Why the lack of love for competition bbq?

[Bob C Cue]

Not everyone sees life as something to be lived as an ongoing cliché.

Well said. And may I add:

Take the tiger by the tail
If only walls could talk
The pot calling the kettle black
Think outside the box
Plenty of fish in the sea
Every dog has its day
Like a kid in a candy store

 

[Grillard]

Well said. And may I add:

Take the tiger by the tail
If only walls could talk
The pot calling the kettle black
Think outside the box
Plenty of fish in the sea
Every dog has its day
Like a kid in a candy store

Sometimes you just have to run the cliche up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes it.

 

[landarc]

As a cook that has done all types of versions, from cooking for money, for comps, for charities and for family and friends, I feel each has it's merits and it's negatives. I love the camaraderie of competition cooking, especially before the actual cooking starts. And there have been some interesting products and techniques sprung from competition BBQ that are kinda fun to know. Cooking for crowds, be it money or charity, it is very rewarding to have people enjoy your cooking and hospitality. No more than competition cooking is for me, when I cook for others, I try to meet their expectations, not mine. When I cook for family and friends, that is when craftsmanship can shine, I can really tailor a cook, select the best meats, and ingredients and let it ride.

In truth, if it's just me, I hardly cook for myself anymore. Especially BBQ, if I am not cooking for a crowd, it's just not the same. But, each persons journey is different.

 

[Fsonicsmith]

Let's move from cliche's to analogies. Let's use wine. There are wines that impress in blind tastings with one quick taste but those same wines are tiresome to drink beyond a glass and don't go well with food. Seems to me that is what has been expressed about CompQ and it makes sense. But the analogy kind of breaks down after that. Just because the flavor profiles are exaggerated doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of things to learn from CompQ. Getting the proper texture, tenderness, look, degree and type of smoke, all of the techniques and tricks involved to get those things in the final product-those are things I would like to learn. Seems to me that the competition folks don't like to talk about that very much. At least, not on this Board. Is there another Board where they do? Or do they just keep it to themselves?

 

[Ron_L]

We have a very active Competition section, and a lot of guys are very open, but don't expect someone to hand you their process and recipes :-D For a lot of these guys that's how they make their money, either through competitions or classes, so those details are like trade secrets.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

Getting the proper texture, tenderness, look, degree and type of smoke, all of the techniques and tricks involved to get those things in the final product-those are things I would like to learn. Seems to me that the competition folks don't like to talk about that very much.

The problem I see is a whole lot of, "This is what I did," with virtually no rationale behind why something was done. Further, you don't get information relating the "why" to the final outcome and whether it was successful or not - and if not, why not.

There's a whole process to cooking something that starts with a rationale as to why you're doing something a certain way to hopefully achieve a specific outcome.

I rarely see that total relationship and the final outcome explained. You get, "This is what I did." Then, "Here's the final outcome" usually with a photo.

I'd like to have more of the "why" explained as that is what really helps learning in any endeavor.

 

[fnjay]

I don't know about chicken and the like, but I love me a good ole Rib Fest as part of a competition. I'll hit about 8+ different joints for a "sample" rack of 2-3 ribs for sure. GREAT way to spend a day IMO.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I'd be more than happy to talk comp cooking on a Friday evening, especially if you would bring me a Margarita.:shock:

I have cooked over two dozen racks of ribs the last three weeks, experimenting with different times, sauces, rubs,etc.....meaning, I've spent a few dollars learning how ribs react to different conditions. Most anyone can do it, but some folks think that it should be given away free to the world wide web, not me....

 

[Jason TQ]

The problem I see is a whole lot of, "This is what I did," with virtually no rationale behind why something was done. Further, you don't get information relating the "why" to the final outcome and whether it was successful or not - and if not, why not.

There's a whole process to cooking something that starts with a rationale as to why you're doing something a certain way to hopefully achieve a specific outcome.

I rarely see that total relationship and the final outcome explained. You get, "This is what I did." Then, "Here's the final outcome" usually with a photo.

I'd like to have more of the "why" explained as that is what really helps learning in any endeavor.

Classes go very much into this type of detail (the "why). Not a ton of people will just give it up in a random conversation to someone where they don't know their intentions. Takes time, effort and money to figure out the why. Burnt eluded to something similar in his post I believe as well.

In the beginning we did things just because they were done that way in competitions. It helped our scores to an extent, but really when we started understanding "why" things actually happened were we able to make our own changes/tweaks and really started improving.

 

[Jason TQ]

Comp Q is kind of like a caricature to me. Exaggerated

And I don't think it pretends to be anything different. You either get it and want to try it or don't. And both those scenarios are perfectly fine. But those pointing out that comp q is this or is that like comps are trying to hide or mask its true intentions isn't the case at all. Comp Q is a very very specific niche.

This may not have been your intention of the post, but I do see it around.

 

[sfrancis353]

I do both backyard and comp and both are fun, but for different reasons. Comp is great because I get to get away with my buddies away from the world, sit around a pit, drink some beer and talk about BBQ. It's much like going on a fishing trip. Every time we compete, we learn a bit more, we get a bit better and we have a few things we want to tweak. Every competition we meet a ton of awesome BBQ'ers and trade stories/techniques. There is a lot of brotherhood out there and truly everyone is out there to do their best. Flavor profiles might be a bit different than backyard, but my wife actually prefers a lot of the competition profiles. She didn't think she liked pork ribs until she tried a competition version, now she requests them. We don't make a living out of it, but we are definitely becoming better cookers because of it, and hell isn't that the point....to learn how to make some serious good eats and have a heck of a lot of fun in the process?

 

[Jason TQ]

Let's move from cliche's to analogies. Let's use wine. There are wines that impress in blind tastings with one quick taste but those same wines are tiresome to drink beyond a glass and don't go well with food. Seems to me that is what has been expressed about CompQ and it makes sense. But the analogy kind of breaks down after that. Just because the flavor profiles are exaggerated doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of things to learn from CompQ. Getting the proper texture, tenderness, look, degree and type of smoke, all of the techniques and tricks involved to get those things in the final product-those are things I would like to learn. Seems to me that the competition folks don't like to talk about that very much. At least, not on this Board. Is there another Board where they do? Or do they just keep it to themselves?

How objective and open minded of you...................:becky:

 

[Fsonicsmith]

We have a very active Competition section, and a lot of guys are very open, but don't expect someone to hand you their process and recipes :-D For a lot of these guys that's how they make their money, either through competitions or classes, so those details are like trade secrets.

You do? I don't see the activity. Maybe there is a secret portal to this activity that I am blindly ignorant of? Under the sub-forum of Competition BBQ I see about eight to ten stickies and three posts of little consequence. What do I need to do see all this activity?

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I do both backyard and comp and both are fun, but for different reasons. Comp is great because I get to get away with my buddies away from the world, sit around a pit, drink some beer and talk about BBQ. It's much like going on a fishing trip. Every time we compete, we learn a bit more, we get a bit better and we have a few things we want to tweak. Every competition we meet a ton of awesome BBQ'ers and trade stories/techniques. There is a lot of brotherhood out there and truly everyone is out there to do their best. Flavor profiles might be a bit different than backyard, but my wife actually prefers a lot of the competition profiles. She didn't think she liked pork ribs until she tried a competition version, now she requests them. We don't make a living out of it, but we are definitely becoming better cookers because of it, and hell isn't that the point....to learn how to make some serious good eats and have a heck of a lot of fun in the process?

Bingo, exactly why good teams will help young teams, they have walked the trail before......

 

[Ron_L]

You do? I don't see the activity. Maybe there is a secret portal to this activity that I am blindly ignorant of? Under the sub-forum of Competition BBQ I see about eight to ten stickies and three posts of little consequence. What do I need to do see all this activity?

At the lower left corner of every forum you can select how many days posts you will see. Change that to a longer period and you'll see a lot. there are over 16,000 threads and over 290,000 posts. It's not as active as QTalk, but there are more backyard cooks on here and in BBQ in general, so thats expected.

BTW, I'm just answering your question and trying to help. Why the attitude?

 

[Jason TQ]

You do? I don't see the activity. Maybe there is a secret portal to this activity that I am blindly ignorant of? Under the sub-forum of Competition BBQ I see about eight to ten stickies and three posts of little consequence. What do I need to do see all this activity?

Update the Display options in the bottom left. Change "From The" from last day to "Beginning" and start reading from there :-D

 

[Right on Q]

No need to come to the competition section. There's nothing to see there except squeeze butter and honey

 

[Yendor]

I have to admit, I competed once. It was a hassle. Oh, I did well for my first time, that wasn't the problem. I'm not a morning person, wake me up before 9 on a Saturday, good luck with that black eye.

 

[Fsonicsmith]

BTW, I'm just answering your question and trying to help. Why the attitude?

I chalk this up to the vicissitudes of posting as a stranger on the net. None was intended. I truly assumed that I was looking in the wrong place for competition talk or missing some trick. Nonetheless, I humbly apologize. Thank you.

 

[Ron_L]

I chalk this up to the vicissitudes of posting as a stranger on the net. None was intended. I truly assumed that I was looking in the wrong place for competition talk or missing some trick. Nonetheless, I humbly apologize. Thank you.

:thumb: