Competition Smoking

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nickyb

Smoke Blower
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Apr 29, 2011
112
10
Fort Walton Beach, FL
So for one I am in some sort of mood this evening.  Everything is bugging the heck out of me for some reason.  I think the baby waiting me up is to blame as well as the 16 hour work days this past week.  Anyways this is my rant about Competition Smoking.

So I happened to be flipping through the channels the other day and I saw "BBQ Pitmasters" on.  Now I have never watched the show before and I said what the heck why not.

First episode they have waygu brisket and tri-tip they are cooking.  I see these guys slathering and slobbering all sorts of stuff on their brisket.  I couldn't believe they were.  I am sure they didn't taste like a good brisket when it was done.  Then to top it off they are cooking a brisket at 295° to try and get it to temp in the time they have.  It was crazy.

I don't get it.  The next episode they had to do boston butt and baby back ribs.  Once again the teams were putting so much stuff on the meat that I don't think it was meat in the end and they were cooking it so hot (again 295°).  Now some times my smoker being a stick burner and all can get a little hot and that is something I can accept but is this something that normally happens at competitions?

I have been considering going and doing a competition but if that is what judges are looking for then heck no.  I will not cook my meat and not give it time to properly break down the connective tissue.  Actually that was the biggest gripe the judges had was that the meat was tough.  I was sitting there going "No sh*t dick tracey".  

Oh and I think one of the funniest parts is each of the people cooking was shocked when their meat hit a plateau while cooking.  "It's not where it should be by now" was something all three of them said.  Could be some TV drama they were adding in  but seriously if you know anything about smoking it is about you meat plateauing.  

If I am crazy please feel free to tell me.  I ain't looking for a flame war but that just ain't how I have ever cooked meat, well with the exception of some of my earliest cooks and that wasn't intentional.  

// Notice this is something almost entirely separate //

Just a little confused but then again smoking and making meat that tastes great and is tender is something that hasn't been "natural" to me but it hasn't been all that hard.  It takes a certain patience and diligence but after my first few disasters and doing a little reading (before finding this place and learning even more) I was making bbq that people have been enjoying for a while now.  As it is about once a month I am catering the place where the wife works and her coworkers will call me up when they are throwing a party on the weekend and want something catered in.  It is something I love doing.


Rant and ramble and I haven't even been drinking :-( awesome

Anyways have a good one y'all.

- NickyB
 
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Low and slow is the way i do it at home . but at a comp where you only have 4 hrs for fowl ,5 hrs for ribs and 7 hrs for a brisket you have to turbo cook.

Usually when high temp cooking the meat blows right thru the stall. That said , I don't compete as the meat that the judges like is nothing like i want to serve my family and friends.
 
yup... I've done a couple of comps and you do have to do em "firetruck" style... I did a practice brisket at 300` and it turned out GREAT... tender, juicy, tasty... and then comp time came and they decided to give us a couple more hrs... so i slowed the comp brisket down and it wasn't as good as the practice run... So it can be done at higher temps... just say'n
 
Didn't myron say in season 1 he cooks his at 350 for 4-5 hrs?

BTW season 2 which is what you are refering to sucks in comparison to season 1 of pitmasters. Season 1 show more "real life" competitions instead of that made for tv crap the did in season 2.


Joe
 
Didn't myron say in season 1 he cooks his at 350 for 4-5 hrs?
BTW season 2 which is what you are refering to sucks in comparison to season 1 of pitmasters. Season 1 show more "real life" competitions instead of that made for tv crap the did in season 2.
Joe
Well I guess it is good to know the season two has issues.  

As for hot and fast that still seems to not be enough time to break down the meat and make it tender like it is supposed to be.  I really can't see where smoking it to tender would come from if you could do it hot and fast.  But then again I haven't tried it so I can't say any further on that. 

BTW thanks for listening to my rant that even to me still seems a little incoherent.  

- NickyB
 
Season 1 was a great behind the scenes look, season 2 did have it's issues, season 3 has been pretty good so far, which the episodes you were watching are from the new season airing on Destination America.  I have done a few of comps and for the most part, you can cook it however you want, slow n low or hot and fast.  Most comps will allow you to check in sometime on Friday and once your meat has been inspected, you may start seasoning, injecting or even cooking if you choose to.  Here in Texas (and other places with IBCA), chicken is turned in at 12 or 12:30, ribs somewhere between 1 and 2 and brisket being turned in at 3 or 4.  Not near the tight every 30 minute turn in schedule like a KCBS comp, a bit more laid back.  We also have a 20 minute window, not 10 like KCBS.   So with brisket being turned in at 3:00 on Saturday, and you arrived at 6:00 on Friday evening, you do have 21 hours or more to slow cook a brisket if you choose, but very few do that.  A few crank up the pits sometime after midnight (very few do this), but most don't start their fires until just before daylight around 5:00 am.  Get the briskets on by 6:00 or so and pull them off by noon and into a cooler for a rest.  Most prefer to cook hot and fast to be able to get in their sleep and not be tending a fire all night.  At home, that can be part of the fun of smoking meats pullling an all nighter, but at a comp, when you got to be sharp Saturday afternoon, you need all the sleep and / or rest you can get.  As Myron says, you're looking for one bite BBQ.  The judges aren't eating your whole slice or the entire rib or the whole chicken thigh, just one bite.   My briskets cook for about 8 hours at 250, on at 5:00, put in a cooler at 1:00 and sliced at 2:55 right before turn ins. 
 
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Clicky