BBQ Guru in competition?

[rball5]

I'm getting ready for a cookoff with friends next month & figured I should read the rules. Hopefully I'm reading something in to this that isn't there, but as it's written it seems to exclude the BBQ Guru.

We did this event last year & the rule did not exist (I used my guru). Here's the rule in question... Do you think it's excluding the guru, or is it excluding electric smokers?:

5. All fires must be of wood, charcoal or wood pellets and must be contained within a confined pit/ grill. Gas flames or electric temperature controls are not permitted for competition, nor are holes or dug pits. A small gas torch is allowed to initially start a wood fire in a cooker, however, after the wood/ charcoal is sufficiently ignited the torch must be put away and not used for the duration of the contest. You must have fireproof sheets under your cooker(s) to prevent grease from dripping on the pavement below. Metal trashcans designated for grease drippings will be provided by the cook off committee for your use.

 

[toymaster]

Sounds a little vague to me. You should contact them to clarify that rule and for them to correct it in black and white. I can see that rule causing some problems from misinterpretation.

 

[tduffy]

they allow pellets but no temperature controls. what do they expect a pellet cooker to do? auger the pellets manually? I would ask them what they mean by the rule and if they truly don't allow any electronic temp controls I personally wouldn't be there. 2016 sure is shaping up to be the year that many contest organizers decided to be dumb.

 

[island smoker]

I would say that this is just eliminating electric smokers.

 

[Ron_L]

The only ones who can answer that question are the folks who created the rules :-D I interpret it as nothing that controls cooker temperature electronically, so no gurus/stoker/etc, and no pellet cookers, but that is just my interpretation.

 

[sfrancis353]

I agree with island_smoker, to me it reads no gassers no electric smokers. But again, with everything I'd double check prior to the comp.

 

[rball5]

Thanks guys.
Looks like I'll be able to use my guru. Here's the reply I got from the organizers:

Generally speaking this means coal and wood smoker competition. Gas, Propane generally are not permitted for competition meats. So long as the accessory is manually operated and not self regulating it shouldn't pose a problem. We can discuss at the cooks meeting in more detail.

The rule appears to be written to exclude gas/electric heating. Additionally, I would say the Guru is not 'self regulating' (I do have to manually adjust the damper on the fan to keep my temperature at the set point).

 

[Ron_L]

Thanks guys.
Looks like I'll be able to use my guru. Here's the reply I got from the organizers:



The rule appears to be written to exclude gas/electric heating. Additionally, I would say the Guru is not 'self regulating' (I do have to manually adjust the damper on the fan to keep my temperature at the set point).

Actually, I read that as no guru.

Generally speaking this means coal and wood smoker competition. Gas, Propane generally are not permitted for competition meats. So long as the accessory is manually operated and not self regulating it shouldn't pose a problem. We can discuss at the cooks meeting in more detail.

The part in bold is what worries me. The guru is not manually operated. It is self regulating. You tell it what temp to hold and it holds it. If you are manually adjusting the fan damper more than once, then your guru is not doing it's job.

 

[Fat Freddy]

Is this a KCBS contest? As I am reading that rule AND reply, I would take it no guru, or pellet grills or the such. Where KCBS allows that.

 

[rball5]

I adjust the damper twice: 1st time = wide open to get up to temp, 2nd time = 1/4 open for cooking. I'll make sure to get clarification at the cooks meeting. I'll try to argue that it's not self regulating since I make those adjustments .

The cookoff is not KCBS, it's a local charity event. The rules last year were loosely enforced at best. We're in it for fun, but at the same time I want to make sure we're not bending/breaking the rules.

 

[rball5]

Forgot to add, there were a few pellet smokers last year, maybe they're excluding them (and gurus) this year.

 

[ITBFQ]

I agree with Ron_L. To me, the way it reads is no guru. It certainly self regulates the fan according to temp. The fan in the man's hand in the picture would be a manually operated guru. Saying that adjusting the damper once is manual is looking for a loophole that isn't there. Just my 2 cents! I do wish you the best of luck in the contest, though!

 

[rball5]

Further clarification - the guru is not allowed.

Yes it is meant to exclude all electric devises that control temperature in any manner. The rule was added this year. The intent of the rule is to limit outside factors so the results rely more on the expertise of the cook. Accordingly, the BBQ Guru would not be allowed.

Time to mod my pitmaker safe - it's impossible to control temps with the leaky sliding-door air vent.

 

[Ron_L]

Further clarification - the guru is not allowed.


Time to mod my pitmaker safe - it's impossible to control temps with the leaky sliding-door air vent.

They should modify the rule so it doesn't say pellet cookers. Any pellet cooker is going to use an electric device to control temperature.

 

[tduffy]

Further clarification - the guru is not allowed.


Time to mod my pitmaker safe - it's impossible to control temps with the leaky sliding-door air vent.

any organizer with that mentality won't ever get a dime of entry fees from me. Expertise of the cook is not defined by whether or not electronics are used.

 

[rball5]

any organizer with that mentality won't ever get a dime of entry fees from me. Expertise of the cook is not defined by whether or not electronics are used.

I agree with this, but we've already paid for our spots + the place my wife works for is the beneficiary of this years event... it's for a good cause.

 

[Okie Sawbones]

If they allow pellet smokers, then they have to allow gurus and such. Their 'rule' is as porous as lava rock.

What kind of event is this?

 

[rball5]

What kind of event is this?

It's a wild game cookoff (with all the traditional categories). The event benefits local children's charities. There are only trophies (no cash prizes as far as I know), it's just for fun & provides a lot of much needed money to some local kids.

I'm not too worried about rules for other people (pellet smokers). I just want to make sure I don't do anything to make our time out there less fun/more stressful. If I place higher than last year, I'll be happy... If not, I won't blame the rules (last year's event was the only competition I/we've ever entered and I placed 12th out of ~80 entries for my brisket).

I've already made mods based on info I found on the brethren. I covered the air intake with an electrical box & added two 3/4" ball valves for better control & complete sealing. I also ordered a new adapter for the Guru to fit my new setup. This is a mod I wanted to make anyway. The intake around the guru adapter was sealed with foil tape before to prevent leaks / allow control & was my only complaint about the Pitmaker Safe.

I've got almost 3 weeks to dial it in. I made it work with crappy intake controls for a couple years before giving in & buying the Guru (feels like cheating, even at home ), I shouldn't have any problems running without one now.