Competition questions


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
Originally posted by Rick Kramer on 6/27/05 at 10:24AM PT

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Hello Ray! We sure appreciate you taking the time to answer some questions in this forum.
My questions deal with competition cooking.

1. Is there a site/book/or photo album to learn how to properly prepare a turn-in box? What seperates a good box from a great box?

2. What is your opinion on injecting? Seems like more teams are leaning towards using injectors. Yet, the teams that don't inject are still winning competitions too.

3. Sliced pork butt. Yes or no? Seems like it's more for presentation than for taste. Are teams that are slicing placing well? Is it becoming neccessary to slice your butts (served with some pulled) to place well?

4. Whatever happened to good old fashioned grilled chicken? Can you still "take the walk" in competitions by just grilling and glazing your bird? It appears everyone is smoking, simmering, then grilling to crisp the skin. Is all of that really neccessary for a winning entry?

Thanks again Chris for providing this open Q&A forum with Ray. And thank you Ray for making yourself available to offer some advice. If I don't win your book I'll certainly go out and buy it. Maybe I'll see you on the circuit and you can autograph it then. Take care guys.

Rick

"Cookin' Ribs at the Riverbend"
 
1 Yeah, there's some pics out there. Look around. All the little fussing is what makes the box a little better.

2 I inject my brisket and my pork for competition. The actual things I use are not in the book, but there is some good stuff in there. I think it's a good idea right now since many of the good teams are doing it.

3 I used to think sliced was very important in the KC area, because that was the only way I ever saw it served in a restaurant. Nowadays you get pulled pork everywhere, so I don't feel that strongly about it. I would never serve sliced in the Southeast. They'd think you were nuts.
I don't change anything because of the region I'm cooking in, except sometimes the pork presentation.

4 I don't like the trend of simmering the chicken, but it seems to be working. I still smoke/grill my chicken and do ok. The judges do get nutty about the rubbery skin sometimes, so be sure to get it soft or crispy.
 
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