Local For charity Grill/BBQ contest


 

Nathan FA

TVWBB Member
I don't know if this is the correct place to ask these questions but I figured I would give it a go.

A local hardware store is hosting a for charity Grill/BBQ contest. They will have a people's choice contest and local celebrity judged contest. People can buy a taste tester band for $25, that is how they will raise money. There is no real rules as to what you can enter other then you need to have enough for at least 300 1oz servings. They said there will be some prizes for winning teams but mostly the event is to raise money for a local childrens hospital. Grills and smokers will be provided by the hardware store and we can choose from kamado Joe and/or Traeger grills, both sponsors. You have to use the provided grills(advertisement). They will also provide all the wood/charcoal needed, contestants are responsible for providing the food. After the even the teams will have the option to buy the once used grills at 20% off. I'm guessing winning teams will win one of the provided grills but that has not been confirmed.

I have never entered any kind of cooking contest but I was thinking about smoking some pork shoulder for the event. I really don't know what goes into trying to cook food and serve it to 300+ people. If anyone has any advise I would welcome it. My plan would be to serve pulled pork sliders.

As far as the grill does anyone have a suggestion as to which one I should choose to cook on? The guy I spoke to did say we could use more then one but I don't know that's going to be needed unless I decided to do more then just pork shoulder. I'm thinking the Traeger would be the easiest to use to smoke something with out having any experience on it, I use an 18" wsm at home with a heatermeter controller.

Does anyone have any other ideas for something to grilled/smoked. I chose pork shoulder because I'm familiar with it and it's cheap. I was thinking about something like bacon wrapped jalapenos but preparing 300 of those sounds a bit daunting.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Edit: Another option could be Pepper stout beef sliders(I have never cooked this but I found it here awhile back and have wanted to try it)
 
Last edited:
Nathan, I see one of your greatest challenges might be time. How much time are they giving you to prep and cook ?
 
They are actually letting is start at 5pm on Friday. I think food needs to be ready to serve at 11am on Saturday. The official "judging" is at 1pm.

I normally cook shoulder at 225-235 and I have had it take up to 18 hours. I would probably cook a bit higher, 250ish, to try to get it done faster and wrap and hold it I'm a cooler if it's done early.

I think my biggest challenge would be everything after the cook. With no experience serving that many people I have no idea how to budget time. There is probably plenty of time I just would not know how to use it haha.
 
Thankfully time should not be an issue. The other 'limitation' might be the 1 oz. Is that the weight of the meat only or the total weight, meat and buns, if sliders ? While I do not cook competitively, have helped in our association's tent making up and handing out 2 oz portions of bbq.

ADDED : PSB is SOOOOO good.
 
Last edited:
The rules are a bit vague, I think it's you need to have at least 300 portions, minimum of 1oz. I think I could give out as much as I want. I figured if I make sliders it would be a bit more then 1oz.

This is the 1st year they have had this event so I think they are still ironing out some details.
 
Last edited:
Good for you!
Do the PSB, I have done lots of charity gigs with my band, never one like that, cool idea.
I wish you the best of luck!
 
Yeah I guess they plan to have a band, hopefully there is a good turn out. Supposedly they have around 30 teams cooking. Should be a good time, I'm guessing they will have a few hitches in the process with it being the 1 year of the event.
 
First thing I would do is see how much one ounce really is. You may find it would fit in a plastic shot glass, or you may find it overflows a slider bun.
 
Wow your post sounds like it came straight out of my head! There's an almost identical local comp in a few weeks that I wanted to do as well and was going to ask for suggestions on what to make. Everything you said is just about the same except we'd be cooking on BGEs instead. My wife and I have been throwing the idea around of just making pulled pork mini tacos but we haven't settled on it yet. PSB sounds like a good idea too though. Can't wait to see what you end up going with! Good luck!
 
First thing I would do is see how much one ounce really is. You may find it would fit in a plastic shot glass, or you may find it overflows a slider bun.

Good idea, I don't know how much meat would generally be served on a slider. 1oz sounds like not enough but I really will not know until I test it.

Wow your post sounds like it came straight out of my head! There's an almost identical local comp in a few weeks that I wanted to do as well and was going to ask for suggestions on what to make. Everything you said is just about the same except we'd be cooking on BGEs instead. My wife and I have been throwing the idea around of just making pulled pork mini tacos but we haven't settled on it yet. PSB sounds like a good idea too though. Can't wait to see what you end up going with! Good luck!

I thought about tacos as well but I am leaning towards doing both PBS and Pork sliders, kind of depends on the cost of the meat. I signed up today, as of now I have 3 other people to help with the cooking/serving hopefully we don't end up in over our head haha.



Has anyone used a traeger grill? I am wondering what kind of results I should expect from it.

Thanks
 
Nathan...

Here is something like we at the California BBQ Association use when handing out samples to people at competitions...

2 oz cups

Bob
 
Thanks Bob, I can hand out Jell-O shots as well....that should garner a few votes haha. I think they are going to provide cups/plates but I'm not 100% sure yet.

On another note I did get some more details today. For the people's choice contest we can serve pretty much anything we want with the stipulation we have at least 300 portions to hand out.

For the official judges competition it's more like a standard BBQ contest. They have Pork, Brisket, Chicken and Rib categories. We can enter any or all of them if we chose. I may give each category a go, it does not cost to enter so it's just the cost of the meat. I am only going to have 2-3 others helping me so it may be to hard to balance entering every category. Probably going to play it by ear.

If I enter the judges competition I'm thinking.

Roadside chicken thighs, a high heat brisket(time management), I'll enter the pork for my sliders and then maybe ribs. I'm not the best at ribs but I may as well give it a go.

They are going to provide me 2 larger Traegers and 1 Big Joe to cook on. Do you think logistically I can cook 6-8 shoulders 6-8 Chuck roasts and the entries for the judges?......might be biting off more then I can chew haha

Thanks again
 
Nathan...

One should enjoy their time at a competition, be they the browsing public, the judges judging the competition or the teams competing. A team's first time cooking such an event can be a challenge, time wise. Personally, unless you have practiced cooking using your developed timeline, I would give serious thoughts about it. Not saying it can't be done. Cooking all 4 meats for the judges while doing PC is a challenge for most any team. It will be about serious time management and practice beforehand.

Is this competition sanctioned ? Such as KCBS ? Reason I ask is many sanctioning body have rules regarding what can be turned in for judging.
 
It's not sanctioned, the judges are 3 local celebrities.

Like you said time management would be my biggest hurdle. I think at this point it kind of depends on how many people I get to help. If it's just 3 of us I'll probably stick just to the PC and forgo the judges challenges. Might enter pork as I'll have it ready regardless. If I get a couple more helpers I may shoot for some other meats. I have a time line down for having everything done but I could only do so much myself.

I want to make sure the PC portion is taken care off before I enter anything else as that is what the event all about. Proceeds are raised by having people buy samples.

Thanks for the advice, like you said the main thing is to have fun. For me pushing myself would be fun haha, for my teammates I'm not so sure.
 
Nathan,

You may have already seen this site, bbqcritic . Does give you some idea of what turn-in boxes look like at a sanctioned competition. If one clicks on the box number, above each box's picture, you'll see how the 'online' judges have scored the box(s). In order to be an online judge for this particular site, one must be a certified judge.

Even though your's is not a sanctioned competition, some teams might turn in boxes as if it was.

Bob
 
Thanks for the link. If I end up entering the judges competition I'll probably be luck to get anything done on time much less have it look good haha
 
Nathan... Whatever way you go, I would like to extend my wishes to you and your team for BBQ Excellence at the event this weekend !
 
Nathan, so you're going with pulled pork sliders and PSB sliders? Are you going to make 300 of each? I'm still having a hard time figuring out what I can make on 1 BGE that I can provide 300 samples of. Last night I thought about bacon wrapped pork belly, but my wife and friends were basically like "you can do better than that". They got me thinking/realizing that the other competitors i THINK are going to be a mix of backyard cooks as well as restaurant chefs promoting items from their menu, just something I have to keep in perspective I guess.
 
Benji, I am making PBS and pulled pork slider. The event is providing me with 3 grills. I'm kind of planning on having 400 total servings between the 2.

300 servings on one BGE sounds rough....

I think this event is going to be the same mix. I'm expecting some local restaurants and backyard smokers. Maybe some competition teams.....I'm not going into it expecting much. It's my first shot at something like this and I'll be happy if I get everything done and on time.
 

 

Back
Top