Questions for the royal

[Smoker]

Jeff,

You will have to let someone else do the turn ins since they are only 30 minutes apart. You will have to stay focused on the meats that are still on the grill that need to come off for the next round. Also, time how long it takes to get from where u are to the judges tent BEFORE judging day so u know how long u need. A few alarm clocks don't hurt either.

Steve

[BrooklynQ]

Originally Posted by Smoker

Jeff,

Take a look at some of the pictures of the entries that BrooklynQ put together at Grill Kings and Guitarbeque. Rob got consistant High scores for appearance at both shows....no sense reinventing the wheel when you are tight for time. Print them out and hang them up for reference. If you win....thank BrooklynQ

Man - don't go by what I do. I'm new to this thing too. Thanks for the ego boost Smoker!

Just keep the garnish within regs and use the best available. I used 7 heads of lettuce and 4 big bunches of flat leaf and curley parsley to put together the 4 boxes. A lot of it winds up in the garbage. Not that I wouldn't have eaten it, but it wasn't pretty enough for presentation. And most of all - keep the boxes spotless.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Good ideas, there, Steve. I think I'll probably assign the turn in's to my wife. She's pretty meticulous and I have little doubt she'd get them there undisturbed and on time. I'll just be a little nervous as she takes off with them!

[BrooklynQ]

Originally Posted by Jeff_in_KC

I'll just be a little nervous as she takes off with them!

At the first Guitarbeque, Sharon was the runner for the team while I did the boxes. For the first turn in, she had to run to get it there on time. I'd hand off the box to her in the back of the cook area, she starts running. Hanging in the front of the tent was the pig banner. She ran right into the strings holding the banner. Her head snapped back and she was stunned. It looked like she was clothes lined. But did she drop the box? No. Did she stop running? No. Did she get it in on time? Hell yeah! The poor thing walked around the rest of the day with a rope burn across her face.

Hell of a woman that Poohbah's got.

If the turn in table is far from your setup, you may want to consider a seperate person just for running.

[Jeff_in_KC]

I'm sorry but that was funny! god help me when Phil sees this but that was funny! Hell, I'd even laugh if it was MY wife! Especially if it was my wife. Come to think of it, my wife would be carring my turn in box so maybe I wouldn't!

[BBQchef33]

I'm gonna preach for a minute.

Go For it! Don't go to win, it will just stress you out, but go to learn, do your best, stick with what you know and if you win, thats gravy on the potatos.

Before i started to compete last year. I knew how to cook. I did NOT however know how to compete. That will only come if u get out there under a tent and start competing. Who cares if its the East Gibip BBQ Hoedown or the American Royal. Go to a competition and do as you would in your yard. Relax, breath, stay focused. Make your ribs, your chicken, your brisket and butt. That will be easy. You have done it a boatload of times for family and friends. Now its just unknown guests. What you have NOT done is timed your best A-game product to come out of the beast in a 10 minute window, 20 minutes apart. That is your challenge. The art of competing. Getting a 12 hour brisket or 10 hour butt so its done, but not dry, and just enuf cooler time. Being able to find 6 perfect thighs out of 24, trimmed, glazed and formed, and to the presentation artist just short of the 10 minute window. Moving from ribs to butt and pulling, glazing and seasoning then having enuf time to slice a brisket. All of this is preceded by timed intervals of marinading, brining, rubbing....... drinking :) Thats what competing is all about. Its all timing. We can all produce good BBQ at our leisure..... but no matter how good you can cook, at a competition it aint no good if its a minute late, or undercooked when that 10 minute window opens up.

So go to the AR. Any one person can win a competition on any given day. If you can manage to get 6 judges 4 times that love your Q, your a GC and the subjectiveness under the judging tent can be in your favor that day. You may or may not walk away with a trophy, thats a crapshoot, but its a guarentee that you WILL walk away with experience that you can use your next time out.


Go forth and conquer.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Thanks, Phil. I love words of encouragement!

By the way... the guy who is going to be on my team has a "Good One" (I believe is what it's called) smoker. Not sure what model but if I'm guessing, it isn't the one on an axle. Has anyone here ever used one or seen one in action? I don't know what to expect with it.

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by Jeff_in_KC

Thanks, Phil. I love words of encouragement!

By the way... the guy who is going to be on my team has a "Good One" (I believe is what it's called) smoker. Not sure what model but if I'm guessing, it isn't the one on an axle. Has anyone here ever used one or seen one in action? I don't know what to expect with it.

Jeff,
Never even heard of them.
Here is their website if you have not seen it.
http://www.thegood-one.com/
Obviously, you will be practicing before the Royal Open, so you will be quite comfortable with it prior to then
Let us know how it goes--we may be able to help adapt to it.

TIM

[Jeff_in_KC]

I was just doing some reading online and found that an old buddy of mine from high school days is a certified KCBS judge. Would it maybe be a benefit to me to invite him over to the house, cook for him and have him give me some impressions before a first contest? Or would there be no big reason to do that? What do any of you think?

[BrooklynQ]

Go ahead and do it. Can't hurt to get him to tell you and show you what the judges are looking for.

[txpgapro]

Jeff,
Good Luck! But I will agree with the others that being a top-notch Pit Bitch first would do you worlds of good. From temps and timing to presentations there is so much more to comps than just what you do at home. Also, if you've never judged before, do it. And do a lot of it too. That is the best way to see how it's done, how the champs do it, and what the judges are really looking for. Any way you do it, have fun with it, good luck and don't get yourself down about it.

[Trout_man22]

Jeff,

Best of luck getting in. But I side with Bill on this ( for the life of me I don't know why.) If you do get in, what ever you need bro just let us know, and I see how I can help.

Trout

[jminion]

A Good One is a fine smoker but it set up differently than most pits, try to get some time cooking on it before the Royal.
Hopefully your friend has it down and knows the pit.
First time I cooked the Royal (our first year competing) got our asses handed to us, the second time we made the top 20. Phil is right it is about learning to compete. You are going to be over on the Dark Side don't let the partiers get you.

[kcpellethead]

Only if you can convince him to be brutally honest. Most people don't want to tell folks their food is bad. If you can't get constructive feedback, what good is it? Also, taste is subjective. Just because he likes or dislikes your food, what about the other five people at that table?

I read the thread about the Royal being your first contest. When trying to fill 475 judging spots at that contest, they basically take anyone who is breathing. Plan on taking the feedback you get about your entries that day with a grain of salt. It's just too big to get qualified, certified, even normal, people. The scoring can be quite erratic. It's a great time, don't get me wrong. However, it's not the place to evaluate your cooking.

[parrothead]

It's just too big to get qualified, certified, even normal, people.

I would wager that that is not the case in KC. I believe that there is a great number of judges in the area and they have to turn away certified judges.

Anybody know any better on this topic?

Jeff, definately give your old high school buddy a call. At the least you should have some fun catching up.