Rookie Question- Prepping Meat on Site


 
M

MarkG-ATL

New member
Forgive me for the really novice question, but I was curious how people go about the process of rinsing the meat if you don't have a trailer/rig with running water. Do folks do the cleaning and trimming before they get to the competition site? Is this even allowed by KCBS rules? I have my first informal cookoff this weekend (not KCBS) and will be preparing 2 pork butts and 3 slabs of ribs.

Thanks!
 
Under KCBS you can rinse or trim your meat before the competition, so long as it isn't marinated rubbed brined cooked or otherwise prepared in advance.
 
Mark, I think if you were to ask 100 competitors when they trim their meat you would likely find that the majority like to trim at home. It is much easier to do as much work at home as the rules will allow. If you trim at home, you can use a vacuum sealer to store the meat in your refrigerator and then just transfer it to your cooler when you pack for the contest.

We always try to trim briskets, ribs and chicken in advance but leave the butts whole. They don't really require a huge amount of trimming and they are large enough to not fit easily into commercial vacuum bags (i.e., FoodSaver). And, since they are typically packaged in pairs and already in cryo, we just leave them that way.
 
For me at the few contests I've cooked, I bought one of those pvc type garden sinks from HD/Lowe's & hook my hose to it provided the contest has water to each site. It probably would be best to do it at home first as you're not out in the elements trying to do all the trimming plus it'd give you more time to relax at the contest instead of always being rushed trying to get things done in time
 
Chicken is the worst and I do them at home. I've gotten where I can do a thigh in about 8-10 minutes. I normally will do it Thursday night before the comp.

Brisket will go either way. I prefer to do them at home but sometimes I don't have the time. No a huge problem if I have to do them at the comp.

Butts I can do really quickly as there really isn't that much trimming to do unless I'm butterflying it out. If I butterfly then I'll do it at home. Actually it takes longer to inject them than to do a normal trim.

Ribs aren't a big deal as they go in stages. Each stage is hours apart from the others so it breaks up nicely. I can trim up ribs really quick so I feel it's better to leave them in cryovac.

Just be VERY sure that when you are done trimming that you put the label from the original packaging in the bag with the meat. That way you can show pedigree if asked during inspection (yes, I've been asked).

As for rinsing, I've seen teams just hold up the meat with one hand and hose it down with a hose end sprayer. Definately nothing fancy. Although I've read in a couple of places that rinsing really doesn't accomplish anything. In fact, you may actually may be doing harm by adding a whole new batch of bacteria to the meat.

Russ
 
For us:
chicken is 100% trimmed and rinsed at home.
Ribs are trimmed, and rinsed, at home.
Pork is never pre trimmed.
For our process, we also do NOT pre trim brisket, it arrives to the contest in the original cryo. That being said, we do not really 'rinse' it either, unless there is an alarming reason to do so.

We can do a full comp on far less than 5 gallons of water (not counting drinking water).
 
We have done it both ways, and doing the majority of it at home is much easier. Chicken is the worst and most time consuming.

Butts, brisket, and ribs are fairly easy if you have 2 people and we do them onsite.

As mentioned, save your receipts and tags/labels to show where the meat was purchased.

You doing a local ATL comp ?
 
Not meaning to hijack the thread but that's a great question. I have my first amateur comp coming up in June and I'm not sure how this will work. It is only ribs (organizers distribute 2 racks of backs at 12pm, judging is at 5pm). Competitors are only local backyard cooks. I doubt anyone will have any sanitary water for clean up. It is held at a local beach so I doubt they will have any prep areas. Now I'm wondering how to stay clean?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Although I've read in a couple of places that rinsing really doesn't accomplish anything. In fact, you may actually may be doing harm by adding a whole new batch of bacteria to the meat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
There is no need to rinse meat or poultry. Cooking makes it safe. Rinsing does nothing but potentially spread pathogens to the surrounding area.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James Harvey:
Not meaning to hijack the thread but that's a great question. I have my first amateur comp coming up in June and I'm not sure how this will work. It is only ribs (organizers distribute 2 racks of backs at 12pm, judging is at 5pm). Competitors are only local backyard cooks. I doubt anyone will have any sanitary water for clean up. It is held at a local beach so I doubt they will have any prep areas. Now I'm wondering how to stay clean? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Use gloves. Bring 2 cutting boards, one for raw and one for cooked. Bring sanitizer.
 
+1 to above plus you can buy one of those gallon jugs of water or you can use the melted ice water from you cooler set up high on a table maybe & using the drain plug to wash things with
 
Thanks guys. My plan was to bring a few big jugs, one for sanitary and one for drinking.

Also on my list is sanitary wipes, food safe gloves (a cheapie 100 pack), vinegar water in a spray bottle, 4 plastic cutting boards, foil pans and Band Aids among other things.

I'm sure on cook day, I'll have forgotten something though.
 
Don't mix the vinegar with water. Go with straight vinegar in a spray bottle. Alsop bring a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Wash your cutting surfaces as best you can then dry. Spray with vinegar then the peroxide or vice versa. Doesn't matter. Then allow to air dry.
 
Another consideration is when you will arrive at the competition. We trim chicken and ribs at home, butts and brisket on site. We try to arrive at the competition at least 8 hours before the meat goes on the cooker so we have time to do that and still visit with other teams.
 
Unfortunately, we don't get our 2 racks until noon, provided by the judges so we take what comes and have to prep onsite. Rub, sauce, smoker and accessories can be dumped at 9am.
 
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