bassandbeer
Full Fledged Farker
Man, you guys are killing me with the "go for it" and "take your time".
When do you switch from amateur to professional?
- Thread starter bassandbeer
- Start date
sdbbq1234
is Blowin Smoke!
Flip a coin and let that be the deciding factor. :mrgreen:
We did not do any backyard comps as there weren't any really around here (not that we were aware of anyway). But, I have always liked to BBQ, and always wanted to get better. No matter how good people say our product is, I always want to get better. Cooking in our backyard for our friends is nice. But when they get free bbq, it seems like they always say, "Wow, that's great". I disagreed and wanted to get better.
Taking a few classes (3Eyz, Swamp Boys and Myron) really helped me in my overall BBQ'ing and cooking abilities.
Not that we are making any money at this adventure (hobby), but we are having fun and meeting some really honest and good folks. Our kids are grown and out of the house, so we are enjoying this.
We are dedicated to getting better and moving up in the ranks. Yes, it is costing us money and the wife reminds me of that every time I enter a comp. We are working on our own spice rub, BBQ sauce and trying to do some catering on the side to offset the competition cost. Still waiting to make a dollar in those ventures.
wallace
We did not do any backyard comps as there weren't any really around here (not that we were aware of anyway). But, I have always liked to BBQ, and always wanted to get better. No matter how good people say our product is, I always want to get better. Cooking in our backyard for our friends is nice. But when they get free bbq, it seems like they always say, "Wow, that's great". I disagreed and wanted to get better.
Taking a few classes (3Eyz, Swamp Boys and Myron) really helped me in my overall BBQ'ing and cooking abilities.
Not that we are making any money at this adventure (hobby), but we are having fun and meeting some really honest and good folks. Our kids are grown and out of the house, so we are enjoying this.
We are dedicated to getting better and moving up in the ranks. Yes, it is costing us money and the wife reminds me of that every time I enter a comp. We are working on our own spice rub, BBQ sauce and trying to do some catering on the side to offset the competition cost. Still waiting to make a dollar in those ventures.
wallace
J&B'sBBQ
is Blowin Smoke!
> I have seen quite a few backyarders move up to Pro after a couple of successes only to become discouraged and quit completely when they end up in the bottom of the field every time.
I too have seen this very thing. The problem, as I saw it, was that competing in backyard taught them some things that not only weren't applicable but some were just plain wrong vs. competing in Pro.
I agree, go to a class, a competition cooking class, hosted by a seasoned Pro, and/or become a CBJ and judge a few. Honestly, a picture is worth a thousand words. See what wins, and you'll see why it wins. Then go back and practice, practice, practice, and enjoy eating.
I'm worried that the team like JB's (posed previous page) get hammered going Pro and get discouraged after having success in the backyard area.
The big part that a few teams touched on is taking a class from a seasoned cook. That is something we did with our savings from By contests. We also befriended a few local teams and judges to get a lot of good feedback on what we were doing right and wrong.
You also have to be prepared that you may "get hammered" (as stated above) and be ready to accept that when you make that move. Our team has discussed that and set reasonable goals for this season since it'll be our first time competing against the teams that do it every weekend.
Again, you need to make the decision to compete Pro when you're ready, not when someone else says you are.
Best of luck with your decision!
