Rib Cookoff

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scarroll26

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 18, 2013
7
14
West Monroe, La.
I'm thinking about entering my first rib cookoff on memorial day weekend. This will be a small rib cookoff near our hunting camp in Arkansas. Each team will be given their rack of ribs at 7am. The ribs will need to cooked and ready to be presented by 12 (Noon). That's roughly 4-4.5 hrs cook time. I have an offset smoker, a MES-40 smoker, & a Traeger pellet smoker at my disposal. I'm curious, which smoker and technique would you use for the cook duration to give you the best chances of placing? I appreciate any feedback..
 
I would suggest the one your most comfortable with. All three smokers are capable. Although I think the pellet smoker would be the easiest to ensure quality results in that time frame. Good Luck and enjoy.

Chris
 
what type of ribs are you going to be using that will make a little difference in cooking times and temps you may need to use.. are you looking for fall off the bone or some bite to them. i personally would say the offset but with the little time you have you would need to be able to keep it running steady without huge temp swings. if the ribs will fit in the mes 40 without cutting in half unless your allowed to then personally i say that. pellet 2nd, offset 3rd. i'm sure you'll get lots of different answers so as Chris said what ever your most comfortable with might be your choice.
 
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the one your most comfortable with

I agree with this... but .... things to consider ...

Will they let you have the smoker up and running (preheated) by the time the ribs are handed out.

If not, which one can you have heated and ready to cook the quickest ...

Your gonna have to run HOT (I call it a "fire truck" cook) for that short of time period... So again I refer to the sentence above ...

Do they allow electric (personally I'm against it) or is it charcoal/wood fuel only

Almost certain your gonna have to wrap the ribs to be done by turn in time ..

Preheated I would go with off set ... Running around 275`

Thinking pellet pooper would heat up quickest....
 
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I agree with this... but .... things to consider ...

Will they let you have the smoker up and running (preheated) by the time the ribs are handed out.

If not, which one can you have heated and ready to cook the quickest ...

Your gonna have to run HOT (I call it a "fire truck" cook) for that short of time period... So again I refer to the sentence above ...

Do they allow electric (personally I'm against it) or is it charcoal/wood fuel only

Almost certain your gonna have to wrap the ribs to be done by turn in time ..

Preheated I would go with off set ... Running around 275`

Thinking pellet pooper would heat up quickest....
i do agree with jackdanls but if the judges are looking for a smoke flavor i think you'll get a better smoke flavor with the mes which you could run around 275 but i would verify that with a independent thermometer the factory ones are known to be off and you don't need any surprises the day of. you won't get a smoke ring with electric but you could add a little cure#1 to your rub and that will give you the ring. this is just my 2 cents.
 
A rack of spares always takes me 6-7 hours regardless of what smoker I was using, Offset, Weber, or Pro 100 electric. Why so little time? You'll have to wrap.RAY
 
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I used my Weber Kettle on Thurs to smoke a 7.5 lb rack of untrimmed spareribs. Started the fire at noon. Loaded the meat at 1 PM. Temp climbed as high as 350°F. Adjusted the lower vent and the Kettle slowly dropped in temp and settled in between 260°F and 280°F. Had to stir the coals and toss in a few more briquettes every 60-90 min due to ash buildup. Heated sauce added at 5:30 PM and ate at 6 PM. They were cooked to FOTB because that's how my wife likes em. They were bite ready at 5:30 PM. No wrapping involved

I know you won't be using a Kettle, but the temps and timings might help. The pellet smoker would give greater temp range for on the fly adjustments. High heat to start, then drop into the 275°F area.

Do a practice run or two or three. Try both untrimmed and St Louis cut spares. And confirm if it will be spares or, God forbid, baby backs.
 
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A rack of spares always takes me 6-7 hours regardless of what smoker I was using, Offset, Weber, or Pro 100 electric. Why so little time? You'll have to wrap.RAY
I was thinking the exact same. You need some prep time and some finishing time so realky it’s only 4hrs for cooking... for ribs... hope they’re babys not spares.

To scarroll26 scarroll26 you could augment smoke on the pellet smoker with a tube. You’re also going to have to be super ready and know exactly what your plan is because you’ll have zero time to make adjustments. Good luck
 
If this is run like a KSBS event 1/3 of score will be presentation and you will need to do home work. I smoke 1.5 hours, then wrap in foil and kick temp to 350 for 1 hour to get bite through tender. Drop temp back too220, unwrap, sauce bone side 10 min. Flip sauce set 10 more min then turn in. Watch couple episodes of pitmaster on what judges will be looking for.
 
I'm thinking about entering my first rib cookoff on memorial day weekend. This will be a small rib cookoff near our hunting camp in Arkansas. Each team will be given their rack of ribs at 7am. The ribs will need to cooked and ready to be presented by 12 (Noon). That's roughly 4-4.5 hrs cook time. I have an offset smoker, a MES-40 smoker, & a Traeger pellet smoker at my disposal. I'm curious, which smoker and technique would you use for the cook duration to give you the best chances of placing? I appreciate any feedback..
Good luck. Just have fun.
 
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I agree with all🤣 especially do a practice and have fun! Pellet may require a Gen unless there is a electric source nearby.

Not dismissing anyones experience, but thirdeye thirdeye has the most comp experience I know of here and has given me some awesome guidance. Maybe he’ll swing by!
 
Not dismissing anyones experience, but thirdeye thirdeye has the most comp experience I know of here and has given me some awesome guidance. Maybe he’ll swing by!
Thanks for the kind words. Most of my comp experience has been judging KCBS events, this is my 13th year. And during that time I've cooked with a few teams, entered backyard style events, and also some charity events.
I'm thinking about entering my first rib cookoff on memorial day weekend. This will be a small rib cookoff near our hunting camp in Arkansas. Each team will be given their rack of ribs at 7am. The ribs will need to cooked and ready to be presented by 12 (Noon). That's roughly 4-4.5 hrs cook time. I have an offset smoker, a MES-40 smoker, & a Traeger pellet smoker at my disposal. I'm curious, which smoker and technique would you use for the cook duration to give you the best chances of placing? I appreciate any feedback..
This is totally doable and with a couple of practice runs you will be all set with a time table. On one hand, it's a good equalizer that all the ribs will come from the same source. Are they back ribs or belly ribs? Also, are there any printed rules you can share? And, who (and how many people) will be doing the judging?

This might sound crazy, and no disrespect intended... but you should cook with the judges in mind. For example, one of the hardest rib events I cooked at had celebrity judges (the food editor from the newspaper, the chief of police, a disc jockey, and a bank VP that was a sponsor), so a huge cross section of people. And this will sound really crazy, but you are not trying to impress every judge, but rather not offend even one because one low score can knock you out of the running where 4 above average scores might be a win. Excess is what offends people.... too smoky, too salty, too spicy, too sweet, too tough & chewy and sometimes too tender.

The best way to describe a high scoring rib is one that looks appealing and makes you want to eat it. And when you do eat it, it should be tender, moist and have a balanced flavor (think savory) between the smoke, seasonings and the sauce.

The basic technique is to season, smoke, wrap, and glaze. The smoke step is for flavor. The wrap is for tenderness, and the glaze is for appeal and to seal the deal. It's up to you which competition tips and tricks you want to use based on the 'rules' and the 'judges'.

Here are two videos that cover it all. The Harry Soo video covers many approaches that work. The Montana Outlaw video explains a very common method that even backyard cooks often use. Be advised: at the pro level, judges usually take one bite then score before moving to the next rib. So pro cooks use a tick more of everything to get their attention. If your judges will be eating full ribs, you might want to tone things down a bit.


 
Thanks guys for all the input and suggestions. This is really a very small event put on at our hunting / fishing community. There isn't anything really formal about it or any kind of serious competition. Its mostly, just a bunch of country folks getting together to support their community. As you can see from the entry form, ribs will be provided by the festival organization. I have NO clue if its baby backs, spare, or St Louis style. I think the judges will probably be the handful of organizers that help with putting this event on each year. Either way, I think I'm going to enter the cookoff just for the fun of it. Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions. I'm currently working nights offshore, so my computer time is limited.

Rib Cook Off
 

Attachments

  • 2022 Rib Cook-Off Entry Form - Rules.pdf
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After looking over the rules, I'd call the contact person and ask what kind of ribs.... how many racks you get, and how they are turned in (a full rack, or a certain number of ribs in a styrofoam box). This will help you figure out your timing, and which cooker you need to take to the competition.

For instance, you might get 2 or 3 racks, but only have to turn in 10 ribs.
 
I would suggest the one your most comfortable with. All three smokers are capable. Although I think the pellet smoker would be the easiest to ensure quality results in that time frame. Good Luck and enjoy.

Chris
A few questions:

1. What type of ribs - St Louis, beef, baby back, etc.? The type makes a difference in how you cook them.

2. Which rig are you most comfortable with Whichever one it is, use that one in the competition. Competitive BBQ is not the place to work on your learning curve - be it a rig, methods, rubs, etc. This is all about the Benjamins, so make sure you go in knowing the rig.
 
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