it warm in a pan full of beef broth and spices, covered with foil.  

I hope that helps.  

Some of the cooks you're seeing are done on stuck burners or cabinets. Which air flow is much different than the BGE. Especially with stick burners where air/heat is constantly flowing around the meat. This will help speed up the cook. I also find you can bump up temps with a stick burner. It's not all that uncommon where someone is running their stick burner between 275/300 and even 325 for low and slow cooks. 

i did my first comp last year and the best piece of advice it to stay true to what you know and what you do.  if your more comfortable doing low and slow then go with it and find ways to make your presentation better (i.e. use some juice from slicing to baste).  the worst thing you could do is try something for the first time comp day and it turns out no where near what you wanted.  

if you could do some practice on new stuff before by all means, watch how you trim and present because appearance is a lot of it also.  Figure out your timeline you want to hit print it out (laminate it in case of rain) and keep an eye on it.  Put alarms on your phone to help you stay on track.  that was a big help for me.  you get to drinking and talking to neighbors and it can get easy to forget things. 

Sams has great deals on gloves, foil and stuff  like that.  start on your list now of what to pack and you will think of 15 more things by the day you leave.  if you are taking folding tables get some PVC to raise the legs(your back thank you).  take extra stuff to get the fire going in case your go to doesnt work, a small electric leaf blower to speed things up if needed.  

Best and Most important rule.  Enjoy the H**L out of it.  its your first one plan to be a sponge.  Watch, listen, learn, be humble and have a great time.  cant wait to see the results.  

alaskanassasin said:

gamason said:

I think its because they have learned there is no real advantage to stretching a cook out for 12-14 hours when you can achieve the EXACT same results in half the time by cooking a little hotter. Nothing really wrong with a low and slow if it makes you feel more manly, JK,  but I have more important things to do with my time than babysit a piece of meat for 14 hours. I know there are electronics that will do the baby sitting for you, but again, I have better things to spend my money on. Good luck with the competition.

I feel sorry for you 

Ok... Whats your point? I just stated a fact, nothing more, nothing less.  Bless your heart.

I've done 15-20 competitions over the years. I'll throw in these tidbits.

It matters more what you do after pulling it out of the cooker till you serve than anything else. 

Focus on the flavor, it has to be WOW. They are judging you on one bite and some of the judges will only take a tiny bite because they are STUFFED or expecting to be stuffed.


Hot and fast cooking means more sleep. Competitons GCs are won after the meat comes off the smoker, not before. How you do the final trim, when you do it, what you sauce with, how you plate. It can be awesome tasting when you plate but the judge may not eat it for 30 min. Can your food stand the hold in a styrofam container?