Tips for Backwoods Party in Competition

Get yourself a guru for it. I run a guru with 4 river rocks in the water pan and a bit of water. I can cook the entire contest cook on one load of charcoal

CivilWarBBQ said:

Any tips for using this cooker in KCBS competition from those who own one? It wasn't particularly easy getting the Party into the back of my Explorer with the two of us. I could use some ideas on loading as well as cooking setup.

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BBQ Guru either a DIgiQ II or PitMinder is a great add on but I would suggest you try the cooker w/o the Guru, it runs great on it's own.
As far as transporting goes you can have a removable stand/hitch rack made for the Party.
Here is a link to some pics of a Fatboy model that I had made several months ago.
http://www.backwoods-smoker.com/forums.htm/viewtopic.php?t=1644

CivilWarBBQ said:

I just bought a Backwoods Party from Steve Ownby that he needed to clear out to make room for his new Southern Pride. My idea was to use it for contests far away that are cost prohibitive for our full catering truck/mobile kitchen rig.

Any tips for using this cooker in KCBS competition from those who own one? It wasn't particularly easy getting the Party into the back of my Explorer with the two of us. I could use some ideas on loading as well as cooking setup.

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PM KC Bobby. He has a lot of BWS Party experience.

As the others have said, I used to use a Party for comps and loved it. It was easy to transport, and it was basically set it and forget it for about 5-6 hours. Mine was stock and I did not use a guru or anything like that.

Like Matt says, KC Bobby has lots of info on the Party.

Congrats on getting one of the best cookers on the market!!

Did it fit nicely in the truck, or was your difficulty in picking it up and placing it in the truck?

I transport mine on it's back in my van.

I have found that a scrap piece of plywood helps the BWS slide in and protects it (sorta like a shoe horn). Place (or strap) the plywood to the back of the smoker & tilt it on to the tailgate. Then just lift and slide it in.

You'll obviously want to empty your waterpan (and probably your ashes).

Does your ash pan slide in and out nicely, or do you have to lift it over a lip before removing? I have (had) to lift my ash pan over a lip. I ended up using a couple pieces of angle iron to make some rails to rest my ash pan on. Now, the ash pan slides in and out much easier (no lifting).

CivilWarBBQ said:

Any tips for using this cooker in KCBS competition from those who own one? It wasn't particularly easy getting the Party into the back of my Explorer with the two of us. I could use some ideas on loading as well as cooking setup.

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When we had a Party, we also had a Gator. So we had two Backwoods going. Many people with Party's say an entire KCBS comp can be cooked on one - but I don't fit into that segment. It's not that I doubt those people - I'm sure it can be done but it's gonna limit the amount of food to cook.

First thing is to increase useable space, if the Party only came with 6 sliders add in some more. Easy to do with some basic U brackets and sheet metal screws. Add them above the second slider and the fith sider. This will allow the use of 4 racks at 6" apart (plenty of space for butts and packers) instead of the 4" factory spacing - giving you one more rack when cooking those items. See our website and picture section to get an idea then feel free to ask questions if needed.

As far as loading it in the back of an Explorer, I don't know. But I was able to load it into my pick up no problem by myself just by standing it up about 3-4" away from the tailgate, leaning it on the tailgate and lifting the bottom up so it would slide on it's back. The Party weighs about 140 lbs, so by using a pivot point on the back it's easily managable. But if you have back problems, this might not be your best option. Are you able to get all your gear in the Explorer or will you be taking a trailer? If it doesn't have casters, I highly advise getting a 2 wheel pneumatic dolly to move the Party around, it makes it a breeze in grass, rock, stairs, mogels, etc.

Get yourself a guru for it. I run a guru with 4 river rocks in the water pan and a bit of water. I can cook the entire contest cook on one load of charcoal
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Country HB Tell me more on the river rocks..They just as added heat sink? Peter

Bobby pretty much said it all but I will throw in a couple of things I cooked comps last year with a party and a weber which was just for the chicken so it definitely can be done. I have Bobby's old party with the additional rail and it does help and is a cheap addition that I would recommend. As far as loading I use a piece of carpet on my tailgate and just lean the party up against it and lift no problem loading it by myself.

I have an Explorer and have been able to transport my Party in it, although I have a trailer for use in competition. I think for competition, it would be a stretch to bring the Party plus everything else you need in an Explorer. I would get a small trailer if possible.

I have used the Party in four contests so far. I have been able to do the entire contest, cooking ribs, pork and brisket in the Party and grilling the chicken. In these cases, I have done 2 butts, 1 packer brisket and four racks of spares. Plenty of room for this in the Party. Did 2 briskets at one of the contests.

I use the Guru DigiQ2, and it works great.

The only issue I have encountered is that the water pan runs dry pretty quickly, 5-6 hours. I plan on having some kind of water feeding system in place next year.

Q Haven said:

The only issue I have encountered is that the water pan runs dry pretty quickly, 5-6 hours. I plan on having some kind of water feeding system in place next year.

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on my Party 5-6 hrs is usually when I have to replenush charcoal anyway so its no biggie to have to fill up water then as well

Lion Bout The Q said:

Get yourself a guru for it. I run a guru with 4 river rocks in the water pan and a bit of water. I can cook the entire contest cook on one load of charcoal
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Country HB Tell me more on the river rocks..They just as added heat sink? Peter

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the entire contest on one load of coal?? thats seems a bit of a stretch on a Party ..how long you cooking your butts and brisket for?

yEAH , THAT WASN'T MY POST, BILL....I CAN'T GET ANYMORE THAN 5 OR 6 HOURS ON A LOAED PARTY. EITHER..I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE ROCKS...

billm said:

the entire contest on one load of coal?? thats seems a bit of a stretch on a Party ..how long you cooking your butts and brisket for?

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I have seen him cook that long a few times now. Maybe by using the Guru it helps control the burn, therefore you get longer cooks on less coal. 5 or 6 hours is really really poor in my opinion. I will for sure not buy a BWS with those stats.

My gurued WSM can cook 12+ hours on 1 load of charcoal, with 2 briskets or 2-4 butts on it. 5 or 6 hours is a joke.

I use 4 large river rocks and wrap them in foil (to keep them clean). They retain heat and seem to help reduce water loss. Since adding the DigiQ, I can load a full basket of charcoal, light my fire around 10 PM, cook 2 butts, a full packer, 4 racks of spare ribs, and then crank the heat up and cook 18 pieces of chicken at almost 300*...one one load of Rancher.

billm said:

on my Party 5-6 hrs is usually when I have to replenush charcoal anyway so its no biggie to have to fill up water then as well

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Me too, but I would rather not have to open the cooker door to add water.

I can't believe you guys with parties and Gurus are only getting 5-6 hours...are you using extended baskets?

My basket is not extended. It does not hold a whole lot of charcoal. I am planning on adding a larger basket....

My party would go about 6-7 hours on the first burn, then closer to 8-9 on the next load - which makes sense heating up the cooker - that was adding luke warm water when needed - generally a few quarts every few hours using a flexible copper tube through the exhaust.

Q Haven said:

My basket is not extended. It does not hold a whole lot of charcoal. I am planning on adding a larger basket....

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Well, there you have the delta! My basket is extended up to the point where it just clears the bottom of the heat diverter.