KCBS smoking size?

Given your timeframe I would suggesting taking a judging class and then going to some comps. As a judge but not a competitor I could not begin to generalize. There is a huge variety of styles and manufacturers of cookers at every comp.

Good advice , one of 1st things we did ...just go , go to comps look , watch we would even stay for awards , and after is best time to ask questions too teams. Gives you 1st hand look from outside how things go.

One really does not need excess space when cooking a KCBS contest. (Unless you are going to do PC as well)

Donna Fong and Harry Soo have cooked KCBS contests on a 14.5" WSM and a 12" quasi WSM. Your 22.5" WSM and Kettle are a great start. Kettle for chicken and the WSM for everything else.

Bob in Corona said:

One really does not need excess space when cooking a KCBS contest. (Unless you are going to do PC as well)

Donna Fong and Harry Soo have cooked KCBS contests on a 14.5" WSM and a 12" quasi WSM. Your 22.5" WSM and Kettle are a great start. Kettle for chicken and the WSM for everything else.

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I agree. You can make it so that your big meats are done in time for the ribs to go on in the wsm and then finish the ribs on that and then chicken on the kettle is it ideal, not entirely but I’d rather do one that way then drop bucks on a smoker you might not like just because you want the size.

A 14.5" wsm will work. I practiced it for four meats. I competed in backyard comps with good results.
A bigger cooker makes things easier.
I would start with two Ugly Drum Smokers. Add two grates to each. Then you have plenty of room.
You could cook it all one one uds but two will make it easier.

While you do not need excess space, I personally feel going extreme minimalist isn't a good approach either. You are there to win. At least I am. That puts you in a position where if something doesn't go as planned you have very little options for Plan B. Show up with a couple 14.5 WSM's and have a brisket not done when it's time for ribs to go on it and all of the sudden you are screwed. Give yourself enough cooker space for options.

You can always start off at a KCBS comp as a backyard team and only cook 3 meats at most (no brisket), and once you get your feet wet at that level, decide on how you want to proceed from there. All the while, observing the other teams and their cooking equipment and asking questions about their functionality.

I agree that excess isn't needed, but there are a lot of potential issues in going super minimalist. I wouldn't go into a comp without the ability to have all 4 meats cooking at the same time, even if you usually won't be needing that much.

2 drums could handle that, especially if you have a second rack in them.

BBQ competitions are won by the people that can handle whatever hurdle is thrown at them that day and turn out product as good as when things go perfect. Because they rarely go perfect. Something takes longer than expected, temps don't run as smooth as normal, rain sucks the heat out of your cooker, etc. You have to be able to adjust, and part of that is having a plan B (and C, and D).

We’ve competed with as little as 2 18 in WSMs and as many as 2 22 WSMs and 2 18 WSMs. It can be done on a minimum sized setup, however, our optimum is 3 WSMs. A little extra space is nice to have when things go awry (and they inevitably will!)

I jumped right in at the "Pro" level. Never did a backyard and only visited one comp before I did my first. I got calls for Chicken & Ribs and finished in the top 10 overall. At the time I had one large insulated cabinet smoker and a converted smokey joe tamale pot set up. Now I use 3 22.5 WSM's and they have more than enough room. If you can cook all four meats and hit the timing with what you have, then I say go for a KCBS comp and have fun!!

I did my first KCBS contest on a pellet drum and a Traeger. Pork butts were on the 2nd rack, brisket on the top rack, both cooked in the drum at the same time. After a certain time all were removed, wrapped, and put on the Traeger...and then ribs were hung in the drum. The big meats were done and in the cambro/cooler before the ribs got wrapped and put on the Traeger. Chicken went on the drum after ribs were wrapped. It was a lot of worrying and shuffling around hoping everything got done when it was supposed to, but it worked and I got everything turned in on time. I bought a used GMG before my second comp and it was nice to have the extra space and not so much of a headache. Now I cook on 3 drums and the Traeger and the time management is much more relaxed.

As far as going extreme minimalist goes it can be done. Its a heck of alot of fun. Its very easy to fark it all up.
My only point is cook on whatever you want. Practice and plan.
I don't recommend a 14.5" wsm for a kcbs comp. It can be done but its a very fine line between success and failure.
Heck we practiced 4 meats using only one 14.5" wsm.
I had it down for what my abilities were at the time. I decided against it. Why? Add up the costs and ask yourself do you want to handicap yourself on purpose with spending big money?
Backyard comps not as much on the line.
I still have my 14.5" wsm and I might do it some day. I still have the timeline for a 4 meat comp on one 14.5" wsm.
I upgraded to a 270 Smokers Sumo. Why? I want to relax.
Don't get me wrong the 14.5" wsm is a fantastic cooker.
I like small cookers. They are fun to cook on and see how far you can push them.
Most I had in there at once was 1 pork butt and
4 st louis cut Spare ribs crammed into the 14.5" wsm.
Heck of alot of stress and compensating for air flow is doable but difficult. Then dealing with ash build up. 8 hrs of briquettes and the bottom is full. Got to use lump and lump burns hot. Got to practically have the intakes almost completely shut or it will burn to hot. Water pan is a requirement. Keeps the temps stable. Forget sleeping. You won't be able to sleep. Grab a chair and watch it all night. Don't drink either. Got to be alert.
A couple uds is the most economical way to go. Gives you plenty of room and they work great.
I might switch fully to drums at some point. I enjoy drum cooking.

Rusty Kettle said:

As far as going extreme minimalist goes it can be done. Its a heck of alot of fun.

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We clearly have different definitions of fun

Blanton said:

We clearly have different definitions of fun

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I suppose so lol. Nothing wrong with that. I do my best cooking when I am under pressure. I find that I royally mess up when I am not under pressure.

Don't forget - a bigger smoker and you are opening/closing to move things around the other products could suffer in their cook time.

Do you cook hot and fast? Low and slow? Can you trailer a heavy 800+ cabinet smoker? so many questions.

I'd think the best/cheapest way to start would be 2 drums. cook a large meat on each, then use one for Ribs and one for Chicken. If you have a WSM and Kettle you can come close to duplicating that now. And with 2 drums, if one gives you an issue for whatever reason you can always use the other for 2 meats at a time. And you are in the game for less than $1,000.

We are doing our 1st comp in 2 weeks , we rolling in there with 2 WSM 22s , and i feel just as confident as if i had a jambo. Its the cook and the prep work is 75 % of the deal ...the cooker is 25%.

Good luck !

Smokers range greatly, there's no standard or preferred brand. Figure out how much meat you want to cook and then figure out how much space you need. Most will cook 1-2 briskets, 2-6 butts, 3-6 racks of ribs, and 12-20 thighs. Where do you want to be on that range to get 6 "perfect" samples for the judges?