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SwineGuy
08-21-2014, 03:49 AM
We are a team made up of three guys. I am curious how other teams with two or more members actually carry out their competition cooks. Do you have each member take a meat and do everything from beginning to end? Do you have one guy do it all and get help as needed from the others? Same assignments every comp or mix it up from one to another?

We have done three comps and have done it different ways and am wondering if there is a suggested team set up.

Thanks!

roksmith
08-21-2014, 05:42 AM
We also have a 3 man team and after a few events, the jobs just sort of work themselves out. Our meats all take participation from 2 or 3 members, so splitting didn't work for us. We didn't intentionally split anything up, it just worked out how it worked out.

cpw
08-21-2014, 07:11 AM
We have 2 main guys, and a third that helps with cleanup and whatever else needs to be done. We mostly work in tandem with all the meats, but we also each always do a certain item, for example, my teammate always trims the brisket and always assembles the boxes. I always prep the chicken and choose which meat goes in the box.

Ron_L
08-21-2014, 08:18 AM
I think you have to see what works for you. My wife and I cook as a team and for the most part we divide the work. I do the cooking, but she helps with the prep, we both do the boxes, set up and tear down.

BUT... She is in charge of making the box look great before it leaves the trailer :-D If she's not happy, it doesn't leave until she is! And that's fine with me! At one comp she caught a tiny sliver of foil embedded in a brisket slice and if she hadn't, and a judge did, it would have cost us a 180!

RumRunner_1492
08-21-2014, 09:01 AM
We are a 2 man team. We equally do the prep with each having specific jobs. In the morning I man the smoker while he builds the boxes. We have learned how to divide things at night so we can each get 5-6 hours of sleep or down time.

Rub'n Wood BBQ
08-21-2014, 09:10 AM
3 man team, each handle our own meats. I do chicken and pork so I have a break during rib turn in. In regards to all the other labor that is needed, we just kind of worked things out over the years and have divided up what each person does. The most important thing is to find what works for you and make sure you guys can actually function together. We have had other teammates in the past where it seemed like all we did was work against each other the entire set up and break down times.

Podge
08-21-2014, 09:11 AM
My wife puts the greens in the box, she mashes the button on the wench, and does most of the dishes, I do everything else.

Ron_L
08-21-2014, 09:40 AM
My wife puts the greens in the box, she mashes the button on the wench, and does most of the dishes, I do everything else.

You have a wench and a wife? :thumb:

:becky:

tduffy
08-21-2014, 10:10 AM
I have one main guy who helps me out at nearly every contest and a couple random buddies who will show up. I do the main work and they assist. They have been around it enough to know the drill. It works well.

SwineGuy
08-21-2014, 11:22 AM
Thanks guys...good insight.

cpw
08-21-2014, 12:59 PM
You have a wench and a wife? :thumb:

:becky:

That's the kind of BBQ team I need to be part of.

SmokinTheGoodStuff
08-21-2014, 02:02 PM
I try to split up the responsibilities but haven't figured out how to split up the costs!

JD McGee
08-21-2014, 02:33 PM
We are a team of two...myself and my wife Rhana. She is in charge of rubs, sauces, boxes, prepping chicken and ribs, and final finishing of our turn in boxes. I maintain the gear, trim pork and brisket, and do all the cooking. We both share cleanup and load in/out duties.:cool:

BMerrill
08-21-2014, 03:15 PM
I have cooked mostly on teams of mixed members for 3 years now.

Each cook will cook one or more categories as agreed upon before the contest.
Each cook is responsible for their portion of the entry fee, purchase their own meats, and bring everything they need to cook their entry and any food or drink for themselves and their assistances.
Other items that are common use, prior agreements are need on who will bring and provide what. These can include smokers, tents, campers, wash station, tables, even dinner Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning.
This doesn't mean you are a 4 cook team with 4 of everything. Common sense comes into play. A team works together, not against each other.
When boxing we work together, but the cook's turn-in is his and his along, he has final say of what goes in the box, how it looks, etc.
If a cook gets a walk, the whole team goes together to accept the award, but the award/cash are the cooks to keep.
If the team gets the Grand or Reserve or other place that pays out the prize money is split evenly in accordance to the entries each cook was responsibility. The Grand/Reserve trophy goes to the head cook unless he/she declines and passes it down.
Each cook is reasonable to tip-out to his non-cook assistances better know as hang-a- rounders.

INmitch
08-21-2014, 09:02 PM
^^^^^That would drive me nuts^^^.
Lulu and I pull in and set up together (20 minutes). The only thing she does before turnins is make the boxes. I do everything else.
At turnin time she has everything at my fingertips (like a dentist and his asst) and chose what ribs to put in the box.
After turnins she ussually tells me everything I did wrong and argue while were packing up (30-40 minutes).







Then go to awards.........and ussually argue a little more!:blah:

Damn I love her though!!!

J&B'sBBQ
08-21-2014, 09:06 PM
I agree with the others that you need to just see what works for your personalities. Some people enjoy prepping and cooking meats, while others don't want the responsibility and would prefer to just help with other stuff.

We have a three man team and we each have our own designated duties that we do the same each contest. We find that this keeps us on track and we know what our responsibilities are and are less likely to mess something up that way. I am the pit master and handle all the major responsibilities, my husband is my right hand man and makes decisions on what pieces go in the box, and our third member runs the fire and boxes. It works great for us, but that is our system.

Ron_L
08-21-2014, 09:35 PM
^^^^^That would drive me nuts^^^.
Lulu and I pull in and set up together (20 minutes). The only thing she does before turnins is make the boxes. I do everything else.
At turnin time she has everything at my fingertips (like a dentist and his asst) and chose what ribs to put in the box.
After turnins she ussually tells me everything I did wrong and argue while were packing up (30-40 minutes).







Then go to awards.........and ussually argue a little more!:blah:

Damn I love her though!!!



^^^^^^ :laugh: :rofl:

bigdogphin
08-21-2014, 09:42 PM
My wife is in charge! I just work here....

Jason TQ
08-22-2014, 12:23 PM
We are a husband/wife team which I think is pretty different than swineguy's team demographic. The husband/wife setup is normally (yes I'm sure there are exceptions) different than a team comprised of 2-4+ people who each have very direct responsibility or own category to handle. I always like hearing how the multi friend teams are setup and operate.

Most (yes again there are exceptions/variations) husband/wife setups seem to be the guy does most of the primary cooking and the wife is the right-hand "woman" assisting with anything their guy needs and providing feedback on the food going into the box and they garnish the boxes. I do have the final say on all the food, but do listen to feedback given. The "my wife truly runs the show" doesn't apply to us and she understands :-D. And I don't mean that in a chauvinistic way, but that is just how we operate. Whereas a setup like the OP there are more moving parts/variations to how multiple people teams operate together, again which always interests me. Mostly because I don't think I could ever not cook everything. I think I would lose my mind if I didn't have control over all the categories or see something I didn't agree with and my feedback could be negated/ignored :becky:.

BrotherInArms
08-22-2014, 02:14 PM
We are a team of two...myself and my wife Rhana. She is in charge of rubs, sauces, boxes, prepping chicken and ribs, and final finishing of our turn in boxes. I maintain the gear, trim pork and brisket, and do all the cooking. We both share cleanup and load in/out duties.:cool:

And very successful at it I might add. JD you and Rhana are a class act. And some of the best cooks/people I have ever met.

midwest_kc
08-22-2014, 02:19 PM
We are a team of 4, but have done contests between 3-5 people. For our normal 4 man setup, we all split the costs evenly of the entry fee, meat, foil, etc. Basically, everything is split except each cook's spices and sauces for their own turn ins. We used to make everyone be responsible for buying their own meat, too, but that isn't really fair when 2 briskets may be $80, and chicken may be $15-$20.

My wife (not one of the 4, but irreplaceable, regardless) makes the boxes, and helps with presentation. We all help on the presentation, but her and the cook get final say. This works really smoothly for every category except mine.

Any awards, etc. stay with the team and when we get enough to display, we will make a display to put up at comps with them. If we ever have winnings, they will go into a central checking account we have for the team and will help cover future comps (though I'm sure we'll spend most of it at the bar that night instead).

BBQ_Mayor
08-22-2014, 03:08 PM
We are a 3 man team. I do ribs and most of the chicken, we share duties of watching the chicken cooker at a contest but I do the trimming seasoning and time line. Shotgun does Brisket and Cookie does the pork. We take care of our own boxes for the most part but sometime split that up.
We all take care of getting sponsors and setting up catering and vending. All this money pays for the entries, meats and spices.
Seams to work out so far. Do what you know and do it well.

Smokesignalsfromtx
08-22-2014, 06:55 PM
That's the kind of BBQ team I need to be part of.

Lol! I've been married twice, got rid of the winch AND the wife!

Roast Beast
08-22-2014, 09:57 PM
Primarily a husband and wife team here, with each of our respective fathers and my mother helping out depending on availability.

I do all the meat selection, injecting, trimming, cooking, saucing, fire management, boxing, etc. Like fnbish, I'm not sure that I could handle not having ultimate control of those things.

My wife does the parsley, runs the boxes, and (critically importantly) is in charge of quality control. She is an excellent manager of both people and processes. When I'm running around in the weeds trying to keep things straight, she is my backstop every step of the way.

The fathers pitch in any way asked, and sometimes handle the People's Choice categories.

My mother sometimes does desserts and provides moral support.

Everyone helps with setup and teardown, although I'm working to minimize both.

SwineGuy
08-23-2014, 03:58 AM
Really interesting to hear how the different teams do their thing. Its something I have been wondering about and glad I asked. There does seem to be a difference between the set-ups of the husband-wife teams vs. the "three or four buddies" teams.

As for expenses, through the first three comps we have done we kind of just all paid for something, but it was real disorganized. He paid for the meat, I paid the comp entry fee, the other guy bought a bunch of supplies, etc. But in the long run we now realize we really need to get some structure around the money. We are going to all kick some money into a team bank account and started paying out of that and tracking.

As for cooking, we all like to do all the meats but know we can't have three guys standing over the same meat and trying to do everything so I think we are going to move towards us taking one meat each to do from beginning to end.

And the turn in boxes...oh those turn-in boxes....we really need an artist on our team to help with those things!

tunnelengineer
08-23-2014, 08:31 AM
We are primarily 2 guys, and we really splitup the meats to make it manageable. We both pitch in for each other, but it helps to not have to worry about all the details of all 4 meats.

CSchieck
08-23-2014, 05:05 PM
We are a team of 4. Split the costs of the entry fee evenly. Each member is responsible for one entry and all the items they need to prepare it. The smokers are shared, but individually owned. We assist each other as requested/necessary. Any winnings are to be put towards the next the next entry fee for the team. Yes, the chicken guy gets off cheap, but he spends hours playing with raw chicken. Wouldn't trade places with him for anything.

We get along well and have fun. We take the comp seriously, but not so seriously that we don't have a really good time.

The 2 members with the lowest ranking for their entry are responsible for supplying the dinner meal on Friday evening of the next comp, which must be a 10 lb bone in rib roast. (I'm on the hook for the next comp......).

Pappy Q
08-24-2014, 09:06 AM
^^^^^That would drive me nuts^^^.
Lulu and I pull in and set up together (20 minutes). The only thing she does before turnins is make the boxes. I do everything else.
At turnin time she has everything at my fingertips (like a dentist and his asst) and chose what ribs to put in the box.
After turnins she ussually tells me everything I did wrong and argue while were packing up (30-40 minutes).







Then go to awards.........and ussually argue a little more!:blah:

Damn I love her though!!!

You and Podge need to teach me how you get your wife to do so much

CBQ
08-24-2014, 02:10 PM
I found my wife was a lot more interested in BBQ and a lot more tolerant of doing 15-20 contests a year when she got more involved. She does our complete chicken - prep to box - and also preps the brisket. Prior to the contest, she makes all the injections and sauces and manages the inventory for contests.

I do all the ordering of any stuff we get online, along with the rest of the prep and the cooking of the other 3 categories.

She used to object to the work involved...until she got her first chicken call. Now she looks forward to the next contest.

(When we had 4 people on the team, the other 2 cooked 1 category, and helped with boxing, but we moved to a 2 person team this year.)

Just Smokin' Around
08-24-2014, 09:56 PM
We're a team of 2. In the beginning, we were both bringing the same things and had too much crap. We also tried splitting the meats, who cooked what and bought what. We eventually ended up that one pays the entry fee and the other buys the meats and food to eat at the comp. Over time, it worked out who was making a sauce we liked, a rub we would use, etc. We eventually had a list of who brought what in the miscellaneous categories ( foil, apple juice, cleaning material, etc. ). Is it completely even, not always, but it works for us and we're both good with it. As for duties at the comp, it all worked itself out over time. We knew each others strengths and weaknesses. He would go to sleep early and I stayed up late. He got up early and I slept a bit longer. I didn't have to worry that the ribs would get prepped and put on and the fire and meat was always tended to. He has knife skills, I don't. I have the patience to arrange the box, he doesn't. We both clean, set up and tar down.

One thing we learned quickly is, figure out what you don't need for the next comp and don't bring it. In the beginning, we had double of a lot of things and things we didn't need. The less you have, the easier clean up and tear down is.

Gowan
08-24-2014, 10:56 PM
Tried the husband and wife team thing for a while.

Then both our spouses found out and neither of us could afford to compete any more with all the money going to alimony.

;)

Patrickkva
08-25-2014, 08:24 AM
We are a team of three. One guy does two meats, the others cook the other two. We all know (after three years together) how we get things done and constantly help each other out with minor prep and cleaning stuff. It probably looks like a disorganized mess at first glance, but we are still having a good time and are still speaking to one another :razz:.

MikeyBfromTN
08-25-2014, 04:11 PM
We are a 2 man team. We equally do the prep with each having specific jobs. In the morning I man the smoker while he builds the boxes. We have learned how to divide things at night so we can each get 5-6 hours of sleep or down time.

How? We have 3 of us and I seem to be up every hour and we don't use a stick burner.

MikeyBfromTN
08-25-2014, 04:34 PM
Really interesting to hear how the different teams do their thing. Its something I have been wondering about and glad I asked. There does seem to be a difference between the set-ups of the husband-wife teams vs. the "three or four buddies" teams.

As for expenses, through the first three comps we have done we kind of just all paid for something, but it was real disorganized. He paid for the meat, I paid the comp entry fee, the other guy bought a bunch of supplies, etc. But in the long run we now realize we really need to get some structure around the money. We are going to all kick some money into a team bank account and started paying out of that and tracking.

As for cooking, we all like to do all the meats but know we can't have three guys standing over the same meat and trying to do everything so I think we are going to move towards us taking one meat each to do from beginning to end.

And the turn in boxes...oh those turn-in boxes....we really need an artist on our team to help with those things!

Keep receipts and divide the costs equally. We have a team checking account. Then we sit down and balance out the costs. Each member records what they paid for. So, we'll know how much we owe each other.

The other thing is we decided to throw a little intra-team contest, this past July 4th. It was a challenge to the "recipe" being used. My team mates conceded Brisket to me, so no challenge (took 2nd in Brisket, this past weekend at Music City BBQ). But we all cooked ribs. We helped each other kinda cook, but it was a taste contest. We invited 25 of our family and friends over. We then explained to them, that they were to take one of each rib (they each had numbered flags), take a bite of each and decide which was best and why. Their first question.."can we finish them?" Of Course!! Then "vote" by putting the flag in a bucket. I won ribs and for the next year, it's my recipe. But, we can always improve it and we cook it as a team. I like cooking st louis ribs and my "win" means we won't cook baby backs.

My buddy and I cooked chicken and tied. I asked if I could vote and he let me. I said his was better. I like his and felt that even though I was a big winner in ribs, HE was a big winner in chicken...and it is his baby. Besides, he's won with chicken. Why would I mess with that.

The biggest thing is time...it will tell you if you're compatible as cooks, friends and critics. Try being a control freak and holding your tongue, when you're so tired you can't see straight. Good guys will understand, plus you won't get to that point.

BB-Kuhn
08-25-2014, 04:36 PM
My team is my wife and I. Here's the breakdown:

My wife makes the most amazing turn-in boxes with a parsley putting green that puts most teams' boxes to shame....

I do pretty much all the rest. She's not a good cook and she's too small to help with setup/etc. She gives opinions, which have led to victory numerous times, so she is a really valuable team member, she just doesn't like to cook!

SwineGuy
09-01-2014, 10:51 AM
The 2 members with the lowest ranking for their entry are responsible for supplying the dinner meal on Friday evening of the next comp, which must be a 10 lb bone in rib roast. (I'm on the hook for the next comp......).

Love this idea! This will absolutely become a new tradition for our team. Great idea...

lcbateman3
09-01-2014, 11:38 AM
Our team is my wife and I.

We both setup and break down.

I do the major trimming she helps with seasonings. She does all the boxes.

Most of the time she will do the shopping as well, she knows how to go through meat and pick what we are looking for.

I handle the cooking, slicing, etc. She is the official taster. I pick what is going in the box she puts it in the box, snaps a picture and turns it in.

She usually keeps the dishes up as well. Sometimes we have friends who go with us to help. They get dishes :)

Serious Hog
09-01-2014, 12:52 PM
Husband-wife team. Other than running the smokers (mine) and prepping chicken (hers :-D), we both pretty much have our signature all over everything else. Succeed or fail, its always a true team effort. Sometimes we will get a little testy with each other towards the end and our son will explain to people "Oh, they always get like that at turn in time.."

Wampus
09-01-2014, 08:40 PM
We're a 2 man team. Our cook has evolved to where each of us typically does the same thing each time, but we both are aware of what each of us does since we've both had to cook solo a time or two. We both discuss strategy and agree on any changes in our "standard" process.

Typically, I prep brisket and ribs and Jimmy will do pork and chicken prep.
As far as cooking, we both do everything together, but again, we typically perform the same individual tasks each time.

For instance, when we wrap ribs, I'll handle the foil and pulling ribs out of the pit and putting them back on and he'll do the seasonings/foil additions. Still, we both wrap ribs together. Same kind of thing with all the other stuff.

We both throw logs during the cook. We both check temps as needed. We both have our timeline in our phones and use alarms. We can pretty much do what we do together without much talking at all. We've done 16 comps so far this season and have done about 58 total so we've got things pretty much down.

As far as set up & tear down, we both do things together, unless I get to the comp before he does, then I'll usually get started earlier. We cook out of 4 EZ-Ups and can set up and/or tear down in just under an hour.

Financially, we opened up a business checking account together and we both have a "team debit card" to make purchases with for comps. All winnings and earnings from vending or sponsors go into the account and we spend out of it too for whatever. We haven't had to come out of pocket this or last year between vending, sponsorships and winnings. The first year, we both put in money to start things up.

Candy Sue
09-02-2014, 09:42 AM
Me, myself and I. Myself is a goof off. Me and I work real well together. If it doesn't get done, it's myself's fault.