Rubbed Meat at Contests

Jeff_in_KC

Jeff_in_KC

somebody shut me the fark up.
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Question... and maybe it's a dumb one but here goes:

If you plan to get set up the morning before turn-in (Friday) and then fire up the smoker to cook some ribs and chicken boobs for friends and family dinner on Friday night, how can you differentiate the meat you obviously would want to rub the night before from contest meat? Do meat inspectors check EVERYTHING or do you have to show them all you have with you? The way I understand the rules, you cannot bring pre-rubbed/seasoned meat onto the contest grounds and it cannot be rubbed/seasoned until it has been inspected. Is it acceptable to have pre-rubbed and seasoned meat in a separate cooler and not even show it to the inspectors but rather show them the cooler with all your contest meat in it? Or do you need to show it to them and tell them it is not for the contest? I just don't want to be getting into any difficulties as I'm getting started.

Thanks!
 
This ones easy.

Don't fark with ANY meat before you get there. Keep it all in Cryovacs until after turn in.

Don't fark with preseasoned "family friday" meats.

Before leaving your driveway on Thursday night, Friday morning, ask yourself "Am I going to compete, or to cook for family and friends?"

If your going to compete, continue down the driveway and follow my advice.

If your going to cook for family, throw it in park and stay home.

To even fark with the meat inspectors is an invitation for disqualification
 
Jeff,
I will let guys like Jim, Rod, and Ray who are really REPS answer the legal part of your question.

From a practical standpoint, unless you have a compelling reason to let recreational meat baste in rub overnight, there is no reason to do so.
Ribbies and Chickie are short cooks and you are not feeding till supper.
I would rub them in the AM (after meat inspection) and start the cooker around noon.
We have started putting some rub on just before cooking--works fine!
Plenty of time.

I/we actually avoid the problem by not cooking any comp meet for personal consumption. Get tired of the leftovers anyway :lol:

Think of Loins, turkey breast or drumsticks, fattie variations, stuffed peppers (big ones), steaks, hams, etc instead of comp meats and you side-step the whole question and get some variety to eat. :lol:

And, somewhere in all of this, ya need to schedule some "down time" to rest unless you are "running on adreneline" through Saturday PM :wink:

FWIW.

TIM

And, I just read Bill's post--he is right on!
 
Good points. I will get extremely bored on Friday afternoon once all is set up if I'm not doing something so I'll plan to cook anyway. Just ribs and chicken and some fatties. My "down time" will probably come from the time I get recreational meat on until around 6pm. Then I'm quite farkin sure I'll be running on adrenaline. We'll also sit around and have a few beers and take in the sights and sounds and visit with other cooks until time to fire up and get the butts and briskets in.

When I say I'm cooking for family and friends, I'm not talking about 50 people or more. I'm basically talking about our four person team, my mother, daughter and about 4-6 other folks who might drop by. And any of you farkers who are here for the Royal can feel free to come get a sample of what I'll be cooking on Saturday to win! (positive thoughts always flowing) All I plan on doing is about 6 slabs of babybacks, 8-10 chicken boobs and a few fatties on Friday afternoon. Probably throw a pan of beans in, along with ABTs.
 
Jeff,
I am sure you will have a great time at the Open.
I wish you the best of luck!

TIM
 
The inspectors want to see meat that is untreated. I have seen this as a problem. I can easily show them untouched meat. However, I can easily have another cooler stuffed with "pre-treated" meat. I can also have a buddy show up with the same in his cooler 2 hours later.

To me the meat inspection is a joke. Way too easy to get around it. I abide by it, but can picture others, not doing the same.


Good question. And definately something for debate.
 
Greg, I'm not into not following the rules either. It would be a huge downer to get ready and prepped for the contest only to get disqualified. My wife works with a guy on a team who say they see people every year bringing seasoned and even COOKED meat into the contest grounds with them. They know what's going on but can't prove it. For instance, one year at the Royal, they saw a team with a brisket that was all finished before it hardly got dark out. And it wasn't a small one. Yeah, maybe they set up at 6am that morning or maybe they came in on Thursday night but odds are slim that was the case.

I have had several people say they're looking forward to tasting my ribs so I'll probably go that route at least... but I'm going to try to arrive no later than 8am in Friday and get insspected ASAP, then get them rubbed. Not taking any chances.
 
I wouldn't risk it, Jeff. If you're cooking up something other than the type of stuff being judged, then doctor away but for the comp type meats, I'd leave them alone.

I do remember when I was at my judging class, a question came up about already doctored meat and the use of electric/propane instead of charcoal/wood. The instructor said that it's kinda like an honor society. Yes, the system could be cheated but for the cooks that were out there, they want to win on their own merit, not by cheating. This is a very big deal for them. I think it was about that time that one of the members of the team that was cooking meat for us spoke up and said, "plus, if you're doing something like that and one of the other teams sees it, it won't be a secret for too long".
 
Nope, I'm not risking it. I'll cook other things and rub the ribs as early as I can get my comp meat inspected.
 
people will always find a way around the system. but for what purpose in a bbq contest. The money is not that great. If you get GC you barely cover expenses. i dont think anyone here competes just for the money. Bragging rights, ok, if you sell rubs sauces etc. maybe. Eventually you will be caught and exposed. The inspectors only see what you show them. So if you want pre seasoned meat for guests, put it in a seperate cooler and don't show them. This is supposed to be fun ...
 
Actually I was thinking of kale and those little rose-cut radishes. Maybe some shiney foil and a few toothpicks to hold everything together! :wink: :lol:
 
Quigley said:
people will always find a way around the system. but for what purpose in a bbq contest. The money is not that great. If you get GC you barely cover expenses. i dont think anyone here competes just for the money. Bragging rights, ok, if you sell rubs sauces etc. maybe. Eventually you will be caught and exposed. The inspectors only see what you show them. So if you want pre seasoned meat for guests, put it in a seperate cooler and don't show them. This is supposed to be fun ...
Click to expand...

My SOLE reason to compete? It's to WIN. Whether that ever happens doesn't really matter as long as I give it my all each time I go to a contest and put out the best product I can possibly do. To win IS to have bragging rights. How cool would it be to have as part of your signature here "2005 American Royal Grand Champion"? :wink: I don't care about selling sauces, etc. I don't care about the money if you do win (OK the $10 grand at the Royal would be alright... and I bet it would cover expenses!). I care about saying that on a given day, my team was the best. Now I'm sure that the learning part of this will take awhile. But thankfully with the Brethren around, I believe the learning curve will be shortened somewhat.

BTW... like I said... no pre-rubbed meat with me coming onto contest grounds! Around KC with the Royal being so incredibly huge, how embarrassing would it be to have someone ask how I did and me have to tell them I was DQed??? Not taking that chance. I'm even considering not inviting one of my friends down who uses profanity at will and with nearly every sentence. I read the rules, you know! :wink:
 
We follow the rules by having separate coolers for the competition meat and the party meat. We make sure we always have the competition meat completely covered by ice, and in the original packaging.
we are usually on site somewhere between 8-10 AM the 1st day. It has been our experience that the meat inspection usually happens during your check in time, or just as you begin to set up. It still gives you plenty of time to prep in the late morning or early afternoon for your supper meal.
 
willkat98 said:
Jeff_in_KC said:
Actually I was thinking of kale and those little rose-cut radishes. Maybe some shiney foil and a few toothpicks to hold everything together! :wink: :lol:
Click to expand...

LOL

Arrange your pulled pork to read "# 1"
Click to expand...

That's a good idea, Bill but I'm thinking to make the judges happy, I should arrange it in a smiley face on the red tipped lettuce or kale. :lol:
 
I apologize if this has already been answered correctly, as I didn't read this entire thread. You are absolutely allowed to bring preseasoned meat and/or cooked meat to a contest. Your contest meat is separate. The inspector will only ask to see your competition meat. The organizers, reps, meat inspectors know that folks have parties on Friday night.

While we're on the topic though, let's be honest, if somebody wants to cheat, they can. There are always going to be ways to cheat. If it means that much to people, so be it. After all, they are the ones that have to live with themselves. There are too many good, honest people at barbecue contests to think that cheating is wide spread. I have met so many great folks cooking. Cheating or not, you still have to cook the stuff.

Go out and have a good time. Be friendly to the folks that pass by and be courteous to your neighbors. That's really what it's all about, isn't it?
 
Good points, Rod. However, I don't think I'll take the chance on it. Question... would any of you report a team if you suspected or knew they were cheating? Would it get you shunned by other teams or would it be appreciated by the participants? I think if I saw someone cheating or strongly suspected they were, I'd feel like reporting it to the contest sponsors. I feel like I've sunk a hell of a lot of cash into this already (close to a grand, counting cookers) and plan to work my ass off to do a good job. It would chap my rear to know someone else wasn't playing by the same rules I was. It would suck to know someone cheated and I didn't say anything.
 
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