First Beef Brisket Compitition (results are in) !!

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JckDanls 07

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Sep 10, 2011
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Tampa area, Florida.
OK.. So Bill (Smoked Apple) and I just entered a Brisket Comp that will be at our local county fair In Jan. Only the first 10 applications are accepted and we are the 3rd ones. We almost (still might change the name) named our team "Team Smoking Meat Forums" but Instead chose "Team Manatee Maniacs" (Manatee being our county).

The way It works is, They will furnish the grill (Weber 22" Kettle) all the charcoal, and the Briskets. Each team brings the rest of what they need. I assume we draw numbers for the order you get to pick your Brisket. At that time they will tell you when "turn in"time is. So we don't/won't know how long we get to cook our briskets until the morning of the competition when we pick our meat up at 9AM.

So either the cuts are gonna be small to allow time for low and slow cooking, or they are gonna have to be, as someone just mention in a thread, "FireTruck" Briskets.

This Comp is all for charity as your winnings (1st $500, 2nd $250, and 3rd $150) will go to the charity of your choice. We picked the "Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County".

Here's something I've never heard of for a Comp. like this. All 10 teams get to keep their grill after all is said and done. Is that cool or what ? Entry fee for the Comp. Is $75 per team. So what we decided to do Is one person will get the grill this year then we'll enter again next year and the other person will get the grill next time.

So now my questions are,

1. We need "THE BEST" recipe out there to win this thing.. any suggestions ?

2. Is there any suggestions on the "Fire Truck" smoke (If needed) to keep the meat moist and perfect ?

3. Any other suggestion would sure be appreciated as neither of us has ever done a "legit" compitition before

here's a link to the rules If somebody wants to take a peek to further give us better info

http://www.manateecountyfair.com/documents/OfficialRulesforBarbecueContestParticipants2012.pdf

Thanks for any help
 
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Hi Keith,

There are so many ways to smoke a brisket and your just going to have to pick one. There's probably 100 recipes on here, just use the search. I think the real challenge will be getting it done at the right time. There are a lot of guys on here that do comps and I'm sure they will be able to help you. I wish you guys all the luck in the world!
 
hey keith and bill,

this sounds like a great first time competition. When in Jan. is it? are there still openings? :)

My suggestion would be to buy a few smaller (2-5lb) brisket flats and practice over the weekends, especially on a grill instead of a smoker because of the smaller cooking space.

one recipe i've been preaching for awhile on here is simple and turns out great!  if you goto texasbbqrub.com they have a brisket rub.  i ordered that for my first brisket about a year ago and i was about ready to marinate it over night in the rub and mustard but when i received the rub it came with "instructions". it said to set out the brisket fo 30 min to get to room temp and then pour a generous portion of Worsty sauce on it, both sides, then rub with the brisket rub.  let it set 30 mins and throw on the smoker.  i was a little skeptical but tried it and it came out great, i didnt tell my friends that it was my first and they said it was the best they ever had.

as for temps....i would stay as close to 205-225 as possible (depending now much time you have), the last brisket i did i smoked at 245-270 to get it done fast and it wasn't nearly as juicy as low and slow ones i've done.

Also remember for the comp. your probably going to slice instead of pull so you wont have to smoke as long.  bring to 165-175, take out wrap and let set for atleast an hour.

that's my 2 cents...good luck and make sure you keep us updated during the competition and let us know how you do!
 
So now my questions are,

1. We need "THE BEST" recipe out there to win this thing.. any suggestions ?
  There are lots of recipes(like AL said). But I recommend lots of moisture, Beef Broth, Moore's marinade and aluminium pan for shure.
2. Is there any suggestions on the "Fire Truck" smoke (If needed) to keep the meat moist and perfect ?
 Make a ring around the inside of the grill, place the charcoal on the outside of the ring

and the brisket on the inside(indirect heat).
3. Any other suggestion would sure be appreciated as neither of us has ever done a "legit" compitition before
Depending on the time you have, I would smoke the brisket on the grate (indirectly) 2-4 hrs depending on your time frame.(longer the better)

Then place in a foil pan with beef broth and any other seasonings you like and foil. Cook covered the rest of the cook

checking for tenderness with a toothpick until it slides in like soft butter.
here's a link to the rules If somebody wants to take a peek to further give us better info

  Hope this helps

       
goodluck.gif
 
Doug, yes there is still openings. Bill called them Monday and they said they only had 2 groups so far so we'll be the 3rd. It will be on Jan. 14th. Here's the link again so check it out if you want.

http://www.manateecountyfair.com/forms-info.htm

scroll down till you see the BBQ cook off. there is a rules pdf. file and then the form pdf. file.



Thanks for the response so far y'all... We need to find somebody that will let us borrow the exact grill and do some practice runs.
 
Ok tuff on a grill but you must cook it indirect.  Take some wood chunks with ya.  Build the fire to one side and if I remember a weber correctly the cooking grill has an opening on 2 sides that you can feed a fire through.  Take a good remote thermo that can measure not only the meat but the inside of the covered grill. 

Because temps may be hard to control over a long smoke I would inject with beef broth to which I have added 1 tbs of my chosen rub per cup. You are fortifying the moisture and beef taste that way.  IMO if you slice at 170 F it may be tuffer than a judge would want.  You should be able to pick a slice up and pull it apart with just a small amount of stretch before it breaks.  For me that is usually close to 190F internal.  Since even heat may be a problem with one side of the kettle hot be carefull which slices you turn in for judging.  Spray apple juice every 45 min. or so during the cook.  when finished slicing you can put a nice sheen on the slices by a light spray of the apple juice or use warm sauce and lightly brush each slice. 

As far as a recipe goes there are as many as people have tastes.  Taste will be subjective so consider the region you are in.  Do they like spicy or sweet or both?  Do they like vinigar based sauces or tomatoe based sauces.  Pick a regional rub and sauce as most likely that is what the judges will be accustom to.  Do not use lighter fluid for the briquets take a chimney. Resting the brisket for 1 hr is important so timeing is critical but if you can be done early it will keep hot for hours in a cooler wrapped in towels.

Hope this helps

Shooter  
 
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Ok tuff on a grill but you must cook it indirect.  Take some wood chunks with ya.  Build the fire to one side and if I remember a weber correctly the cooking grill has an opening on 2 sides that you can feed a fire through.  Take a good remote thermo that can measure not only the meat but the inside of the covered grill. 

Because temps may be hard to control over a long smoke I would inject with beef broth to which I have added 1 tbs of my chosen rub per cup. You are fortifying the moisture and beef taste that way.  IMO if you slice at 170 F it may be tuffer than a judge would want.  You should be able to pick a slice up and pull it apart with just a small amount of stretch before it breaks.  For me that is usually close to 190F internal.  Since even heat may be a problem with one side of the kettle hot be carefull which slices you turn in for judging.  Spray apple juice every 45 min. or so during the cook.  when finished slicing you can put a nice sheen on the slices by a light spray of the apple juice or use warm sauce and lightly brush each slice. 

As far as a recipe goes there are as many as people have tastes.  Taste will be subjective so consider the region you are in.  Do they like spicy or sweet or both?  Do they like vinigar based sauces or tomatoe based sauces.  Pick a regional rub and sauce as most likely that is what the judges will be accustom to.  Do not use lighter fluid for the briquets take a chimney. Resting the brisket for 1 hr is important so timeing is critical but if you can be done early it will keep hot for hours in a cooler wrapped in towels.

Hope this helps
Shooter  

Thanks Shooter.. I have the chimney, remote thermo, Injector, Pecan and Apple chunks. We have plenty of time to do some practice runs I just need to get a weber kettle grill to do them on.
 
that was some good advice up there.

keith i'm gonna check my calendar..this sounds fun and i have a bunch of friends in tampa i need to visit so i might come do this with you guys!

ill keep ya posted. i need a weber grill, i was gonna buy one but might as well do this and contribute to charity!

i read the rules and it said meat will be inspected...but i didnt see if meat was provided or you bring your own? i'm assuming it's provided
 
that was some good advice up there.

keith i'm gonna check my calendar..this sounds fun and i have a bunch of friends in tampa i need to visit so i might come do this with you guys!

ill keep ya posted. i need a weber grill, i was gonna buy one but might as well do this and contribute to charity!

i read the rules and it said meat will be inspected...but i didnt see if meat was provided or you bring your own? i'm assuming it's provided

Doug, A buddy at work told me about this cook-off and said they supply the meat, grill and charcoal. He has been in it for the last few years. Here's what I read in rules.

4. MEAT INSPECTION – All meats supplied to contestants will be USDA or state DA inspected and passed. No Pre-seasoning, Injecting, Marinating or cooking of any entry is permitted until after inspection by an MCF representative or the contest organizer. All meat will be inspected at 9 AM on the day of the contest. Prior to cooking, all meat that is resting in preparation for cooking must be covered at all times. All meats must be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F. After cooking all meat must be maintained at a minimum temperature of 140 degrees F in a covered container until turned in for judging. All contest meat, once inspected, may not leave the cook team’s site until turn in.

And this.

6. Participants may select their meat at 9:00 AM on the day of the competition.

That would be awesome for you to come over and do this.
 
Just called them today and asked a few questions... Found out that turn-in Is around 4 pm with judging at 5... So that means they give you about 7 hrs total from the time you pick up your meat to turn-in... I said "man... gonna be a lot of tough briskets there".. LOL... They still have 5 spots left to fill out of ten... So I find a freind that has the weber kettle that he got from this comp last year... He Is going to let me borrow it to get a few pratice runs under my belt before the big day.... Any suggestions on getting it done and tender with in aproximatly a 7 hr time slot would be very much appreciated... I asked about the size but they didn't know that info... Should I just do it in a disposable aluminuim pan with some kind of liquid in the pan and then cover the pan with foil at about 165` ?


"Please HELPPPPPPPP"
 
Cook it at a high temp indirect.  Inject it with either Kosmos injection or Butcher BBQ injection Slather with thick Worcestershire sauce and a simple rub.  This sounds like an unsanctioned event so your judges will more than likley be just pulled off the street.  The will look for it to taste like brisket.  The injection will help keep it from drying out while you cook at a higher temp.  Wrap after four hours.  pull at least an hour before turn in so it will cool off enough for you to slice against the grain.  
 
Cook it at a high temp indirect.  Inject it with either Kosmos injection or Butcher BBQ injection Slather with thick Worcestershire sauce and a simple rub.  This sounds like an unsanctioned event so your judges will more than likley be just pulled off the street.  The will look for it to taste like brisket.  The injection will help keep it from drying out while you cook at a higher temp.  Wrap after four hours.  pull at least an hour before turn in so it will cool off enough for you to slice against the grain.  


Yes cook in a pan I would cook fat side down.
 
Ecto... thx for the suggestions bub... 300` ?? lower or higher ???? It's kinda of like a sanctioned event.. It's during our local county fair... they supply everything (grill,charcoal, meat) and all winnings go to your choice of charity... After all said and done, each team gets to keep the weber kettle grill (22.5")
 
300 to 325 if it is over a 10 pound brisket if it is a small brisket you can go below 300.  I would call and ask them about the judging they might send you a judging card before hand.
 
i'm mailing off my application today!

i'm assuming they'll give us a 2-3lb flat....that can easily be cooked in 4-5 hours on a higher temp...6 at most.  i think we'll be ok :)
 
i'm mailing off my application today!

i'm assuming they'll give us a 2-3lb flat....that can easily be cooked in 4-5 hours on a higher temp...6 at most.  i think we'll be ok :)


Good deal Doug.. afterwards we'll come out to the house and have a fire and drink a few... If ya wanna bring your tent you can set it up next to the fire...



This sounds like fun, I'm going to see if I can still get in too!


Cool Al... that would be great If you would come as well.... I know your not the camping type but maybe y'all will join us as well... there's a few hotels around... hurry up and DL the entry form... fill it out and send it off today
 
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