Anyone familiar with the GBA

GBA has no on site judging but does have prelims and finals so you need to cook more meat to filll a second box if needed.

Some stagger, some just hold extra longer, some do a bit of both...

Do it. Sometimes just doing something different is fun, and you'll meet a few different teams...

I'd written this in the past:

> Anybody a member of GBA or cook in any of their events?

Yes.


GBA follows to an extent MBN; which is also pork, pork, and pork. Expect to cook against some pretty good pork specialists.

Loin; from the perspective of a judge, is probably the category that has the largest variance from really tender to jerky. The best ones are pull apart tender and seasoned well.

GBA and MBN define rib tenderness different than say KCBS. Where in KCBS you'll want a nice "bite through" rib, MBN and GBA says "should pull cleanly from the bone with only slight resistance". The MBN/GBA rib will be cooked much more closely to falling off the bone (but not quite there).

Pulled pork is becoming much more like KCBS; we're seeing a lot more of the tubes and Money Muscle in the presentations...


GBA has another MBNesque thing in it, in that they have finals. The top 3 scorers in the first turn-in round will have a 2nd turn-in. Some cook extra for these, others borrow from the first turn-in meats. It's up to you, but it does require at very least extra planning and potentially extra cooking on the hopes you make finals.

Me, I really like the format. I was hoping to compete in Jackson, but it looks like I'll probably judge Jackson instead, and perhaps compete in either Gordon, Tennille, or both in the fall.

I completed my first GBA event earlier this year....

Another thing to note. Not only do you cook more meat because of the finals thing you will be putting more meat in the box. In KCBS it is not strange for me to only put 6-8 ribs in a box. Because there is no garnish in GBA that number grew to 12-14 ribs per box to make it look full.

Not everyone does this, and even in MBN they've gotten away from it some, but in the old days (and I still do it when I compete) one of the best ways to help emphasize "pull cleanly from the bone with only slight resistance" was to use a 2 bone cut that allows them to pull the bones apart from one another... So yes, I have 12 bones in there, crammed... They're used to it. Yes, DONT just put in 6 bones... At least, very minimum, 8, and that's with a cadillac cut.

kbow said:

My wife and I have been competing for a year here in SW Ga and all the contest have been KCBS or FBA. As many of you know, the rules for these are very similar. We are looking at a Georgia BBQ Assoc. (GBA) contest in Nov, but we are concerned about the difference in the rules. GBA is more like a Memphis in May type. Am I being too worried about the rules and should just go ahead and do it? What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

There are differences between GBA & other comps, so you do need to study the rules. The key differences are:
no garnish in box
3 categories instead of 4
1 hour between turnins
top 3 teams in each category advance to a finals round
the Grand Champion is the team with the highest scoring entry in the finals rounds
the Reserve Champion is the team with the highest cumulative score in the three preliminary rounds.
If the GC also has the highest cumulative score, the RGC passes down to #2

A few other tidbits.
Because of the finals rounds many teams will stagger their cook for some meats.
You are required to turn in minimum 6 pieces. I will tell you that GBA judges like to see full boxes. GBA boxes are probably the heaviest by weight in comp BBQ.
Even with finals & full boxes, you still don't have to spend a ton of $$ on meat. Most GBA teams will cook about 2 loins, 3-6 butts & 6-8 racks of ribs.
You will find that most of the seasoned GBA teams are ready to help new teams.
The GBA mantra is "Make a new friend at each contest" and we work hard to to make that happen.
Look forward to seeing you in the GBA.

Lake Dogs said:

Not everyone does this, and even in MBN they've gotten away from it some, but in the old days (and I still do it when I compete) one of the best ways to help emphasize "pull cleanly from the bone with only slight resistance" was to use a 2 bone cut that allows them to pull the bones apart from one another... So yes, I have 12 bones in there, crammed... They're used to it. Yes, DONT just put in 6 bones... At least, very minimum, 8, and that's with a cadillac cut.

Click to expand...

We don't see many 2 bone cuts these days.

kbow said:

Are you required to cook the loin as one piece until done, then you can cut it however you want, or can you cook it however you want (steak it out) from the beginning?

Click to expand...

The loin must weigh a minimum 5 lbs at inspection. You may trim after inspection, but the loin must be cooked as a single piece of meat. Once sliced, you may not return it to the cooker.

Had a team a year or so ago, turn in a box where the slices had picture perfect grill marks on them. One of the best looking loin boxes I had ever seen, but unfortunately had to DQ the entry.

Cooking GBA is a different thing all together with the finals. Good bbq still wins, but you need to have good bbq twice to win it all.

There are also some very good pork cooks in GBA.

It also helps if you can sell your meat after a contest because there will be plenty of leftovers.