Competing in other areas of the country

chefman316 · Dec 17, 2015

How many of you enjoy competing in other parts of the country and how many do not? Do you enjoy changing flavor profiles or do you find it difficult? Does anyone do BETTER cooking a regional style of BBQ that you actually do not like?

Scottie · Dec 17, 2015

We have cooked in 43 diferent states. Have had a little success from coast to coast, cooking what we always turn in. Smokin 'Guns and Blues Hog have been in my bag since we began. We do use other rubs and sauces though. But SGH and BH are about as good of a base as there is.

Jason TQ · Dec 17, 2015

I'm pretty sure in KCBS that most teams don't change. Plus if you only cook 1 or 2 events in different "regions" and you do well or bad that isn't a big enough sample size to really know if the changes where what made the food good or bad or if it was just a random weekend............

Changing for region can lead you down a rabbit hole of overthinking things quickly. Especially if you are a new team. There are other things to focus on.

Big Poppa · Dec 17, 2015

cooked 9 states this year same recipes in each...in top ten 24 out of 25 so we dont change for geography.

INmitch · Dec 17, 2015

Reminds me of the wise words of ole Podge. A Big Mac tastes the same in LA as it does New York.

gettinbasted · Dec 17, 2015

It's hard enough figuring out what scores at home! Good is good coast to coast.

J&B'sBBQ · Dec 17, 2015

We're planning on cooking a KCBS event in Michigan this coming summer, and I will not change a darn thing for this event. As Jason said, changing things for one or two events will get your mental game off kilter, and that is cause for trouble down the line. We're doing it as a fun experience, and I have no anticipation of doing well up there, but any success we find will be a bonus to just doing something different.

chefman316 · Dec 17, 2015

INmitch said:
Reminds me of the wise words of ole Podge. A Big Mac tastes the same in LA as it does New York.

It sure does!

Hot Wachulas · Dec 17, 2015

It is different. I notice a difference in the north east, the midwest and the south. These aren't great changes but little differences. Sometimes just presentation can kill you in a region. Putting the wrong cut in can kill you. I think judges in the midwest are more set in their flavor preferences. I think in the southeast you can get away with being different.

You won't score well anywhere until you can cook it perfect every time.

cpw · Dec 17, 2015

Whether it's true or not about keeping flavors the same wherever you cook, I don't know. But we had a pretty good year cooking in Georgia and SC, got 3rd overall at the charleston Sam's and headed to Richmond for the regional and got our butts WHOOPED. We used the same flavors we always do, and I thought we had a good cook but the judges thought otherwise.

Nugetsius · Dec 17, 2015

cpw said:
Whether it's true or not about keeping flavors the same wherever you cook, I don't know. But we had a pretty good year cooking in Georgia and SC, got 3rd overall at the charleston Sam's and headed to Richmond for the regional and got our butts WHOOPED. We used the same flavors we always do, and I thought we had a good cook but the judges thought otherwise.

I did the same thing. I won the Sams Club in North Charleston in 2014 (My only GC still) then went to Richmond and came in 2nd from last. I was using vinegar sauce on my pork and ribs that I personally think did ok in South Carolina and North Carolina, but when I left there it wasn't good. Visiting Richmond made me stop making my own sauces. I was actually sad about that........

Scottie · Dec 17, 2015

I sure wouldn't use the judging at a Sam's Club contest as a judge for anything.

Smoke'n Ice · Dec 18, 2015

Scottie said:
I sure wouldn't use the judging at a Sam's Club contest as a judge for anything.

Amen!

I've competed all over the US and Western Canada and done quite well without changing any thing. The only time I change is when it is an IBCA contest where you have to slightly overcook all of the products because of the way of judging. We sill use the same rub developed at a Paul Kirk class in 1999.

JD McGee · Dec 18, 2015

What works for us in the Pacific Northwest does NOT work anywhere else...lol! That said...we rarely cook anywhere else...other than The Jack when we are lucky! :becky:

Smoke'n Ice · Dec 18, 2015

JD McGee said:
What works for us in the Pacific Northwest does NOT work anywhere else...lol! That said...we rarely cook anywhere else...other than The Jack when we are lucky! :becky:

You might want to reconsider this as this is where Sharon and I started and developed our rub and techniques, Jim Minnion is there, Judy Anderson (Mad Momma) had spectacular results all over the US, Beaver Castors, Conrad Haskins, et.al. just to name a few. There really is no difference in the PNWBA than the rest of the US and Canada except for the judging, which changes between organizations and areas.

cpw · Dec 18, 2015

Nugetsius said:
I did the same thing. I won the Sams Club in North Charleston in 2014 (My only GC still) then went to Richmond and came in 2nd from last. I was using vinegar sauce on my pork and ribs that I personally think did ok in South Carolina and North Carolina, but when I left there it wasn't good. Visiting Richmond made me stop making my own sauces. I was actually sad about that........

The only thing that makes me feel slightly better about the whole thing was that there was a group of 5 or 6 SC/GA teams there, and we all pretty much finished bottom of the pack.

JD McGee · Dec 18, 2015

Smoke'n Ice said:
You might want to reconsider this as this is where Sharon and I started and developed our rub and techniques, Jim Minnion is there, Judy Anderson (Mad Momma) had spectacular results all over the US, Beaver Castors, Conrad Haskins, et.al. just to name a few. There really is no difference in the PNWBA than the rest of the US and Canada except for the judging, which changes between organizations and areas.

Cool...all I know is we have cooked our cook in Vegas, California, Kansas City, and Lynchburg...other than an occasional call we have never finished in the top 5. Up here we have pretty much finished top five in every competition the last 5 years in a row...

bbqwizard · Dec 19, 2015

JD McGee said:
Cool...all I know is we have cooked our cook in Vegas, California, Kansas City, and Lynchburg...other than an occasional call we have never finished in the top 5. Up here we have pretty much finished top five in every competition the last 5 years in a row...

I know that feeling

bigdogphin · Dec 19, 2015

JD McGee said:
What works for us in the Pacific Northwest does NOT work anywhere else...lol! That said...we rarely cook anywhere else...other than The Jack when we are lucky! :becky:

Smoke'n Ice said:
You might want to reconsider this as this is where Sharon and I started and developed our rub and techniques, Jim Minnion is there, Judy Anderson (Mad Momma) had spectacular results all over the US, Beaver Castors, Conrad Haskins, et.al. just to name a few. There really is no difference in the PNWBA than the rest of the US and Canada except for the judging, which changes between organizations and areas.

JD McGee said:
Cool...all I know is we have cooked our cook in Vegas, California, Kansas City, and Lynchburg...other than an occasional call we have never finished in the top 5. Up here we have pretty much finished top five in every competition the last 5 years in a row...

There is absolutely a difference in PNWBA and KCBS flavors and judging. Pnwba has made changes to a 10 point scoring, weighting of the different categories, and have a different training system. We have gone away from a heavy Pnwba schedule because we want to do better around the country and our results show it. We are the #1 kcbs team in the PNW. The people mentioned above while great in their day they don't compete anymore and the circuit is different now.

Blanton · Dec 19, 2015

Scottie said:
I sure wouldn't use the judging at a Sam's Club contest as a judge for anything.

What makes Sam's this way?

Competing in other areas of the country

Knows what a fatty is.

Quintessential Chatty Farker

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is Blowin Smoke!

is one Smokin' Farker

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Knows what a fatty is.

Knows what a fatty is.

Babbling Farker

Knows what a fatty is.

Quintessential Chatty Farker

is one Smokin' Farker

somebody shut me the fark up.

is one Smokin' Farker

Babbling Farker

somebody shut me the fark up.

Babbling Farker

is one Smokin' Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

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