Does beginners luck exist in BBQ Contests???

[Alexa RnQ]

West Coast BBQ Championships, Fairfield CA in 2008, 40-team field (which was big for its day) was won by Cecil's Smok'n BBQ, their first contest ever!

 

[The_Kapn]

Is it better to start in a backyard competition and move to the big leagues after getting a few competitions under your belt? Or just jump right into the KCBS/FBA/etc Pro sanctioned stuff?

No way to answer that for everyone.

Just look at the $$ involved and see how proud you are of your cooking.
If you are gonna stress over $$--start backyard.
If you have the resources, do the Pro side and see what happens.

We went straight to Pro and have never looked back.
May have been a mistake, but has worked for us.

Good luck no matter what you decide.

TIM

 

[Coz]

Winning first time out ? No sweat . practice so many times your sick of BBQ before you ever get close to the comp.Get a great mentor .Take a class or two from an established winning cook( even the backyard class) . When your cooker quits in the middle of the nite dont sweat it . it all boils down to having some luck and cooking average or better BBQ and it landing on on the right tables. Doing the homework increases the odds but even then its a huge crapshoot.If your worried about spending the amount it takes to compete you wont enjoy the experience. Work hard at it and let the chips fall where they may but if you are not enjoying the day it doesnt matter how much or how little you spend you wont want to do it again. I have a great friend who reminds me every so often that this is supposed to be fun. Thanks Buzz . Oh yeah and dont forget the tornado at that first comp.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Rob, thanks for the offer, but I am cooking Q for close to 200 people that following weekend at church, and we are doing a lot of our planning and shopping that weekend.

The contest I am looking at is

18th ANNUAL LAURIE HILLBILLY BAR-B-Q COOK-OFF ​

AUG. 6th & 7th, 2010

$7225.00 IN CASH PRIZES+TROPHIES & RIBBONS
LAKE OF THE OZARKS REGION STATE CHAMPIONSHIP COOK-OFF
KCBS SANCTIONED
http://www.freewebs.com/lauriemissouri/bbqcookoff.htm​

My parents live about 2 miles from there, so I would have easy access to anything I might have forgotten, plus a soft bed if I chose to sleep that night. About 75 teams competed last year, and I think a fellow Bretheren came home with the grand prize last year.

Yes, Andy won on his birthday last year...

That is a way tough comp, lots of regular GC teams are there.

I compete a lot and took 11th overall, and I was delighted...

Don't go into your first comp expecting to win, you will just set yourself up for a let down. Just go and have fun, it's really hard to win a comp like that...

 

[Solidkick]

I think it is possible....but the key to winning is learning/knowing how to compete...paying attention to details, staying on your timelines, knowing how to recover if you fall off your timelines, presentations, good flavor profiles.

There are a ton of great cooks out there, but it's the ones that have mastered competing that bring home the paychecks.

Good luck to you!

 

[JD McGee]

I didn't finish last...

 

[daedalus]

I took 2nd in Chicken, and finished 9th overall in my first attempt. It was a backyard comp, but that allowed me to get my feet wet without spending a fortune. It taught me that I can do it, and that it is worth it to me to get a pro setup.

 

[Fat Woody]

Yes, it's possible to luck out - we did it at our first contest cooking a "backyard" brisket: no injection, seared to "seal" it, probably overcooked and still took a 12th out of 185 at Great Lenexa BBQ 2004. Not in the points, but it sure set the hook and made us over confident going into our next comp.

Since you're not going to compete until August and because you live in the KC area, you should have a few opportunities to check out a few local comps and get some ideas and suggestions to increase your odds. If you want to come to Pleasant Hill in two weeks, our team could use some help as we're a bit short handed. PM me and let me know if you're interested - Woody

 

[tmcmaster]

I'm also in the "First contest this year" club... and my only goal is to turn everything in. I fully expect to finish DAL across the board, but the beauty of that, is there is no where to go but up... and the BBQ world is like my weird, smokey and sometimes alcohol drenched extended family... :wacko:

 

[HumbleJay]

We were at the Smoktoberfest in Pa. last October and Clay Hill Cookers took Reserve Grand Champion and a 1st in Pork. It was there first KCBS competition. Our team is still green and learning more every time we compete. Looking for a better showing this year, our second full year of competing. Good Luck and have fun.

 

[SteerCrazy]

I spent over 8 years smoking on 2 WSM's and learning as much as I could through these forums.

About 3 years ago I invested in a Spicewine trailored smoker and took Rod's (Pellet Envy) first cooking class.

I learned a ton from that class and it immediately made my BBQ better. Last year I decided to enter a contest, 49 teams, we took 5th overall with a top 10 in brisket and ribs, 3rd in pork and our chicken didn't do so well, it placed in the 30's. Prior to our first competition, we practiced for 3 weekends in a row.

Our 2nd competition 2 months later we took 10th overall out of another 49 teams, our chicken took 7th and brisket 9th with pork and ribs out of the top 10.

You'll have varied results but the important thing is to have fun!

 

[lcbateman3]

We will be entering our first comp this year. I haven't even attended one yet. We are going mainly to learn. I know we will make mistakes, but we are going to go and have fun and try our best.

Only one way to go, that is all the way!

 

[Jeff Selle]

Paul Kirk, the Baron of BBQ, won 1st in chicken, second in pork cooking on a Weber Kettle in his first competition... It was the American Royal in 1981. He credits passion and persistence.

Harry Soo, took on the pros and won the Jonny Trig rib cook-off and this is his second season in competition. He credits Faith (in yourself), Fire (in the belly and grill), and Focus...

 

[Jeff Selle]

Oh, our team Rub 'em Raw BBQ, is going from the backyard to the pro circuit this year... like many have said on this thread... you gotta start somewhere...