Am I Crazy?

West River BBQ

West River BBQ

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I'm getting the competition bug pretty bad and am very near to making the leap. I live in an area where there are very few competitions and I've yet to find a backyard cook-off within a day's drive. I'm doing a practice run this weekend with two meats and a side, so maybe I will find out something. So here's my question: Can someone manage all the cooking / turn-in requirements by himself or is that just crazy? I'd really like to hear others' opinions. Thanks.
 
First and foremost welcome. Second is I have spent alot of time in Sturgis, Rapid etc. Love the area in the summer time.


Now to your question,,,yes it is possible and there are many solo teams out there who are championship teams that are solo competitors. Rub with Swamp Boys, Matt at Hot Wachula's and Jim with Sweet Smoke Q. Jim has someone around occasionally but cooks alone alot.


I do all of the prep and cooking. My Sweetie will do the greens if we are cooking KCBS and runs boxes and does set-up and clean-up. I enjoy it and have seen teams take on mates and go down in standings. If you are doing it yourself it is on you and you develop a routine and to me it is much easier. As the old saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth!!


Good luck!!
 
Thanks Thunderalley. Given your location in Daytona and reference to the Black Hills, I'm going to guess you know all about The Rally. I'm just worried about time management but your words were encouraging. Now, where's the deep end...?
 
I think anyone who competes has to be a little crazy :crazy: :-D

My wife and I are a team, and we work well together, and it would be tough to do a competition alone, but mainly since I rely on her for a lot of stuff. If I had started solo it wouldn't seem as daunting.

The key will be organization and time management. Run a full mock competition at home. Cook to your timeline and to the actual turn in times, do boxes, etc. I would go so far as to include a two minute 'walk' to the turn in table and back so you can see how that time effects your timing.

Also, keep track of anything that you have to get from the house and add that to your list.
 
In regards to being in an area that doesn't have many competitions around you, I can think of at least 4 off the top of my head that are within 250 miles from you. These are all KCBS with one being in Glendive, MT next weekend. Also, I cook all the comps as a solo cook. Sometimes I will have someone who volunteers to run boxes but that's about it.
 
I'm a 56 yo girl and can cook a KCBS contest by myself. You just have to have as much done as you can before you show up to the contest. Have your meat trimmed, sauces and injections made so you are ready to set up and get your box garnish done on day 1. It does help if you have someone to run your boxes, otherwise ask for a spot close to the turn in. You need a good time line of your cook to keep you focused and on track.

No, you are not crazy, its called having a passion for something.
 
I've been a solo cook since I started cooking. Possibly because I dont know anyone crazy enough to do this...
It really depends on how far you want to drive, within 350miles you have about a dozen comps.
It's all about timing and being organized to run solo. Sit when you can, sleep when you can, setup for the next task ahead of time, then sit and wait for it to happen, etc. And when it's all done and I'm packed up, I reward myself with a limited edition beer and cigar. 180Que has helped me a lot with my timing.
 
ynotfehc said:
I've been a solo cook since I started cooking. Possibly because I dont know anyone crazy enough to do this...
It really depends on how far you want to drive, within 350miles you have about a dozen comps.
It's all about timing and being organized to run solo. Sit when you can, sleep when you can, setup for the next task ahead of time, then sit and wait for it to happen, etc. And when it's all done and I'm packed up, I reward myself with a limited edition beer and cigar. 180Que has helped me a lot with my timing.
Click to expand...

This is great advice. The only things I would add would be use alot of disposable stuff. Such as cutting boards, half pans, and full pans. The less dishes you have to do the bettter. I like to split the 4 categories into 4 seperate boxes and one misc. Box. Try not to use knives over bring at least 2 for each category. Bring a sauce pot for each category. Try to reuse as little as possible. Have a box to put dishes but rinse them off before you put.them.in the used stuff box. Makes clean up a breeze at home. The less your focus is on cleaning the dishes the more you can focus on other things.
 
Rusty Kettle said:
This is great advice. The only things I would add would be use alot of disposable stuff. Such as cutting boards, half pans, and full pans. The less dishes you have to do the bettter. I like to split the 4 categories into 4 seperate boxes and one misc. Box. Try not to use knives over bring at least 2 for each category. Bring a sauce pot for each category. Try to reuse as little as possible. Have a box to put dishes but rinse them off before you put.them.in the used stuff box. Makes clean up a breeze at home. The less your focus is on cleaning the dishes the more you can focus on other things.
Click to expand...

Great advice. We did one comp without disposable cutting boards....never again. They are pricey, but help out tremendously. I hate nothing more than having to clean at comps.
 
All right, there is a general consensus among the replies and I'm convinced that I should give it a try. Mostly I fear the unknown, but I used to worry about making recipes in the kitchen before I did it a few times. And what's to be lost? I still get to eat BBQ!
 
didisea said:
I'm a 56 yo girl and can cook a KCBS contest by myself. You just have to have as much done as you can before you show up to the contest. Have your meat trimmed, sauces and injections made so you are ready to set up and get your box garnish done on day 1. It does help if you have someone to run your boxes, otherwise ask for a spot close to the turn in. You need a good time line of your cook to keep you focused and on track.

No, you are not crazy, its called having a passion for something.
Click to expand...

You can also do your garnish boxes at home. I build mine on Wednesday night so that all I have to do is flip them into the turn in boxes when I get to the comp and they are done.
 
Wager said:
You can also do your garnish boxes at home. I build mine on Wednesday night so that all I have to do is flip them into the turn in boxes when I get to the comp and they are done.
Click to expand...

I wish I had that kind of time on Wednesday prior!
 
My comp week prep:
Sunday: rubs, sauces and injections
Monday: pack/replenish disposables
Tuesday: purchase personal food, chicken, beer
Wednesday: trim meats
Thursday: pack personal clothing, buy ice and kale, fill coolers with ice
Friday: load coolers, refresh ice and head out.

I always do any dishes on site, when i get home I'm tired and like you said you have a bit of a drive, last thing you'll want to do is wash dishes when you get home. Anything you can buy as disposables, use it.
 
Kudos to you who trim meats all in one night. I have to trim one meat per night. It wears me out. Maybe I'm a perfectionist :oops:

But yes the more you can do before you arrive on Friday will make the experience much more enjoyable. Let us know how it goes if you decide to do a contest!
 
Best advice would be tell the organizer that you are by yourself and would like a close spot to the turnin tent. Do as much as you can before hand, you know you can flip parsley boxes?
 
I compete pretty much by myself. I have all of the equipment, do all of the prep, cooking, turn in boxes, etc. I have had 1 other person help me in the 2 comps I did, only for turning the boxes in. With my timeline kept the way it is it would be hard to do 100% everything on my own...but I also think I could tweak my timeline just enough so I could do the turn ins as well. I started practicing with the idea of doing everything myself because a lot of times finding someone to be as dedicated with their time is hard. You can definitely do it alone, it just gets hectic for the last 3 hours of the comp lol.
 
The more you get into it the more you’ll enjoy it and the better you’ll manage your time as a solo competitor. I do almost everything solo with exception of my son helping run boxes for me at most (not all) contests. I might be borderline over-organized, but I keep several spreadsheets to help me manage: one for prep week to-do’s, one packing list for the comp, and one for my cook process/timeline. I think I killed too many brain cells in college so I need reminders on what I need to do at any given time. Lol
If you would like help with any of that send me a PM and I’ll share any of the docs with you.
 
Thanks to all for the encouraging feedback. The first comp I'd consider would be in the Spring. In the meantime, my wife is happy that I'll be practicing at home. I'll try to do it as if I were at a site - anything snuck from the kitchen will go on the list. Let the games begin.
 
you can do it by yourself, it's do-able. Will it be fun, probably not. Even if you can get a runner for the boxes it will be a good help. You have plenty of time between turn-ins if you have a runner.
 
View attachment 164195Update: I went ahead and had a practice run this last weekend, preparing three meats (chicken, ribs and brisket). I even prepared boxes. I was happy with the results. Need some more tweaking. The brisket stalled at 145 and again at 187, and I never could get the internal temp higher than that, so I was disappointed with texture. I was happy with the flavor profiles. Time management was okay with the exception of running out of time for the brisket. I figured that I need to build in much more time, and then hold the meat until ready to slice and dice. What's recommended to keep meats warm? Do others approach this differently?

Thanks to all for the past comments and encouragement. I'll definitely be competing next year. It's supposed to snow this Friday - way too early!
 
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