Competition BBq.

[Fatback Joe]

Same here my Sam's carries IBP but when asked if they would carry IBP packers they say they can't get them. Funny as my local grocery store 5 miles away carries IBP packers. :crazy:

Yeah, after a few of those :crazy: types of conversations, I stopped asking......they have them or they don't and I quite trying to get them to change.

 

[DevineSwine]

There are a couple of different topics here...

1. Recipe vs. Cook skill. Sure, it would be somewhat interesting to see what happens when everyone is given the same tools, same sauce, and it were just a matter of who was the most accomplished cook.

The problem therein is that, with semi-competent cooks, the difference between the worst entry and the best entry would be pretty small. In a field of say, 30 cooks, I'm guessing that any slight nuances between finished products would be so slight that even the most veteran judges wouldn't be able to tell the difference. At that point, it's a lottery, and the competition becomes meaningless. There would only be a precious few variables that the cooks could control, while FLAVOR allows for damn near infinite possibilities.

2. Technology. Yes, I miss the days of tending the pit, watching the heat, amount/quality of smoke, and the different temperature zones, and their effect on the meat.

Any large BBQ restaurant doesn't have someone watching their pit 24x7. They use large, commercial smokers that you can set to a temperature, and they will maintain it, like an oven with smoke. The premise of these high-dollar cookers is finding it's way into our backyards and campsites, and is definitely making a presence at BBQ competitions.

10 years ago, these multi-thousand dollar cookers gave some teams a huge advantage. Now, with iQue, Stoker, and many other portable solutions, everyone has access to managed heat/smoke. That's just the way technology rolls. You don't see a lot of Nascar engines without fuel injection.

I still miss the art of "pit management". It was my job on the team for a while. I miss the challenge, but I like amazing BBQ even more. The goal is to make the best BBQ you can... I think the rules are gonna allow anything and everything that makes that happen as time goes on...

NO i have never competed this was just a thought but Funky kinda touched on the points i was trying to make but couldn't word correctly. But he does bring up one major influence on this point..... Nascar !!! All the Nascar teams are pretty much racing the same everything the only thing separating them is skill and body design powerplants are all the same. Again iam not trying to throw stones its just a thought. And Funky just for the record Nascar runs a carburetor still old school baby.

 

[Funky D]

NO i have never competed this was just a thought but Funky kinda touched on the points i was trying to make but couldn't word correctly. But he does bring up one major influence on this point..... Nascar !!! All the Nascar teams are pretty much racing the same everything the only thing separating them is skill and body design powerplants are all the same. Again iam not trying to throw stones its just a thought. And Funky just for the record Nascar runs a carburetor still old school baby.

True, but the point there was that everyone usually doesn't get together and say "lets make this the standard" in any type of competition.

Tennis racquets... wood, laminated wood, aluminum, graphite, and now composite. Everyone on the tour plays with composite racquets, but it's not like they agreed on it. Over time, it was proven to be the best, and now it's all anyone uses.

When someone invents the perfectly-configurable cooker with customizable heat and smoke for $200, expect to see a lot of them showing up. Whatever's best, wins.

 

[jbrink01]

I TOTALLY disagree with the opening statement to this thread. Yes, I cook on an FEC100. Yes, I've GC'd with it. I've also GC'd with a non insulated, no electonics Horizon offset. Pork is pork (RD), ribs are ribs (Sam's), good chicken isn't expensive, and CAB wins as often as Waygu. Period.

 

[jbrink01]

There are a couple of different topics here...

10 years ago, these multi-thousand dollar cookers gave some teams a huge advantage. Now, with iQue, Stoker, and many other portable solutions, everyone has access to managed heat/smoke. That's just the way technology rolls. You don't see a lot of Nascar engines without fuel injection.
QUOTE]

ALL NASCAR Engines run carbs, FYI.

 

[RangerJ]

I started with 2 ugly drums and walmart meat. Two walks in my first competition and I was hooked.

I own a Stoker, other than using it to measure meat temperature, I've never used in a competition as a draft control. Why? I'm afraid it will short circuit or something while I'm asleep and my temperature will either go out or go through the roof.

I pretty much use HEB beef currently but just got a RD membership so I will check that out. Will never pay for Waygu or whatever because I can't afford it. My current pit was purchased in hopes of "setting and forgetting" and because I've had some catering opportunities, so I needed more volume.

I think the playing field is pretty level, I watched some young 20 somethings drag some Weber Kettles and some Brinkman offesets off the back of their truck in Conroe. First competition and they got a call for brisket.

Behind me I had some guys with two expensive pits about 17 guru's and digique's that were all set for something at about 15 minute intervals. I watched them poke and prod and stay up all night measuring and taking notes. Fires got to hot they dumped coals and added wood. In the morning they had a guy show up who was actually measuring the boiling temperature of some sauce they were creating wanted it to be "318 degrees" I think I heard him say, when it got there they pulled it. It did not end up being a good cook for them.


Sometimes I know I overthink things or order a bottle of XXX sauce or YYY spice cuz I hear its hitting. But as long as I know my product is being judged by humans and there is no clear way to win without human judgement than I'll probably use whatever is legal.

See, those cars are not all finishing at the same time and no one ever deducted points because of that silly rainbow paint job Jeff Gordon had, or said that Jimmy Johnson's car was well a bit over heated ( read over cooked) or that the smoke coming out of Jrs. car left a bad taste in their mouth. Also, all the mechanics don't use the same tools to work on these cars.

 

[Hub]

I've said it before: A good cook can do championship chow on a $49 K-Mart grill. There are lots of methods and gadgets and "hi tech" but nothing replaces the skills of a really good cook.

 

[brog315]

I think the playing field is pretty level, I watched some young 20 somethings drag some Weber Kettles and some Brinkman offesets off the back of their truck in Conroe. First competition and they got a call for brisket.

Thank you for the shoutout! That would not have happened without the wealth of information on this site. We had a good time at competition and used the pits we had available. However, a good pit will go a long way to help with convenience, and I am anxiously awaiting the completion of our trailered rig.

 

[Lake Dogs]

The winner of Memphis In May Ribs 2 weeks ago was Bubba Grills. He cooked everything on a simple reverse flow offset smoker. No GURU's, no set-it-and-forget-it, no pellets, etc. Simple; old school, using straight up hickory.

We do the same, only the smoker is a Lang. No magic. No sleep at night either, but to me that's part of the fun of it. Other than one KCBS outing where I did some silly stuff, we've never been out of the top 1/3rd in any category.

Go see a few competitions, and see who wins. Judge a few, perhaps compete in a few. Your opinion will change.

It absolutely IS the cook, not the smoker that wins. Frankly, from a judges perspective, if we were all using the same rub, the same meat, the same sauce (I try to NOT use sauce), the same wood, it would be terribly BORING.

So, from a competition cooks perspective, no, it wouldn't be much fun. And from a judges perspective, I'm not interested. No thanks.

 

[DevineSwine]

I always like to compare apples to apples so to me i think that it takes away from someones cooking skill if they lose just cause they might have had a good flavor in comparison to someone else.

 

[Rich Parker]

I always like to compare apples to apples so to me i think that it takes away from someones cooking skill if they lose just cause they might have had a good flavor in comparison to someone else.

I agree with always liking to compare apples to apples but that isn't competition bbq. Taste and in your statement flavor is very subjective and my opinion shouldn't be controlled. What is there to judge if we all turn in the same flavors? Tenderness is outlined in the CBJ class on what is proper so the only thing left is taste.

 

[Lake Dogs]

Watch Iron Chef. Cooking skills all the way. These are barbecue contests; it's about the best barbecue on that day.

 

[Still Smokin]

I added "Low Tech" to my team name...WSM, BDS & a Lowes direct heat charcoal grill for Chx & Ribs

I have walked in every event this year (5) except the one in my hometown

 

[Bourbon Barrel BBQ]

To me a true competition would be having the meat purchased at the event and everyone using the same sauce and no one is allowed to use any flame gadgets. Now that would tell whose the best cook and not the best at making a sauce. This is purely for conversation and not intended to discredit anyone by any means.

If you were a judge at that competition you would never be able to tell anything apart. It would all be the exact same food. You wouldn't be able to tell the top 20 cooks apart. The only difference would be how its placed in the box.

 

[Sawdustguy]

I added "Low Tech" to my team name...WSM, BDS & a Lowes direct heat charcoal grill for Chx & Ribs

I have walked in every event this year (5) except the one in my hometown

Nothing low tech about a weber smokey mountain. It's simply a great smoker that happens to cost less money.

 

[Ford]

Makes me happy the truck now has FL plates instead of MI. Never cooked a contest and making statements about why competition needs to be changed. Of course he can probably be excused as he is from the east side.

 

[DevineSwine]

Makes me happy the truck now has FL plates instead of MI. Never cooked a contest and making statements about why competition needs to be changed. Of course he can probably be excused as he is from the east side.

I think ya need to back up just a we bit. If you think for one second iam suggesting that that a competition be changed your way off base. I asked a simple question as to why dont they do it this way and the reason for MY thinking. So please don't jump to conclusions and enjoy Florida. All this was intended for was to be a conversation as to how things are done.

 

[landarc]

I think the development of rubs and sauce, if that is your choice, is a part of being a good cook. The development and convergence of ingredients, rub, sauce and technique is what defines flavor for any food. While all competitors may not choose to use a certain Wagyu brisket or Berkshire pork butt, they all tend to choose the same meat, that they can rely upon to perform in a specific manner. They all bring their own rubs and sauces, whether they are using commercial or home made, it is the ingredients they have chosen and developed together. Standardizing the elements takes away a large part of what makes each cooks BBQ unique. In fact, I do not consider BBQ competitions to be a measure of how well you transfer heat to a chunk of meat, it is a competition of how well, on a given day, a person or group of people can create food that tastes good and unique to their skill and judgement.

 

[Brauma]

I heard there is a competition near here that is a "no electricity" event. No Treagers, no FEC's, no Guru's, no Stokers, etc... We have kicked around the thought of entering it. I think it's in PA.

 

[bignburlyman]

A WSM or a UDS can be pretty dang close to set it and forget it in terms of temperature consistency. Very minimal vent adjustment required. The only thing the pit controllers really give you is a little more sleep.

As far as meat quality goes there are teams that would still cook choice grade brisket over Wagyu or prime even if they were the same price.

I had a co-worker that went to a beef producer meeting in Lubbock TX recently tell me that the beef experts there said there is no measurable difference between Prime grade brisket and No-roll grade. I don't know that I believe this to be true, but I was unable to find a link to a study to confirm this statement.