BBQ Competition

[funk]

A few months back I decided that I am going to enter my first bbq competition. I found that there are 3 in my area starting in May. I recevied alot of good feedback on what to expect when I made a post a few months ago. I read through the KCBS rules and my question is, does the competition officially begin after the meat is inspected? Thanksl.

 

[gene111]

once your meat is inspected you can start preping it for the cook.

 

[fatback joe]

You can trim your meat prior to the competition, but you can't rub, inject, season, etc prior to the inspection.

I do all my trimming at home prior so I don't have to mess with it when I am out there (aka drink sooner).

Good luck

 

[triplebq]

So you are saying you drink at comps ? Do you have 300 at cook off and if so can I be number like 2 or 3 / lmao I can cook chicken and drink diet coke with best of them .. just sayin

 

[funk]

Thanks for the feedback. I have a good rub for my ribs and pork, but I have only done a few briskets and only a few chickens. I heard that it is best to do thighs instead of whole chickens. Any thoughts, techniques, or suggested marinades to use>

 

[bman62526]

I could be wrong, and it MIGHT depend on what comp you are participating in (KCBS or other) but I thought I saw on Pitmasters that your meat still had to be sealed in the packaging for inspection?

I know for sure that for at least two of the episodes I watched, the featured teams didn't start trimming OR injecting, rubbing, etc. until after inspection.

Anyone else weigh in on this?

 

[fatback joe]

It is allowed for KCBS.

Not all of the contests on the show were KCBS contest.

Anyhow, if you decide to trim before hand, just bring the labels off the package the meat came in. I had the inspector ask to see them before.

 

[tn_bbq]

I would recommend thighs. If you do cook whole chickens, you have to cut them into 6 separate pieces and you run the risk of one judge getting a piece of the breast when they prefer dark meat.

Techniques: I trim my thighs into nice little rectangles. I'll cook a bunch of them and select the best 6 or 8 for the turn in box (use the ugly ones to test for flavor and doneness).

The key with chicken is the skin and moist meat. You want bite through skin. You don't want the skin to be hard and rubbery, nor do you want it to all slide off in one big piece when the judge takes their first bite.

As far as seasonings and such, I think a lot of folks marinade and/or brine their chicken so it absorbs the flavor. You'll get all sorts of recipes, but a common marinade is Italian salad dressing and a common brine is water with salt (and/or rub) and sugar.

Chicken is cheap and doesn't take a long time to cook. Therefore I'd recommend practicing several times between now and your competition.

One other tip if you plan to cook your chicken at the same time on the same smoker you are cooking your other meat you may find the other meat will cook a little slower (especially if you are opening your cooker frequently to fiddle with your chicken). Coordinating everything so you have all your meat finished at the proper time is one of the challenges of competing. This is why experience is so important and why you see a lot of the same names getting calls week in and week out.

 

[fatback joe]

I'll second that. I bought my little WSM just for contest chicken. I was f'ing everything else up by opening the door to monkey with chicken.

 

[tn_bbq]

Monkeying with your meat is a recipe for disaster.

 

[fatback joe]

Atleast at a contest it is. LOL


Maybe I should have said I was playing with my chicken too much?

 

[triplebq]

Do you cover your your charcoal with any kind of mess wire to helpp keep your chicken clean for the contests ..

 

[fatback joe]

No.

I keep the water pan in the wsm (no water in it) and have never had an issue.

 

[triplebq]

Thanks .. that makes sense to let the juices hit the pan and not the charcoal .

 

[fatback joe]

Actually, I have a ceramic flower pot base in there wrapped in foil. Serves the same purpose as filling the bowl with sand, without the hassle of sand. Just throw the foil away after the cook and you are done.

But yeah, the juices don't hit the coals in any case.

 

[fatback joe]

Chit......sorry for the thread hijack.