Spritz, mop, wrap, inject, brine?!?! WTH?!?!

[Bamabuzzard]

It's been several weeks since we entered our first comp. I've been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking on it. One thing has popped into my mind that I'd like to ask.

Is there anyone on the comp trails that doesn't spritz, mop, wrap, inject, or brine? When we were at the comp it seemed everybody wrapped their ribs at some point, you talk with teams and their brisket was injected, their pork butts also injected and their chickens brined. You always saw people spritzing or mopping.

One guy told us "If someone that is winning tells you they don't wrap their ribs they are lying." He went onto say (and others we talked to corroborated his thoughts) that if you aren't injecting butts and briskets or brining and/or injecting chickens you're not winning.

To be honest, when it comes to ribs I don't spritz, mop or wrap. But I also know cooking like I do back yard isn't like cooking in a comp. Same goes for the briskets and butts. I don't do a lot of injecting (not at all matter of fact) at home and I definitely do not sprits or mop.

But is this something I need to get accustomed to doing if I want to have a real shot at walking? Thanks in advance brethren. :thumb:

 

[Coz]

It's been several weeks since we entered our first comp. I've been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking on it. One thing has popped into my mind that I'd like to ask.

Is there anyone on the comp trails that doesn't spritz, mop, wrap, inject, or brine? When we were at the comp it seemed everybody wrapped their ribs at some point, you talk with teams and their brisket was injected, their pork butts also injected and their chickens brined. You always saw people spritzing or mopping.

One guy told us "If someone that is winning tells you they don't wrap their ribs they are lying." He went onto say (and others we talked to corroborated his thoughts) that if you aren't injecting butts and briskets or brining and/or injecting chickens you're not winning.

To be honest, when it comes to ribs I don't spritz, mop or wrap. But I also know cooking like I do back yard isn't like cooking in a comp. Same goes for the briskets and butts. I don't do a lot of injecting (not at all matter of fact) at home and I definitely do not sprits or mop.

But is this something I need to get accustomed to doing if I want to have a real shot at walking? Thanks in advance brethren. :thumb:

Its about packing all the flavor in one bite .You may be able to get a walk occasionally but if you want to walk consistently combinations of the above work. Its been said many times that taking a class will pay for itself quickly . Trigg ,Grey , Killer Bs ,Pork Chopper ,Corn Fed, And many more will fast track your education.

 

[HolySmoke77]

Its about packing all the flavor in one bite .You may be able to get a walk occasionally but if you want to walk consistently combinations of the above work. Its been said many times that taking a class will pay for itself quickly . Trigg ,Grey , Killer Bs ,Pork Chopper ,Corn Fed, And many more will fast track your education.

Agree, if you are serious about comps you will do those things. Again, if you want to get a great base for comps, take a class then make it your own. Comp bbq is quite different than backyard....all in one bite.

 

[Fat Freddy]

Not everyone brine chicken. Some inject and a few others dont do either but cook in a butter bath.

 

[DawgPhan]

short answer is that yes. someone is winning without doing any/all of those things.

Will you be able to win without doing those thing? I dont know.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

One thing I know we'll do different next time is have other smokers there to smoke specific pieces of meat. We used one big stick burner to cook everything except the chicken. We learned that was a mistake. Next time we're bringing our Backwoods patio unit and the Stumps Baby to supplement.

 

[DoctorCueNC]

I plan on using just my 22.5" WSM and a small offset stick burner for chicken when I do my backyard comp in June. Cant afford any other cooker at the moment. As for injecting I've used pineapple juice instead of apple juice once and it seemed to work well, made for tender meat due to the enzymes.

 

[DawgPhan]

One thing I know we'll do different next time is have other smokers there to smoke specific pieces of meat. We used one big stick burner to cook everything except the chicken. We learned that was a mistake. Next time we're bringing our Backwoods patio unit and the Stumps Baby to supplement.

I think you have it backwards, but that is just my opinion.

bring 3 cookers and now you need to maintain 3 fires. You need to move 3 cookers. Bring more charcoal, all that.

Plenty of teams use 1 smoker for everything and do just fine.

 

[MikeyBfromTN]

I don't do a lot of injecting (not at all matter of fact) at home and I definitely do not sprits or mop. . :thumb:

Keep in mind that what you do and how you cook at home, for friends and family, is WAY different then a competition cook. Ask anyone who cooks comps and we'll tell you "we don't usually like the things we turn in". But we're not cooking for ourselves, but 6 strangers, with vastly different tastes.

So do what is needed and what most others do, if you compete, as it works. But cook how you want at home.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I think you have it backwards, but that is just my opinion.

bring 3 cookers and now you need to maintain 3 fires. You need to move 3 cookers. Bring more charcoal, all that.

Plenty of teams use 1 smoker for everything and do just fine.

We were having a hard time smoking everything on one smoker. The guy's smoker we used didn't have an insulated fire box and for whatever reason (even during practice cooks) the meat cooked very uneven. We checked all thermometers, used a guru, but the meat seemed to not cook very even.

We noticed a lot of the other guys were using their big cookers for the brisket and butts but were using smaller backwoods units for ribs and a weber for the chicken. Who knows? We're still learning. We had a blast either way. :thumb:

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Keep in mind that what you do and how you cook at home, for friends and family, is WAY different then a competition cook. Ask anyone who cooks comps and we'll tell you "we don't usually like the things we turn in". But we're not cooking for ourselves, but 6 strangers, with vastly different tastes.

So do what is needed and what most others do, if you compete, as it works. But cook how you want at home.

We heard this more than one time when we were at the comp. One guy said he couldn't hardly stand the taste of his chicken but it places in most comps he enters. I just couldn't wrap my brain around that one. :twitch:

 

[MikeJ65]

Spritzing and mopping depends in part on what you are cooking on. I would say that there are a pretty good number of teams that don't do it. Injecting and wrapping are almost universal for flavor and timing.

Ribs are about the only thing I do at home the same as for competition. I do some whole chickens at home, but never just thighs, so different techniques apply. Pork I always inject, but not necessarily the same at home as my comp injection. Brisket is pretty much the same flavor profile, but I trim totally different for comps.

I foil everything but chicken regardless of where I'm cooking.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

I hate my competition ribs but judges this past weekend liked them. Not the best liked but we were scoring very well. It may be that I have cooked and eaten way to many ribs. Sometimes you just want Chinese food. I prefer ribs that are a bit spicy and dry rub only which will score poorly trust me I know I tried last year DAL. I learned the hard way. Think about it this way you are not cooking for yourself you are cooking for judges and their opinion you are asking for it. So pretend you are cooking for very picky eaters that love candy in other words kids. So sweeten it all up to where if you take more than one or two bites it makes your stomach hurt. Meat candy is what you have to make. I am still learning myself but trust me the sweeter the better. I swear most practice ribs past few weeks have gotten tossed out as they are just nasty but they did way better than what I think is a good tasting rib but then does it matter what I think? Not one bit. I may have just eaten way to many of the ribs to enjoy them for eating but I loved hearing our team name. It was awesome and we didn't win but it sure felt good to be in the top 10.

 

[New Pal Frank]

The only time I mop, is if I spill BBQ sauce in the camper. Other than that, I do all of the above.:grin:
Good luck and have fun.

 

[J&B'sBBQ]

We were having a hard time smoking everything on one smoker. The guy's smoker we used didn't have an insulated fire box and for whatever reason (even during practice cooks) the meat cooked very uneven. We checked all thermometers, used a guru, but the meat seemed to not cook very even.

We noticed a lot of the other guys were using their big cookers for the brisket and butts but were using smaller backwoods units for ribs and a weber for the chicken. Who knows? We're still learning. We had a blast either way. :thumb:

We cooked two years (one BY and one Pro) on ONE uninsulated stick burner, and we walked plenty of times (not bragging, just making a point). You do not need multiple cookers to cook your meat, you just need to learn the smoker.

What we did do was a lot of temperature mapping (empty and with food) to find our hot and cold spots. We would then place meat according to those and our timelines; I had up to 4 mavericks on mine at any given time to track pit and food temperatures. It can be done, but it takes practice to get it right. I agree with the other point that taking three cookers means three fires to manage and keep up with...I like tending one :becky:.

Oh, and to the OP, we do not spritz or mop, but we do use a combination of all the others you mentioned. It helps us to get as much flavor into the meat we're turning in as possible.

 

[msavard]

One guy said he couldn't hardly stand the taste of his chicken but it places in most comps he enters. I just couldn't wrap my brain around that one. :twitch:

Not sure how it's hard to get your brain around it. I imagine there are a lot of things that you enjoy a bite or two of that you wouldn't want to eat a pound of.

Think of it that way.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Not sure how it's hard to get your brain around it. I imagine there are a lot of things that you enjoy a bite or two of that you wouldn't want to eat a pound of.

Think of it that way.

I normally don't spend hours upon hours purposely cooking things I know I won't like. This guy cooks chicken that he himself doesn't like but for whatever reason the judges consistently do. It goes against logic. I get the concept and understand it. It's just hard to reconcile putting the time and effort into something you really don't like.

 

[msavard]

I normally don't spend hours upon hours purposely cooking things I know I won't like. This guy cooks chicken that he himself doesn't like but for whatever reason the judges consistently do. It goes against logic. I get the concept and understand it. It's just hard to reconcile putting the time and effort into something you really don't like.

If you want to cook for yourself, cook backyard BBQ at home.
If you want to compete, cook Competition BBQ for the judges.

Whether you choose to accept them as two distinct creatures has no bearing on the reality that they are.

Seems a lot harder to reconcile the logic behind spending the time and money to go to a competition, only to cook backyard BBQ. :biggrin1:

 

[Bamabuzzard]

If you want to cook for yourself, cook backyard BBQ at home.
If you want to compete, cook Competition BBQ for the judges.

Seems a lot harder to reconcile the logic behind spending the time and money to go to a competition, only to cook backyard BBQ. :biggrin1:

I figured if we can put a man on the moon then we're certainly capable of cooking bbq in a competition that both the cook and the judges like. :thumb:

 

[msavard]

I figured if we can put a man on the moon then we're certainly capable of cooking bbq in a competition that both the cook and the judges like. :thumb:

I love having a bone or two of our turn in ribs... but they are definitely way too over-flavored for what I'd sit down and eat a slab of. That IS what generally wins any reasonably competitive competition though.

How have you fared thus far with your approach? Definitely not trying to discourage anyone from doing their own thing if it's working for em! :thumb: