First BBQ Contest

Never done kcbs but good luck! Run the time line now and get it down. I may not compete on kcbs but i took away one really important thing from my first Non-sanctioned competition you have to have a time line in place. You have to stick to it as best you can. Don't jump the gun. I lost big time because I did that. I may have still lost big time but it certainly did not help me at all. A timeline is your friend. Write out how you want it to go and practice it and if it is off in spots fix it at home and stick to it. If you don't you will wind up like me wondering all year if I would have stuck to the time line could I have done better? I don't get to redeem myself until May if I get lucky and get the day off and if I cook better and follow the time line. So practice, practice, practice. And .... Stick to the timeline.

BubbaJ said:

Ok I have finally entered my first KCBS competition. It will be June 26-27 in Omaha Ne. Since this is my first comp I only have a OKJ Longhorn smoker and a 14" Webber WSM. I will be doing a trial run the week before the comp. I would like some input on what to expect at my first competition. Thanks

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Hi BubbaJ, I see you are in Plattsmouth. I used to live in Plattsmouth at Roberts Trailer court and now my daughter, son in law and their kids live over by the park. I love it now that 34 is open across river and I dont have to pay damn toll bridge when I come down to visit. Sorry I got off track. We have done several contests and will be in Plattsmouth 3 or 4 times in the next couple of months. I would be happy to get together with you one of the times and discuss any questions you may have. My wife for sure will be in town over Easter and she does most the trimming and box making if you want to pick her brain as well.

Good luck and try to make nice clean box's and great looking food for the box..If you can score 9's for appearance, that's a plus rite out of the shoot. Look and this site below and at least see how they present the turn in box.
Also read the rules, you need to pay attention to what it says when it comes to the turn in box, like have 6 pieces of meat, no foreign objects in the box, such as tooth picks, tin foil, wrong kind of greens in the box if you put lettuce in the box..Here's 2 good sites, Pickled Pig has some great advice and box's, his scores,,JUST LOOK for The PICs! to see his award winning info
http://www.thepickledpig.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=24

http://www.bbqcritic.com/

I'll echo what Ron_L and Rusty_Kettle said. Practice, practice, practice! And do several with turn in times in mind. Keep a list of everything you use so you know what to pack.

And I STRONGLY suggest you take Fat_Freddy up on his offer! That is invaluable information!

What to expect.... You will get anxious when you see others either doing or not doing what you do. Don't worry if they start cooking before or after you. Stick to your pregame plan that is written down, then take notes to the plan as it goes so you can revise for next time

Have a good time meet some really great people. Hope you get a call.

BubbaJ said:

How much meat will I need?

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1 brisket, 3 butts, 3 racks of ribs and 12 chicken legs is what we cook.

I cook 1 brisket, 2 butts (this year), 3 slabs of ribs and 12 thighs. All of the above is great and real advice. Practice more than once if possible. Write down everything you use and then make a checklist. Use the checklist that you took time to make. Stick to your game plan, there is a lot of variation among teams with cooking temperatures and the may start earlier or later than you. Cook the way you are familiar with and not how someone else does. Some guys won't start their cookers until late morning, others will start cooking Friday evening.
Make friends with the teams and if you did forget something, ask around. Someone will usually be willing to loan you what you forgot.

I don't think I'm going to make that one this year, but there are plenty of guys that will help you out. With somewhat limited cooking space, the hardest thing will be timing on everything. Nothing wrong with getting butts off by 7 or 8 so that you can start ribs, for example.

You might want to visit Council Bluffs on 5/8-9 to help you get a feel for it. Most teams will be willing to visit with you on Friday night and you can find some teams that will let you taste some food after 1:30 (end of turn ins) on Saturday.

The best single thing you can do is to find a contest and team that will let you tag along well before the event you entered.

Nothing is more valuable than seeing the process for yourself.

BubbaJ said:

How much meat will I need?

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You will get 100 different answers to this one...Do what you feel comfortable with, but make sure you have enough of each to pick from (ie: don't do just 6 pieces of chicken).

We cook:

1 brisket, 2 butts, 6 slabs of ribs, 24 pieces of chicken.

Practice practice practice. Learn your smokers, have others sample your attempts, and ask others. Lot's of great folks out there. But, most of all, have fun.

FWIW, I cook 1 brisket, 1 butt, 2-3 slabs of ribs, and 10-12 chicken.

1st cook is fun

have fun and stay sober, it can be a long day. Pace yourself. Water and ice tea can be your best friend.

My dinking team has a bbq problem and were of no use at the 1st cook off. In fact one buddies wife ate half my turn in ribs I had to go with second choice ribs. Funny thing is I got a 2nd place in ribs, 2nd in chicken and missed on brisket.

Got home at around 4 pm and crashed, hard!

Our team is relatively quite new, but have no regrets for jumping in a few years ago.

My 2 cents..., from our world.
(1) best you can afford packer trimmed before hand in case it's gashed, (2) butts trimmed ahead, (4) slabs, at least (24) chix pcs (absolutely pretrimmed), stupid amount of pre ordered parsley.
No matter how stupid the step may seem write it down with timing in your practice cooks.
Willingness to wing it when something goes off schedule, and adjust on fly...trust your gut.
Practice cook again...as you use it set it on one table, when done there are your essentials.
Also a "kit" of on the fly adjustment ingredients.
One tote or drawer dedicated to each catagory.
4 meats only, ancillary cats are detrimental distraction, we have been lucky with a salsa thing, but bad risk reward investment commonly, at least in our semi newbie opinion.
water
Ibuprofen
energy drinks, or awesome coffee.
Redundant backup stuff...one extra of every hardware category, ex. Cord, light, power supplies etc.
This is what I have off the top of my head, and I am sure I missed some.
Perspective...
Willingness to soak in advice, disappointment, success, and all in all an awesome time in a great community of folks!!
Good luck & above all enjoy yourself!!

My 2 cents.

If your cooker has a hot spot or a cold spot, don't kill yourself trying to fit all the meat everyone else cooks on it. For what you are taking with, I would suggest you take a weber kettle (if you have one with ya). That extra space, for say Chicken, might make a huge difference Saturday.

Half hour between turn in's is a lot longer than it looks on paper, time how long it takes to take the meat off the grill/cooler and get it in a box. My first comp my boxes were built 20 minutes before I could turn them in. Make sure you have a big fricken clock, your phone is hard to swipe or get out of you pocket with sauced greasy hands

Enjoy the people around ya, its the best group of people you're probably going to meet.

I cook 4 butts, 4 slabs, 2 briskets and 16 piece of chicken.