A lesson learned


 

MH Brown

TVWBB Fan
We competed in our 2nd KCBS competition last weekend at Smoke on the Square in Franklin, IN. While we had a great time, I single-handedly ruined our chances at a walk.

Beer you say? Too much partying?

Nope.

I thought I was Harry Soo Trigg Tuffy Mixon. Or at least I thought I had to cook like them.

I was so dead set on winning that I second guessed myself all weekend. From starting earlier than my schedule to popping open a cookbook for an impromptu chicken sauce recipe.

Not only did I not get us on stage, but I let down my guys (including my son). They stuck by me like good teammates would, but it made me sick.

Do yourself a favor, learn from my lesson and enjoy your comp. Go to win, but enjoy yourself. Freaking out and trying to be someone you're not will surely be the demise of what would otherwise be a great weekend of BBQ.

Here's to the next comp and cooking like Bark Shark BBQ not Slap Yo Daddy
 
Ok, the fastest way to mess up a competitor that I know of is to convince them to try something different than what they planned. Fastest path to DAL known to man.

Rule #1: Don't make anybody sick.
Rule #2: Don't experiment at competitions. Stick to your plan & experiment at home.
Rule #3: If in doubt, refer to rules #1 and 2.

I've wrecked more competitions because some 'top team' felt like they needed to 'share' some priceless nugget of knowledge and I fell for it. Hook, line & sinker. I've since learned to thank them nicely (and mean it) but try it out at home after the comp.

Russ
 
I agree Russ.

Good luck Jeremy you'll do just fine! The second guessing is natural. Hopefully you'll have someone else there to help keep you grounded.

I talked to my team last night and we've all made the agreement to keep each other on track at the next comp. We'll see how that goes...
 
It's easy to second guess yourself, especially when you see teams doing things drastically different and you think that you must be missing something. As mentioned, stick to your plan and tweak the schedule/method during your next practice if you don't get the results you want. In a comp, with four meats going, it is too busy and hectic to try new things.

I also think you're being too hard on yourself. Consider this a learning experience and don't take it too seriously.
 
Thanks Pat. I'm typically hard on myself. That's how I roll. On the bright side, we're all pumped for the next comp and ready to put this behind us.

I guess by me posting this flub, I hope to actually learn from it myself. If someone else learns from it then that's a good thing too.

The funny thing is I read all these warnings before my first comp and still made the mistake!
 
Mike, welcome to the forum. It takes a good cook to see what they have done wrong. You are surely on the road to success. Once your routine is established, keep it set, at least at the comps. Harry tries evrything at least 4x at a comp and only then makes adjustments if it aint winning. Course I try everything once and if I don't get DQed I try it again. HA!

Good luck. We go on the trail this weekend for our 2nd KCBS this season.

Mark
 
Mike, I'm with Pat; don't be so hard on yourself! It's just another little life lesson hard learned. Butcha learned! No go get them at your next comp! Oh and think about all the peeps who are too chicken to compete in the first place! You have no reason to hang your head. Rock on!
 
I did my first comp a couple of weeks ago and it was a great learning experience. While I did practice a full run a couple of times, it's still different from the actual comp. I followed my plans with chicken and brisket and took 10th and 3rd. Didn't follow my plan with ribs and pork and didn't do well in either. Like it's been said many times above, practice at home and follow your plan at the comp. Your plan can help you stay focused and allow you to have more fun at the comp since you will know (within some certainty) what your results will be, then it's up to the judges.
 
As much as possible, plan your cook and cook your plan.

We had to make a couple of last minute changes to our most recent pork turn-in, but we only omitted sliced pork (money muscle was waaaayyy too tender) and changed sauces (my homemade pork sauce had an "off" taste, so we went with something else.)

Other than that, chicken, ribs, and brisket were turned in exactly how I wanted them turned in.
 
We all have had those " my fault" comps. I have beaten myself up this year twice already.
I agree with the others to just let it go and do your own thing. I respect all of the Triggs, Soo's, whomever but all you have to do is,
1- make it look great
2- make it taste great
3- make it tender.
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I know the guy who won this comp. Steve from ZZ Q is a very fine human being. He has been cooking for several years and this was his very 1st GC.
 
Rule #1 - Find your own style and cook that style.

Take it from me, this was the best advice Alexa and I received at the very beginning of our competition career and it has served us well.
 
losing was probably a good thing, imagine how twisted you'd be if you'd won! In our town, we use soccer as a means of teaching kids sportsmanship but as a coach, I learned a great life lesson. In my first, the kids (6-8), didn't do any of the things we practiced. I was yelling instructions like a nut from the sidelines until I was hoarse. No fun for anyone. My second game I gave everyone their positions, reminded them of what we practiced, sat in a chair and didn't say a word the whole game except at breaks and then to remind them of what we practiced and make subs. By the end of the season, the kids figured out that the stuff we practiced helped them in the game.

As a judge, we're required to cook w a team and this was the approach the team took. Everyone knew their role, the timetable and what was expected. If you haven't done it, perhaps you should cook w an experienced team once?
 
As a follow up..

This past weekend we competed in the Wine Brew and Bar-b-que Too contest in New Palestine, IN. It was great to see Ron from the Rib Runners and loads of other things.

It was equally great to follow our plan much better and get a call in chicken along with a call in sauce which was a side contest to the KCBS contest.

I appreciate everyone's input, especially Ron's kind words at the contest.

This makes it fun. We tanked in other categories but not because went off the charts on something...I was relatively happy with what we produced.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MH Brown:
As a follow up..

This past weekend we competed in the Wine Brew and Bar-b-que Too contest in New Palestine, IN. It was great to see Ron from the Rib Runners and loads of other things.

It was equally great to follow our plan much better and get a call in chicken along with a call in sauce which was a side contest to the KCBS contest.

I appreciate everyone's input, especially Ron's kind words at the contest.

This makes it fun. We tanked in other categories but not because went off the charts on something...I was relatively happy with what we produced. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Congrats on you walk in chicken!

Mark
 

 

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