I've never entered a BBQ contest before and have actually only been to a couple, so this is all a new experience for me. Out little town is holding their first comp in late June. It's not a KCBS comp as the KCBS told the city to get a comp under their belts first but it part of the Iowa BBQ Society. I'm doing for the fun of it as I have no grand delusions of doing well, though I wouldn't mind getting back a little money. I have a little reputation from doing a lot of bbq for local fundraisers and have enough business selling on the side that I turn people away, so people had been bugging me for the last couple of months to enter. So I did.
I really don't have a specific question but more of general request for ideas what to expect. I have my recipes for what I cook, for better or worse, so I really don't have questions about that. I have a 22 and 18 WSM along with a 22 and 18 kettle. I'll be doing all four categories plus a public comp with the supplied pork loin. It will be me and maybe my 18y/o son overnight, probably my wife the next morning along with some son time, so I'm pretty much really going solo on this. So here are a few things I've thought about.
1) Scheduling with turn in times. What type of scheduling should I look at, more specifically finishing times for holding meats? Based off that I can schedule start times. I will be using heavy duty coolers with wool blankets & aluminum foil to hold meats.
2) Presentation. How serious should I get about this, especially being more of a local judging event? I know how to make "nice" but I've also heard of people spending hours on their presentation so how far should I go with this?
3) Equipment ideas for booth. I have a covering, access to tables, cooking equipment and cleaning/sanitizing stuff, plus what I need to stay overnight. Any suggestions or things to watch for in this area?
Again, I'm taking this seriously but am in it more for the experience, helping promote the contest for the future and maybe adding a little business to my very part-time bbq and homebrewing business, along with meeting a bunch of great people. So anything you may suggest would be helpful.
I really don't have a specific question but more of general request for ideas what to expect. I have my recipes for what I cook, for better or worse, so I really don't have questions about that. I have a 22 and 18 WSM along with a 22 and 18 kettle. I'll be doing all four categories plus a public comp with the supplied pork loin. It will be me and maybe my 18y/o son overnight, probably my wife the next morning along with some son time, so I'm pretty much really going solo on this. So here are a few things I've thought about.
1) Scheduling with turn in times. What type of scheduling should I look at, more specifically finishing times for holding meats? Based off that I can schedule start times. I will be using heavy duty coolers with wool blankets & aluminum foil to hold meats.
2) Presentation. How serious should I get about this, especially being more of a local judging event? I know how to make "nice" but I've also heard of people spending hours on their presentation so how far should I go with this?
3) Equipment ideas for booth. I have a covering, access to tables, cooking equipment and cleaning/sanitizing stuff, plus what I need to stay overnight. Any suggestions or things to watch for in this area?
Again, I'm taking this seriously but am in it more for the experience, helping promote the contest for the future and maybe adding a little business to my very part-time bbq and homebrewing business, along with meeting a bunch of great people. So anything you may suggest would be helpful.