BBQ Championship


 

Jason in CA

TVWBB All-Star
Last weekend there was KCBS BBQ event near me. I figured I'd share some of my thoughts with you. When they have done it in the past I've strolled through but never stopped and talked to people. This year I decided to spend some time talking to the teams that were competing and check out the setups. Everyone was extremely nice and willing to take some time to talk and answer questions. There was two categories, Professional & Backyard BBQ. Some of the Professional teams must have rolled in with a hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment between the trailers cookers and other equipment they brought along. On the other hand, one team came in with a couple kettles and small dome tent. Just goes to show that anyone can come and give it a shot. When it got closer to turn in time I made myself scarce. It's crunch time for the teams and I didn't want to be in the way of anyone. The park where this was happening at was also having a festival going on so I walked that for a while and got something to eat. When the dust settled and the smoke was starting to clear I went back to the BBQ area and talked to some of the teams I had stopped and said hello to earlier. At this point there was a lot of BBQ food sitting around. Chicken, ribs, pulled pork, and brisket. One of the smaller backyard teams I was talking to told me they cooked up seven racks of ribs so they could choose what they hoped to be the best eight ribs from the seven racks to give to the judges. They did the same with chicken. They offered me and my sister who was with me food. I wasn't hungry having just bought food from the festival but hey, who could turn down BBQ. My sister and I sampled the ribs and they were good. We walked around a little more and one of the professional teams had tons of food laid out, and offered us some. We sampled the brisket and ribs from them also. Earlier when walking by the same team we were given pulled pork. It was unreal to me how much was cooked up so suck a small amount could be turned in for judging. I guess you want to take out as many variables as possible. I lost count of how many of the teams asked why I wasn't competing, and reminded me there was the backyard competition also. No one there was stingy with information. Yes they were competing, but it was more like friends gathered together than people competing against each other. Anything you have heard about this being a helpful community of people is what I encountered while walking around and talking to the teams. They are there for the love of BBQ, and to win.


Chris was also there in the judges tent. My sister and I had a chance to talk to him before he was busy sampling Q from the teams. And for a short time when he was available after the competition. I enjoyed picking his brain about the world of competition BBQ. It was interesting for me to get a chance to talk to someone that knows a lot about the world competition BBQ. I learned a lot in a short time about what it takes to be a certified BBQ judge, and what is looked for in the food that gets turned in, among other things we talked about.

Chris,

It was good to meet you and I'm glad we were able to cross paths, and that you had some time to put up with me and my sister. She likes to grill and BBQ as much as the next person but she had no idea that these types of competitions were a thing. Since leaving the event I think she wants to get involved. I got a text from her this morning about the next class for becoming a judge. We'll see where that goes. After the excitement wears off it may never happen. Or I could be wrong and she could go for it full steam ahead.



For anyone that has never checked out one of these events I recommend it. I was a bit hesitant to walk up to the teams and talk to them because I didn't want to bother anyone. But what I found is they welcome it and are more that happy to chat and answer any questions. Like I said before, it's like a large group of friends. And why not, everyone is there enjoying a common interest in Q.
 
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I enjoyed reading your post Jason. I've yet to attend a competition either. Looking forward to doing so, especially after reading your summary. Thanks for sharing.
 
Excellent post, Jason !!! Welcome to the family !!!

Thanks Bob, but I'm still on the sidelines as an observer. However your response is how I felt when I was walking around talking to everybody. Like I said before, I lost count of how many people asked me why I wasn't participating. My answer to them was that I need to up my game before I throw my hat in.

I just looked at your profile and you have an awesome looking resume. Now I'm wondering were you there? We may have Matt and not even knowing it. With everything you have learned I'm going to guess that you have entered these competitions. If so you should tell us a little of your story. I'd love to hear it.

I'll say again, Bob's response is how I felt walking around talking to the different teams. The last few years I have strolled through the pits just looking at stuff. I really didn't want to be a bother. But this year I stopped and talked to various teams and I believe it's not only welcomed but encouraged. If you have something like this going on in your neck of the woods you should check it out.
 
Great post, Jason! I did the same thing at Sip and Swine in the Atlanta area. I knew a couple of the teams and wandered back to the competition area. All were friendly and glad to share knowledge, even the people I didn't know. You are right: everyone should do this at least once.
 
We may have met someplace. Either way, I hope we meet again sometime on the circuit !!!

Not a competitor here, but I do get to sample some of the best bbq around. In other words, I'm a mcbj just like Chris!

Competition BBQ is nothing like you see on TV. It's a family oriented get-together of like minded people who enjoy the company of one another while also enjoying BBQ ! It is indeed a family. You have people of every walk of life spending their weekend(s) cooking BBQ. You'll find teams whose samples are Excellent and teams whose samples need some additional 'love' to become Excellent. It's also very normal to find those with the Excellent samples helping out those needing that extra love.

If one wanted to get into competition bbq but didn't know what to start, I would suggest taking a class from someone such as Harry Soo. Harry's class does pass very specific pointers to his class that if used become the basis for that future pitmaster's cooking style. An excellent class. If one wanted to become a cbj, taking the cbj class is the first step of a very enjoyable journey.

If I can be of service to you, just drop me a line. More than happy to help anyway I can.

Bob
 
Great write-up, Jason! Thanks for making the effort to come over and seek me out. It was a pleasure meeting you and your sister. It's not often that the online forum world and the real world collide, but it's always fun when it does!

You are so right about visiting with the teams, and it sounds like you did it exactly right. On Friday night before the competition, you can visit with teams and they're very generous with their time. On Saturday morning, it's crunch time and it's best to look from a respectful distance without bothering them. But as soon as turn-ins are over at 2pm (at most contests), you can step up and say hello to almost anyone and you'll be greeted warmly and maybe offered a sample of their leftovers.

It's correct that many teams cook really large quantities of meat so they have lots to choose from in order to put the perfect 6 portions at a minimum into the turn-in box. And the stuff they don't turn-in is probably not far off from what they did turn in.

If anyone reading this feels awkward walking up to a BBQ team and striking up a conversation with a perfect stranger (which is a normal feeling!), here's an ice-breaker that works every time:

"Wow, that's a beautiful/great looking/really interesting/humongous/monster/unusual pit you have there. What can you tell me about it?"

I guarantee you just got the conversation off to a good start! :D

Best,
Chris
 

 

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