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Competition BBQ Book/School

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KevinK

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Who has the best book and/or school for learning how to compete at BBQ contests? Just seeing comps on tv it looks like there are a lot of additional steps (ie garnishing, what parts of cut to turn in, sauce or unsauced, etc...) that need to be considered.
 
You can learn quite a bit here from the Brethren.:-D That's how I got started... W're to books, I think "Low & Slow" by Wiviott is a good place to start. W/re. classes, start with a KCBS cooking class - you can find a class listing on the KCBS site.

Be careful, once you get your feet wet, you'll be hooked. If you're not looking for a new addiction - proceed with caution. :twisted:
 
I hven't read any books on competition BBQ, but there are some out there. Maybe others have a recommendation.

As far as classes, Rod Gray and Johnny Trigg did a great class. I'm not sure if they are teaching together any more, but I know that Rod is still running classes. Scottie Johnson (Cancer Sucks Chicago) also does a great class. Another great class is the one that Todd Johns (Plowboy BBQ) and David Bouska (Butcher BBQ) put together. I've picked up tips and techniques from each.
 
I have read Startin' the Fire - and it's a great place to start.

But really, like Brewer said, this is THE place to learn about competition BBQ. Yes, even cooking methods and techniques can be had just for the asking. Just be sure to pay it back by your own participation and willingness to help others when they are coming up.

Then, besides the cooking classes, I'd recommend taking the judging contest and judging at least ten classes. (The judging class alone won't provide enough information as to what your target is.)

And finally, I'd say to jump in and do it. You will learn more by participating than you would believe. If it's a financial challenge for you, partner up with an established team, offering to help out. There's a sticky forum at the top of the Competition BBQ area called something like 'Team Mentoring' where folks get together for just such an arrangement.

Above all, have fun and enjoy your experience!
 
I don't know about a BBQ book - overall, they're good for guidelines, but a lot of the specific information they give about contests isn't always up-to-date - but that's often the nature of a book. I'd go to a contest - mainly on the Friday night before things get too "hot & heavy" and talk to a few cookers. Or see about volunteering to help with the contest itself, or with a team. We had a couple just "hang" with us this past weekend at a contest - had to move our entire site to under a shelter due to a tropical storm, so it was really nice to have a few extra hands!!

Lynn H.
 
I'm in my rookie year competing and learned pretty much everything from this forum. Tons of info here and great pics of turn in boxes. Also as gmholler suggested go to a comp on Friday and ask the teams what goes down on the 2 days.
 
I am from Iowa also and can give a few more ideas for you. The Iowa BBQ Society is involved in a "spring training" held at Iowa State and has courses in several different meats.
Also Mike from Grillnout in Des Moines has classes fairly often by other competition cookers just go under events and on the right shows upcoming classes.
http://www.grillnoutiowa.com/
 
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I enjoyed Smokin' With Myron Mixon. It includes his comp recipes (at the time of writing) and I've heard that he's won a trophy or two in his time.


Eric
 
Taking a class cuts the slope of the "learning curve"! I've taken both a Troy Black class before we started cooking and a Rod Gray/Johnny Trigg class after we had cooked for a year. The first class gave us what we needed to start and the second one gave us some refinements and different views. Both were very helpful. It's pretty easy to recoup your class costs once you start to take a few walks. You can learn most of it through books but it just takes forever in my opinion. There's just no substitute for "seeing" the best do it.
 
motoeric said:
I enjoyed Smokin' With Myron Mixon. It includes his comp recipes (at the time of writing) and I've heard that he's won a trophy or two in his time.


Eric
Click to expand...

Mixon's book aint giving the proper recipes. We just did his comp ribs recipe in this book to the t and it turned out flavorless and undercooked. We followed every step exactly as printed just to test. I don't think he's giving away his true recipes.

For a good book for starters, look for "Competition BBQ Secrets" by Bill Anderson. Step by step for competition bbq cooks including garnish and a check list of gear for comps.
 
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Zombie Barbecue said:
Mixon's book aint giving the proper recipes. We just did his comp ribs recipe in this book to the t and it turned out flavorless and undercooked. We followed every step exactly as printed just to test. I don't think he's giving away his true recipes.

For a good book for starters, look for "Competition BBQ Secrets" by Bill Anderson. Step by step for competition bbq cooks including garnish and a check list of gear for comps.
Click to expand...

One reason folks have a hard time duplicating Brother Myron's competition results is variations in the fuel and smoker. If you aren't cooking on a water smoker with a wheelbarrow full of peach wood it just won't be the same product.

I agree Bill's book is a good starter guide - he distills a lot of conventional comp techniques in there. Nothing you can't find elsewhere, but it's handy to have it all in one place, especially for the novice cook.

There's no substitute for a hands-on class, though IMO you need to have a baseline of experience to get the full value from it. Judge a little, cook a little and then take a class from somebody after talking with them and deciding for yourself if their approach will fit your equipment and cooking style.
 
CivilWarBBQ said:
One reason folks have a hard time duplicating Brother Myron's competition results is variations in the fuel and smoker. If you aren't cooking on a water smoker with a wheelbarrow full of peach wood it just won't be the same product.
Click to expand...

It's a little more than just the fuel and smoker.

I think there's definately some missing steps or details there.

If you watch Myron cook on TV, you never see his ribs in a pan, yet the recipe is his book has them in a pan the whole time.

I'm not going to post the recipe up here, but there are some other things that don't make any sense either.
 
Zombie Barbecue said:
I don't think he's giving away his true recipes.
Click to expand...

We feel very fortunate at the opportunity our publishers gave us for Wicked Good BBQ... they instructed us not to dumb anything down, there would be no "made easy" recipes. We anticipate getting some negative feedback because many of the recipes are complicated and time consuming. Comes out in March '12 and the first chapter is straight comp style chicken, ribs, pork, brisket - our exact recipes
 
ique said:
We feel very fortunate at the opportunity our publishers gave us for Wicked Good BBQ... they instructed us not to dumb anything down, there would be no "made easy" recipes. We anticipate getting some negative feedback because many of the recipes are complicated and time consuming. Comes out in March '12 and the first chapter is straight comp style chicken, ribs, pork, brisket - our exact recipes
Click to expand...

I pre-ordered and am looking forward to reading it.
 
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