Near Home? Or Near the Contest?

The Giggler

The Giggler

is one Smokin' Farker
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Do you buy competition meat from the local supplier near your home, pack on ice, and take it with you to the contest?

Or do you pick up the entries near the contest?

If quality, certified products (ex. CAB Packers) were available at/near a contest, and you could order what you need ahead of time, when you send in the entry form, would you take advantage of this?
 
I like to have it a head of time and take with me. Less chance for anything to go wrong IMO.
 
I get mine from a local butcher/sponser. gives me brisket,butts and ribs at his cost. It really adds up over the year.
 
We have a meat sponsor for our competitions, and use him exclusively when were catering and consuming....but even without him, I'd make sure meat was aquired long before we loaded up the trailer....
 
I like to hand pick what meat I want to use. To me a nice cut choice brisket is better that a cab that may not be the size shape etc. you want.
 
I would be worried I wouldn't get exactly what I was looking for, and then you show up and you're SOL.

I think this would more apply to ribs and briskets... If you told me I could order pork butts... I don't think thay could go terribly wrong. (might be why I tanked pork in the last two contests...)
 
GEt mine ahead of time also. Will consider aging in Cryo now that I have an extra fridge.
 
Ahead of time ,for all of the reason's listed above.
 
Depends. If we're flying in somewhere, we usually take our briskets with us and pick up everything else near the contest. If we're driving somewhere that takes a couple of days, we take the brisket and usually call ahead and make sure the Sams Club has what we need and pre-order. Otherwise, we take it all with us.
 
Bigmista said:
GEt mine ahead of time also. Will consider aging in Cryo now that I have an extra fridge.
Click to expand...

A new Spice, and an extra fridge too? You're living high my man.

My butcher shop ages the briskets for me in their cooler. Last comp, the packers spent 4 weeks in cold storage. Can't say it helped the score, but it was more tender than usual.
 
I bring everything with me. I try to aged briskets about 40 days in cryovac. I pretrim chicken and freeze it. I pretrim ribs and may or may not freeze them. Butt's I try to pick up that week before I leave but I sometimes freeze them if there's a good sale on.
 
Diva said:
Depends. If we're flying in somewhere, we usually take our briskets with us and pick up everything else near the contest. If we're driving somewhere that takes a couple of days, we take the brisket and usually call ahead and make sure the Sams Club has what we need and pre-order. Otherwise, we take it all with us.
Click to expand...

Bet that makes for some interesting stories clearing thru the TSA folks!!
 
I bring it all with me as I tried to buy contest meat in a town where we were at once and well all I had was a bad weekend. Garnish is the only thing I will roll the dice on!!
 
Bet that makes for some interesting stories clearing thru the TSA folks!!
Click to expand...

Oh yeah! We carry it on and we basically have the "please step to the side" down pat! lol!

Garnish is the only thing I will roll the dice on!!
Click to expand...

That's one thing I CAN'T do! I'm too anal. I call ahead and pre-order. Usually I give them the lowdown on how I would like it prepared for pickup and if it's not up to par, I ask to go to the back and pilfer through their cases and they allow me to do it myself. 9 times out of 10, it's been exactly what I've ordered. I make sure to write the persons name down and the address of the store and I send a thank you note to the manager and tell them what fantastic customer service I've received. It's only fair.
 
Like they all said.... I get mine local and I know what I am getting. I will usually even try to get my greenery local if at all possible. If not, I will stop on the way and pick it up.
 
I bring it all...dont want to chance not being able to find what I'm looking for and the quality of what to choose from at a contest location...
 
I buy from the same person. I trust my butcher, I would hate to gamble on a butcher that I never met.
 
Thanks to all who responded. I think the answer is unanimous. And I feel the same way. The only items I would be willing to pick up near a contest are ribs and pork shoulder.

The reason I asked the question, is because I am in the planning stages of a new contest. Our local Chamber of Commerce is interested in expanding the events in our town, and I have volunteered to chair something new.

My personal butcher and market, who is the source for all my catering and competition meats and a fellow member of the C of C, is located right down the road from the contest, and will probably be involved with sponsorship in some way. I have broached the subject of a well stocked beer and garnish isle with these guys, and we're working on something special for the competitors.

Its a little premature to give out details of the contest, but it looks like we'll be adding a sanctioned contest to Western New York (possibly late summer 08, for sure in 09).

Thanks again for the insight.
 
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