How much meat is enough??

Having never competed and only going from what I've read and observed, 4 butts, 2 briskets, 24 thighs, and 5-6 racks of ribs. Couldn't imagine prepping 50 thighs. Understand the $$ issue ... I had to discuss this with my wife a couple times and her statement to me was "as long as you are serious and put the effort in, its OK."

NavarreQ said:

How much of each quantity of meat do ya'll cook at a comp?? We cooked 8 butts,3 briskets, 50 chicken thighs, and 5 racks of rib's 2 compt's ago...What is a normal $$ for just meat at a normal comp...My wife is :mad2: asking me why cost are so high for a team of 3.. I say Hon,(she's AF), Dear,I'm stuck with 2 broke ar## LEGS(2 Msgt Air Force) , and they don't know what to do!! and that did not work out well, so what's bare minimum cost on meat? Thanks for any input,, wife is busting my chops on price and probably rightly so, but what quantity and cost do most people pay for meats at comps?

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Not to be mean or anything but that's one funny post right there..good god man who are you cooking for and who is eating all of that left over meat?..50 thighs is about 35 too many and 8 butts is a ton..we've cooked extra meat when we are selling it..which you might be otherwise I'd cut it to about 14-16 good thighs and 4 butts..1 brisket for us but most do two and 4-6 good racks.

2 butts, 1 brisket, 12 thighs, 4 racks of ribs. my cost is about 150 bucks each comp

Not trying to be harsh here, but learn to cook better. 2 butts, 2 briskets, 12-14 thighs and 3-4 racks. These numbers give you a little wiggle room. With the quantity that you are cooking, how would you ever decide which meat to turn in given the 30 minute window (kcbs) between turn in? Plus, you have to be working yourself to death at a cook-off in prepping alone.

YMMV

4 Butts, 1 brisket, 18 thighs, 3-4 racks of ribs for us.

For KCBS I do 2 butts, 1 whole brisket, 4 ribs and 16 chicken thighs

2 Butts, 1 Brisket, 4 rack of ribs and 16-18 pieces of chicken...... Plan on a budget of about $150-$200 for meat.

2 butts, 1 brisket, 3 racks, 12 thighs.

I cook 2 butts, 1 brisket, 3 racks of ribs and 12 thighs.

Depending on how you present, I can see the need for 3 butts and I could also see cooking 2 briskets. When I first started I cooked 2 briskets, but I went to 1 a couple years ago.

Wow that seems like a ton of meat. I do 2 butts, 1 or 2 brisket, 4 racks of ribs, and 16 thighs.

Lots of answers, and only 1 talked about which sanctioning body. Not all competitions, not all sanctioned competitions, are the same. Some have multiple turn-ins which can require more meat, and in some MUCH more meat because of the other styles of judging. That said, it does sound like you're referencing either KCBS or FBA, I'll guess FBA as you're in Florida.

In FBA you'll generally fill the box with meat, usually a little more or a lot more than you would in KCBS, with KCBS's garnish allowance... That could require you to cook a *little* more. For example, in KCBS many get away with 6 1-bone slices on their bed of greenery. That same 6 pieces wont work for FBA; you're more likely to have between 8 to 12 in there...

I tend to fill my KCBS box like I would my FBA box, so for me I cook the same, but you'll see it's a little more than most above.

I usually cook 4 butts, because I want 2 money muscles and I want 2 butts cooked to perfection. We cook 2 briskets because I push them very close to over-done, and hopefully at least 1 will be perfect. 4 racks of ribs, mainly because we like eating the leftovers here. I could do with 3 racks... 16-20 chicken thighs, for us, has always been PLENTY. I will tell you I've seen Bub-Ba-Q (as seen on BBQ Pitmasters) come out of their trailor, trip, and dump their entire chicken box in the sand. Luckily they had enough made so that he went back inside, wiped the box, put another 6 or 9 thighs in there without garnish and ended up 2nd in chicken and GC'd the competition.

We usually cook 1 whole packe brisket,2 8# pork butts 3 slabs of bb ribs and 18 - 24 thighs.

If we are expecting company we may add a couple mor racks of ribs.

With normal contest, I take left overs to work and feed about 30 guys in my Department. Thet LOVE BBQ season on Mondays.

There are lots of different strategies. Sounds like you're using the shotgun approach, and nothing wrong with that. I think most people here use a rifle.

1 Flat, 1 rack of ribs, 6 thighs and a pork collar

Pigs on Fire said:

1 Flat, 1 rack of ribs, 6 thighs and a pork collar

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:clap2::thumb::laugh: NICE!!!!

I skip the pork collar and just bring two money muscles with me....just bringing the money muscles sure cuts back on the cook time :crazy:

Pigs on Fire said:

1 Flat, 1 rack of ribs, 6 thighs and a pork collar

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op2:

one packer($45)i'll have to up that number for better meat if i continue, two butts($30), three racks($30), and sixteen thighs($20).

the meats are the cheap part IMHO.

Currently for competition we cook 1 Packer, 2 Butts, 3 Racks of ribs and 12 -16 thighs. We spend about 150.00. I have been toying with the idea to add a brisket flat but I am not sure the benefit will outweigh the effort.
I am curious though – when I cook that much meat (butts / brisket) my smoker is a whole different creature – it operates a little differently in the sense that I have a buildup of moisture. My cook times go longer and the bark is not where I like it.

We cook pretty much in line with the quantities mentioned upthread, although we're thinking of cutting down to cooking 8 chicken thighs. Not because chicken is expensive, for sure, but because it's a pain in the butt.

I can't imagine the wear and tear (and time constraints) of sorting through as much meat as mentioned in the original post.

I agree that meat isn't our biggest chunk of expenses to go to a contest. Out here the entry fee is usually larger, and gas to get there and back is a killer. Meat is the one thing you get some return on, because you've got all those leftovers. Can you presell the leftovers before a contest?

I buy & cook 2 briskets
I buy & cook 2 butts
I buy 24 thighs, cook 16
I buy 6 racks of ribs, cook 4.