First Competition

S

smolderingbbq

Guest
Any pointers on competing in first small BBQ competition?:icon_shy
 
Be organized and have fun. Organization makes it a lot easier for set-up an tear-down. Whatever your cooking is also a lot easier with a game plan, then you can enjoy yourself.
 
Nail your boxes.......really something you can ace and isn't totally reliant on cooking. You get bad appearance scores and you're really behind the eight ball. Start off with 8's and 9's in appearance and if your food isn't offensive you will do OK right there. Focus on your best meats if you have one and really really knock them out of the park. I think that's a cool thing to do at starter shows.........because you KNOW when you handed in darn near your best and when you do your placing will give great feedback for the future. If your best gets you a call, trophy or check you know you have the skill to win a contest and just need to connect all the dots. If your best is still finishing near the bottom you have foundational flaws in your methods that need to be addressed before you will ever advance.

Have fun.........contests are a blast, but take it seriously and don't settle for not coming in last as a goal..........shoot to hear your name called because the sweet sound of that will have you coming back for more more MORE!!!!
 
Do a complete dry run at home, match all the turn in times, takes notes.
 
When you do your test cook, put all the stuff you need outside. Anything you need to get from inside, add to the list. Anything you don't use, drop from the list. Find "Starting the Fire" on Amazon and read it.
 
Make sure your meat is done and with that, it's giving you plenty of time to get your meat in your comp box. It's not good to get behind on your timing. When I do, it seems like I am behind the whole time. :sad:

Good Luck to you, Ron
 
Think simple. Middle of the road on your flavor profiles. Not too spicy, not to sweet. I can't remember where I heard it, but "offend the least".
 
Stay sober. Make a timeline and stay with it. My first comp goals were to have fun, make all 4 turn-ins on thim and not finish DAL.
Oh, and by the way, if you hear you name called at awards.Hoop and haller alot because everyone else will be.

Good Luck
 
practice..practice...pratice time lines..have your brisket and pork done by 9 am..set up outside, pretend you are not at home...except dont pee on the neibors fence..
 
Don't change your recipe at the competition, second guessing yourself wastes a lot of time.
 
Since nobody has said it yet I will..trim your meat at home..especially chicken there are two reason we do it..one it saves valuable time at the comp and two it avoids unexpected surprises with your meat(spoilage,cuts in meat from the packer ect.)
 
Noon for chicken
12:30 for ribs
1:00 for pork
1:30 for brisket

You have 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after to get it done.
 
Don't bring too much stuff. I am horrible for packing too much stuff. It just gets in the way and makes setting up and take down more trouble. Really look at what you use during the practice run and try to just bring that stuff.
 
I've only done one comp but a detailed schedule really reduced my nervousness. The detailed schedule was a product of the full test run.

Check bbqcritic.com to nail appearance. This is the easiest criteria to satisfy.

Be comfortable. Have some shelter in case shtuff happens - even if it is the back of a minivan or UHaul.

Other small things:
Keep things in plastic bins, not boxes that destruct when wet
Have a large clock that is visible in daylight
Add PVC to your table legs to raise them to a comfortable height
 
kwas68 said:
I've only done one comp but a detailed schedule really reduced my nervousness. The detailed schedule was a product of the full test run.

Check bbqcritic.com to nail appearance. This is the easiest criteria to satisfy.

Be comfortable. Have some shelter in case shtuff happens - even if it is the back of a minivan or UHaul.

Other small things:
Keep things in plastic bins, not boxes that destruct when wet
Have a large clock that is visible in daylight
Add PVC to your table legs to raise them to a comfortable height
Click to expand...

Lots of good advice in here!
 
Have fun. That is what the first contest is always about. Don't be intimidated and turn in what you think is the best BBQ you can create and go from there. Everybody has to have a jumping off point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

thirdeye
Hill City SD Needs Teams
Replies
0
Views
661
thirdeye
thirdeye
bonz50
Houston BBQ location
Replies
9
Views
353
edmonds
E
J
Has the interest in BBQ contests dried up?
Replies
10
Views
441
Brandon_Lutz
B
S
Turn in
Replies
1
Views
338
sarth67
S
S
Turn in question
Replies
16
Views
1K
thirdeye
thirdeye
Back
Top