KCBS Hoosier BBQ Classic

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TheBeardedPig

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 23, 2023
37
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Morning Dudes and Dudettes,

My first Comp is coming up next weekend! It’s a KCBS Comp. Just wondering if anybody has done one and how will I need to set up? Do I need to be set up as if I’m a vendor? If anybody has any words of wisdom my mind is open to new information.
 
Usually no vending... unless it's a peoples choice comp... which KCBS's aren't... The most important thing to remember is to "Have Fun" ... Don't let the idea of it being a comp drive you crazy... You already know how to cook (I hope)... So just go in there with your game plan and follow through... They will do meat inspection first before you can do anything with the meat... It has to be in the original container

Are you cooking in all 4 categories (Brisket, ribs, chicken, and pulled pork)? You know how long it usually takes to cook each one... just give yourself a few extra hours and hold in a cooler if done to early...
 
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Great ! Typically they have an area assigned to you.
Do you have a trailer or plan to use pop-up tents?

Biggest advice is to have fun and meet some of the other teams. It can be very stressful running on no or little sleep. Go ahead and have your timeline written down ( inject @12, cooler for 3 hrs, season and on the pit@4am....). Have an official time keeper to be ready for turn-in.

What are you cooking on ?

Keith
 
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Usually no vending... unless it's a peoples choice comp... which KCBS's aren't... The most important thing to remember is to "Have Fun" ... Don't let the idea of it being a comp drive you crazy... You already know how to cook (I hope)... So just go in there with your game plan and follow through... They will do meat inspection first before you can do anything with the meat... It has to be in the original container

Are you cooking in all 4 categories (Brisket, ribs, chicken, and pulled pork)? You know how long it usually takes to cook each one... just give yourself a few extra hours and hold in a cooler if done to early...
Appreciate that. I gotta stay true to my way of cooking. I’ve been doing dry runs on all 4 meats and yes I’m in all 4 categories. Been taking notes on cook time, placement(which grates)on the smoker, check times, wrap times/temps at which I wrapped, temps when I put in cooler and the way I trimmed(trimmed a few different ways on each meat) Been doing my homework. I put my heart and soul into my smoker and the meat we smoke.

I was just wondering if I need to have a 3 wash sink, test strips, a hand washing station and all that health department stuff?
 
Great ! Typically they have an area assigned to you.
Do you have a trailer or plan to use pop-up tents?

Biggest advice is to have fun and meet some of the other teams. It can be very stressful running on no or little sleep. Go ahead and have your timeline written down ( inject @12, cooler for 3 hrs, season and on the pit@4am....). Have an official time keeper to be ready for turn-in.

What are you cooking on ?

Keith
I’m cooking on a 250 gallon reverse flow smoker(pull behind). I have a canopy and my family and I just have a tent no camper. We’re looking forward to the experience and atmosphere. It’s going to be fun!
 
This is the 250 gallon reverse flow “Black Horse” smoker and also bringing the vertical smoker“Tootsie”!!!
 

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Good luck, I'm pretty sure thirdeye thirdeye has both competed and judged KCBS. Maybe he'll chime in before the weekend.

Chris
 
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I was just wondering if I need to have a 3 wash sink, test strips, a hand washing station and all that health department stuff?

No... none of this stuff needed...

Good deal.. stick to your game plan... DO NOT stress as Keith ( 912smoker 912smoker ) said... And just have fun... This first one is just about learning... Placing will be an added extra bonus..

I'm sure your just in the BackYard Division?

If you can afford it.. buy 2-3 of everything (comps aren't as cheap as people think)... Especially ribs... Try to look for racks with straighter ribs.. when you cut them... cut down the side of the bones away from the bone you want to turn in... this leaves meat on both sides of the turn in bone... this is why you need more than one rack of ribs as you generally will choose the ribs towrds the center of the rack...
 
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Good question Keith JckDanls 07 JckDanls 07 .
Backyard Division?

And yes it's costly and also recommended cooking multiples of everything to have options for your turn-in box.

We do 3 butts, 4 rib racks, 3 pans of thighs with 8 per pan and a prime brisket (for local comps) and stepping up to wagyu for GBA cooks this yr.

Spend some time watching YT for your box prep and greenery!
We used kale at the comp and some judges complained about it being chopped to fine.

Keith
 
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It’s the master series. I’ve been smoking meat for a few years now. I’m just trying to make some noise and pop my cherry in competition! Thank you all for the pointers I will definitely soak all this information in. Doing another dry run tomorrow with thighs and a shoulder as if I’m in the comp.
 
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It’s the master series. I’ve been smoking meat for a few years now. I’m just trying to make some noise and pop my cherry in competition! Thank you all for the pointers I will definitely soak all this information in. Doing another dry run tomorrow with thighs and a shoulder as if I’m in the comp.
Sounds like you've done your research and will be ready!

I'm sure you already know but plenty of injection, brine and MSG !!

Keith
 
Having a written timeline to follow is a good idea because it's easy to overlook a step. Also, do as much prep as allowed at home. For instance you can trim chicken but can't brine, inject or season it until after the meat inspection on Friday. I sized the chicken and set it on a piece of disposable cutting board.
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I also pre-trimmed the brisket flat to fit the box, and rounded the square edges for (what I thought) was a better look in the box.
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There is a new pork rule that removed the minimum weight requirement, meaning you might opt to cook only the upper 1/3 of the butts (the money muscle end) and turn in slices. One tip that helped us was photographs of turn in boxes. I sent photos to WalMart and had large copies made of the arrangements we liked. These were on the wall of the trailer and we arranged the boxes as close as possible to the photos.
 
Having a written timeline to follow is a good idea because it's easy to overlook a step. Also, do as much prep as allowed at home. For instance you can trim chicken but can't brine, inject or season it until after the meat inspection on Friday. I sized the chicken and set it on a piece of disposable cutting board.
View attachment 667058
I also pre-trimmed the brisket flat to fit the box, and rounded the square edges for (what I thought) was a better look in the box.
View attachment 667059
View attachment 667060

There is a new pork rule that removed the minimum weight requirement, meaning you might opt to cook only the upper 1/3 of the butts (the money muscle end) and turn in slices. One tip that helped us was photographs of turn in boxes. I sent photos to WalMart and had large copies made of the arrangements we liked. These were on the wall of the trailer and we arranged the boxes as close as possible to the photos.
Awesome! I love the photographed turn in boxes. With the pork rule does that mean I can or can’t turn in pulled pork, “tubes” the middle section of butt and the money muscle medallions? Or do I just need to do one of them? Also with the brisket I’m thinking of doing the whole packer and separating the flat from the point and turning in slices and burnt ends from the point.
 
Awesome! I love the photographed turn in boxes. With the pork rule does that mean I can or can’t turn in pulled pork, “tubes” the middle section of butt and the money muscle medallions? Or do I just need to do one of them? Also with the brisket I’m thinking of doing the whole packer and separating the flat from the point and turning in slices and burnt ends from the point.
I know the rules are hard to find online sometimes. If you don't have the little pamphlet, private message me your e-mail addy I can send a .pdf of them. They are somewhat straightforward and cover everything you need to be aware of.

Let me answer in reverse order - That is a good plan for the brisket as long as the burnt ends are very good to excellent when you sample them. Some of the first advice I got was to not plan on turning them in and stick with slices only. If you turn in both BEs and slices, judges will use a composite score for taste and tenderness.

The previous Pork rules included a weight requirement, and requirement for separating. For example, cooks might isolate the MM by trimming so it could get more bark, but it was still connected to the roast. After it was cooked, it could be removed.
The 2020 Pork Rules:
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Boston Roast, Picnic and/or Whole Shoulder, weighing a minimum of four (4) pounds at the time of inspection. After trimming, pork shall be cooked whole (bone in or bone out), however, once cooked, it may be separated and returned to the cooker at the cook's discretion. It may be turned in chopped, pulled, chunked, sliced or a combination of any of those.

As long as the pork you turn in is from the "shoulder" as defined below, the current rules don't have any reference to weight, certain muscle groups you elect to turn in, or how they are presented. One thing to consider is that if you turn in pulled, sliced, and some plugs... the judges will sample some of each and give a composite score, so make sure they are all good enough to turn in.
The 2023 Meat Rules:
The Four KCBS Meat Categories:
CHICKEN: Chicken includes Cornish Game Hen and Kosher Chicken.
PORK RIBS: Ribs shall include the bone. Country style ribs are prohibited.
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Boston Roast, Picnic, Collar (aka Cellar) and/or Whole Shoulder.

BEEF BRISKET: May be whole brisket, flat, or point. Corned beef is not allowed.
 
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And speaking of pork boxes, we used this box as a guide when two of us cooked to fulfill the requirement for becoming a Master Judge. The box below was a turn in by Old Dave a longtime competitor, barbecue forum member and food blogger that taught me a few tricks over the years. I think the pork cook on our team left out the small log of MM slices and went with pulled and sliced.
15t1GFj.jpg
 
And speaking of pork boxes, we used this box as a guide when two of us cooked to fulfill the requirement for becoming a Master Judge. The box below was a turn in by Old Dave a longtime competitor, barbecue forum member and food blogger that taught me a few tricks over the years. I think the pork cook on our team left out the small log of MM slices and went with pulled and sliced.
View attachment 667072
Looks great!!! Do you know how much food needs to be turned in for each category?
 
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