Questions for the royal

[BrooklynQ]

So when's the first practice run thru?

[Jeff_in_KC]

Originally Posted by BrooklynQ

So when's the first practice run thru?

Farkin' tomorrow or Sunday, no doubt! Tonight, I'm firing up the BSKD and smoking my buckboard bacon and five maple fatties! Won't have the WSM put together in time to use it tonight.

[BBQchef33]

First thing is... breath. do the La maz thing. then start shopping of r your camp.

then go to Walmart and buy 4 tuff boxes in the autosection. One large. 40 bucks about 3x4 and the 3 smaller ones, aboout 2x4 @ 19 bucks. Also, a cheapo shlf unit. 9 bucks for a 18x24 5 shelf plastic unit. it organizes your tables. (see picture) The larger one is perfect for all the tent canopies and walls u just bought, bungies, and additional hardware items(like the table legs your about to hear about).

u need at least 3 6 foot tables. Washing, prep, turnin. i have 2 8s and a 6. Up to u if u want a seating area.

to save your back, if your table has 4 individual legs, cut 4 18inch( or measure to your own comfort) sections of 1 1/2 inch PVC and put one on each foot of the table. It raises the prep table up so you are not hunched over. Then just pop em off for storage.

Lighting, 50 and 100 foot extension cords, 6 plug powercenter and some 12 foot home cords, garden hose for water and a Y connector.

The big tuff box will hold all tools, tent stuff, lights, BBQ Tools.

the smaller boxes, one for spices and kitchen supplies he second for cleaners, liquid and paper goods. A third is agood idea for Misc.

Also, home depot has a cabinet made by tuffbox. 69 dollars. 36 wide x 48 high. If your planning on continuing after the AR, this is very handy. I keep "stuff" in it. Additional propane canisters, lanterns, BBQ tools, gloves, tiewraps, setup tools. If it aint in the kitchen, it goes in there.

Start setting aside or buying kitchen supplies. Paper goods, towels, plates, plastic cuttlery. Liquids stuff like apple juice, worsey sauce, tobascos, fuel(kingsford and lump). You will need a camping stove or turkey frying burner of some type to heat sauces or breakfast unless u are goinf to use the firebox. Get all this stuff aside now. you got 5 weeks to go before the crunch. Grocery bill will hit hard, you dont need the paper and non perishable liquids to hit then too.

my biggest problem for the first few times is organization. Up to the last comp, all the stuff was in small bocxes all over the kitchen. Right before asbury park, I consolidated everything into about 4 permanent boxes and 2 others for stuff that needs to be refreshed every time. The shelf in the kitchen area worked wonders for organizing. The boxes made packing and prep for the next event real easy. I know i am better off because a weeek after the event, the trailer is still packed and ready to go. All I unpacked were the coolers and the 2 boxes of perishables. Next time, just refill the coolers, replenish the apple juice and take off.

We start talkin about timing techniques as ya get closer. Right now, get organized..


And get this shelf unit in the picture. It goes together in a minute and comes right apart. Also, notice the height of the prep table Xczar is at. Thats from the PVC legs. You can see them in the bottom right of the photo.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Gee thanks, Phil! I was kinda hoping I could stay away from the spending for a week or so! And my wife will demand it! She hasn't said anything about the WSM yet but I KNOW she saw the box in the back of my car... the silence is farkin' deadly!

[MoKanMeathead]

50 and 100 foot extension cords,

Make sure you get 12 gauge extension cords - sometimes you will have power issues with the smaller cords...and I think the royal is requiring 12 gauge cords this year.

Walk around a few contests and take notes of what others are using in their sites.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Originally Posted by MoKanMeathead

Make sure you get 12 gauge extension cords - sometimes you will have power issues with the smaller cords...and I think the royal is requiring 12 gauge cords this year.

Walk around a few contests and take notes of what others are using in their sites.

Yep, they sure are requiring 12 gauge. I signed up for electric but I guess that I won't know if I got it until August 20? I know I won't know location assignment until then. Would be nice if Brethren would end up close to each other.

As for checking out other contests, I've seen a few and I plan on seeing at least one more before the Royal, probably Blue Springs and Kearney. I've been spending a lot of time recently figuring out how I want to set up my camp. Some things I don't lack in are organization, diagramming and planning!

[Jeff_in_KC]

Space assignments for the Royal are out...

Big Creek BBQ - 537
MoKan Meatheads - 782
Pellet Envy - 932

Any other Brethren I'm missing? Let's go get 'em, guys!

[jminion]

Bonesmokers- 910

[Jeff_in_KC]

Looking forward to meeting you, Jim!

In looking at the map of sites, I think I'm seeing what the "dark side" actually is... as a first-time competitor in this contest, I'm way the hell out to the southwest end of the event and it seems all the teams who've been around for awhile are to the northeast. My guess is there are going to be a crap-load of idiots, non-serious Q people and partiers around where my team is located. And I don't know if it's bad or good but to one side of my space is an ash pit. Convenient but potentially a crowd and a mess right next door! At least I'll only have a team on one immediate side of me. Definitely a tarp on the ash pit end of my canopy to block it off!

Question... for anyone who has seen the map: where will the turn in site be on this thing? I don't see anything labeled and I was trying to get an idea of distance from my camp.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Oops... sorry Jim... Bonesmokers is Dr. BBQ. Forgot until I opened a bottle of Honey BBQ Sauce and looked at the label!

[Jorge]

Originally Posted by Jeff_in_KC

Question... for anyone who has seen the map: where will the turn in site be on this thing? I don't see anything labeled and I was trying to get an idea of distance from my camp.

If it was me I wouldn't worry about it until I got there and got set up. Walk it, time it, and add a little for the extra bodies come turn in time. If you have consistent product, and fairly consistent cook times you can adjust accordingly. But, that's just me :D

[jminion]

The turn-ins are in the Gov Bldg, they also serve breaskfast there, have the cooks meeting.

[kcpellethead]

Something you won't see until turn-in times on Saturday is the number of people and vehicles you must maneuver around to get to turn-in and the line you will have when you get there. Just plan on leaving for turn-in to get you there at the very front end of the turn-in window. That will give you the cushion for unforeseen "traffic." Welcome to the American Royal!

[drbbq]

You need a dedicated runner at the Royal. That person can be gone for 20 minutes with each entry, so don't count on them for much else.

Like Rod said, "Welcome to the Royal". It's a great time, but it's not like any other cookoff. You just have to accept some bullcrap if you want to cook there. Get you're food headed in early, and hope for the best.

Here's another tip. Bring extra water jugs. They come by now and then with a trailer to fill you up, but when it gets crowded you don't see them much.

See you there! Minion will be with me in space 910.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Doc and Minion together? Fark! That's an unfair advantage to the rest of us! Oh well, maybe I'll glaze with your sauce!