Just saw this vid. "competition?" steak

[LMichaels]

So just stumbled on this vid re a newer very thin wireless meat probe. But what got me is this guy calling this a championship quality steak. Me? I would be ashamed of it and honestly would not even want to eat it myself. He's done so much "crap" to it, IDK if there is any "steak flavor" left in it.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I think I’ll pass.

 

[Bob Bass]

Not unusual to see the additional processes and seasonings in both steak and bbq comps.

 

[Ed P]

For the home chef, I would save those seasonings for a lesser cut of meat than a ribeye, maybe a London Broil or a chuck steak.

Minor point, but the WiFi electronics are likely not in the probe as claimed. I find myself wondering if the probe has a seal that can fail. Could it be used in a sous vide application? Too lazy to ask Google AI.

 

[LMichaels]

For the home chef, I would save those seasonings for a lesser cut of meat than a ribeye, maybe a London Broil or a chuck steak.

Minor point, but the WiFi electronics are likely not in the probe as claimed. I find myself wondering if the probe has a seal that can fail. Could it be used in a sous vide application? Too lazy to ask Google AI.

Right the WIFI is in the transmitter base kept near the grill. I know with the similar Chef IQ you can deep fry with them, I clean mine in the dishwasher as well. Still hard to wrap my head around all that in a little probe

 

[Jonas-Switzerland]

What puzzles me is... Why do you turn your grill grates. It obviously became awkward for handling the steak. Why don't you just... turn the steak?

I think Harry Soo said that competition BBQ is not necessarily "tasty". Like a competition rib is made for a single bite. If you ate a full rib, it would be too salty/sweet etc. Like eating a full plate of pralines for desert.

 

[Bob Bass]

What puzzles me is... Why do you turn your grill grates. It obviously became awkward for handling the steak. Why don't you just... turn the steak?

I think Harry Soo said that competition BBQ is not necessarily "tasty". Like a competition rib is made for a single bite. If you ate a full rib, it would be too salty/sweet etc. Like eating a full plate of pralines for desert.

First time I have seen that process, grate turning, used. But since he always orientated the steak in the same direction, the grill marks are then controlled by how the grill grate is turned.
Actually, I like competition bbq, especially brisket. Have eaten a good amount of it the last 12 years. It (competition bbq) is generally neither too salty nor too sweet. What is really pushed is the Unami flavor aspect. I feel that way too much MSG is being used.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

I can't believe I watched the whole video......
My steak looks like a train wreck by comparison but I would bet money it doesn't taste like one in comparison.......
I guess grill marks is what it is all about these days.......

 

[Bob Bass]

Darryl.... Why don't you become a Steak Judge and find out for yourself !

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Darryl.... Why don't you become a Steak Judge and find out for yourself !

I really wasn't upset.
The amount of work and finesse that goes into that steak seemed like a lot......
I've put way less work into more refined cooks I guess.....
I was fairly sold, I watched it all but when it came time to cut the steak up it just looks like a normal steak cook.

 

[Ross W]

I bet to do well in an SCA steak contest you have to use GrillGrates brand grill grates or the judges will ding you. Wireless probe looks promising, I'll give em a decade to work out the kinks then dive in.

 

[BLever]

So just stumbled on this vid re a newer very thin wireless meat probe. But what got me is this guy calling this a championship quality steak. Me? I would be ashamed of it and honestly would not even want to eat it myself. He's done so much "crap" to it, IDK if there is any "steak flavor" left in it.

I've never competed in the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA), but I did compete in both the KCBS & Memphis in May Comps for a long time. What I can tell you is that the judges have their expectation of when they want see and taste in those turn-in boxes. I can also tell you that I would never dream of serving up chicken, or even ribs, the way I was expected to prepare them if I wanted a chance of getting called.

So, it's no surprise to me that this guy is going through all of this if he's competing in the SCA.

I bet to do well in an SCA steak contest you have to use GrillGrates brand grill grates or the judges will ding you. Wireless probe looks promising, I'll give em a decade to work out the kinks then dive in.

Year ago I'd done some research because I had thought about switching over to SCA when I dropped out of KCBS. Yes, a whole lot of guys use GrillGrates. I use them myself on both my Weber Kettles and my S-i-L's gasser. Apparently the cross-hatch is pretty much an SCA must have, sorta like candy apple red cupcake chicken thighs in KCBS. But I did see guys simply using the Weber Gourmet System with the CI Sear Grate. I guess the bonus there is you only flip the steak once. I've also see other systems used that had cross-hatches built in for use on other grills.

But, it's been a couple of years since I've really looked into anything SCA, so maybe they are now okay with CI skillet cooked steaks. I know a lot of great cooks here prefer that method. My family prefers the cross hatch and you've got to remember to cook for your audience . . .

 

[Tim Campbell]

Does competition cooking require the grill marks? Imho, I much prefer that gorgeous crust on the entire surfaces. Would that get one dq'd?

I dig the grill but imo way too much product. Seemed like a promo for about 4 different companies. Guessing he's sponsored?

Thanks for the share, Larry. Agreed. I'll definitely try the beef consome, but then nothing more than S+P for me.

 

[timothy]

That meat probe looks like a dart.
I was gonna say lets go down to the pub and toss some, winner takes steak, grill marks or not.

 

[BLever]

Does competition cooking require the grill marks? Imho, I much prefer that gorgeous crust on the entire surfaces. Would that get one dq'd?

I dig the grill but imo way too much product. Seemed like a promo for about 4 different companies. Guessing he's sponsored?

Thanks for the share, Larry. Agreed. I'll definitely try the beef consome, but then nothing more than S+P for me.

What I will you tell you is from my years competing in both Memphis in May and KCBS, I also took a KCBS judging class. From that I can tell you nothing as far as taste, texture, or look is set in stone. But also in my experience, the majority of teams that made money in KCBS contests I participated in followed the same basic formula.

Chicken thighs, usually boneless, cooked in some sort of muffin pan (I used one for individual meatloaves) and covered in a sparkling red BBQ sauce. Leading to something like this.



Also, "grass" is not required in KCBS. In fact, judges are not even supposed to "see" it. But if you want to win, it had better be there and it had better be pretty. There were teams that had one member whose only job was prepping the grass in the 4 turn in boxes. Memphis in May did not allow grass, but that was offset by the on site visit if you were in the money round.

So I guess it's the with the SCA. Again, my research is probably close to ten years old now. But what I saw was everyone pretty much cross-hatching their ribeyes. But I'm sure that in the judges class it is specifically mentioned that cross-hatching is not required. (In the FWIW Category, everyone in my family (so far) prefers the cross-hatching on both steaks and chops. I know that may not be the prevailing opinion here but, you gotta remember that you are cooking for your audience.)

Once nice thing about the SCA is that they provide you with the one ribeye that you are allowed to turn in.

In KCBS & MiM, Teams are required to provide their own proteins. So teams that could afford to higher quality meats, like Heritage Pork or Wagyu Briskets, would potentially have a leg up on teams like mine that were not doing it full time, weren't sponsored, and weren't part of a restaurant/catering business.

 

[Tim Campbell]

Thanks, BLever. That chicken looks killer.