Aaron Franklin does a KCBS Competition

We did our first comp earlier this year. It was a great experience and we had a blast. We were able to have two seasoned veterans parked right across from us who gave us a lot of advice and were nice enough to let us see how they did things.

Depending on how you cook your Q at home will depend on how "different" competition Q is compared to what you call "regular Q". For those (like me) who go the simplistic route with their backyard Q. Competition Q will probably be very different from what you cook in the backyard. My backyard Q doesn't have heavy rubs, marinades, injections, etc. I use a very simple rub that is lightly dusted on my ribs, briskets and butts. I do brine my birds but that's about it.

What seems to make competition Q different is you have all these people cooking the same thing and probably using a lot of the same ingredients, methods etc. So what you turn in has to stand out (in a good way). Also, you're trying to impress the judge with ONE BITE. Not a series of bites. So there has to be a lot of flavor and "punch" in that one bite. So for a lot of people they have to cook and season in a manner that is very different from what they would do at home. Granted, this isn't for everybody. Like our brethren above, how he prepares his Q for comps is very similar to what he does at home and in his business. So for him there isn't much deviation from what he normally does. But for others there is a lot of deviation. So it all depends on how you cook at home for yourself compared to what is expected in a comp, as to how "different" comp Q is from "regular" Q.

Fwismoker said:

Seeing that confirms that I NEVER ever ever want to do comps.

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Meeeeee too. Looks miserable.

What was he spraying on the meat once it was inside the boxes?

Melissaredhead said:

It's def not for everyone I guess.
The best food doesn't necessarily win.

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That's enough to keep me away. The best food should be the point of the whole thing.

Ron_L said:

Did he judge Pitmasters? I only remember Tuffy, Myron and Moe.

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I think season 2 he was a judge.

Dr. Trout Bum said:

That's enough to keep me away. The best food should be the point of the whole thing.

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The easiest way to be the best is to be the only one competing for compliments. Once there are two of you to be compared, someone is going to get their ego bruised.

There seems to be some myth among those that don't compete that the food that wins is some kind of crap that you couldn't eat more than one bite of. Simply not true. What wins is better Q than you are going to get in any restaurant and better than 99.9% of what you would get in someone's backyard.

I sat next to Aaron at the awards and he wasn't any more irritated than anyone else that didn't win. We were irritated even though we got a couple of calls and finished 5th. If you do competition bbq you are there to win, that's the point! Too darn much money and work not to try to win every contest, although that is very unlikely with the level of competition now.
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser.

MikeJ65 said:

There seems to be some myth among those that don't compete that the food that wins is some kind of crap that you couldn't eat more than one bite of. Simply not true. What wins is better Q than you are going to get in any restaurant and better than 99.9% of what you would get in someone's backyard.

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Agreed. I've always been in that camp of thinking comp BBQ was crap so I've always kept it simple. But I'm preparing for my first comp at the end of August and have gotten many more positive reviews on my cooking from the friends and family I serve to as I practice. So someone likes the stuff, I guess.

Dr. Trout Bum said:

That's enough to keep me away. The best food should be the point of the whole thing.

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The best fodd doesn't necessarily win but i think of it akin to professional poker. The best players dont always win but they win and are at the top enough to be noticed.




Ill channel comp tricks from time to time but some of that stuff makes me shudder. Thats not what i thimk of as bbq chicken, ribs dont have the right texture/bark and too much sauce. I dont want to even think about the dirty things they do to brisket.

Didn't he also say that the way ribs should be cooked at a competition are not how he likes them personally?

I understand the notion that cooking ribs, as an example, is to determine the skill of the cooker. Anyone can cook fall off the bone ribs etc... but to get them at that moment of tender yet not falling is the skill factor and thus the competition.

It just seems like it is more about a test of skill to get a particular doneness. Not necessarily what you might cook for yourself.

Like any comp should be. Cook to the rules, whether you agree or not. Don't like it sweet? Well the judges do...etc.

Then you go home and cook the Q that makes YOUR lips smack.

As for Franklin, i'm pretty sure that he has nothing to prove to anyone even if he came in last.

Which in and of itself makes your head scratch at these comps.

Dr. Trout Bum said:

That's enough to keep me away. The best food should be the point of the whole thing.

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Have you tried the winning meats from a comp? Hard to make those comments without being the one who judged the food. I've tried Rod Gray's, Darren Warth's, Donny Teel's, Johnny Trigg's, etc. BBQ, and I have to tell ya... it's damn good -- and would sell out in any BBQ restaurant! :wink:

After watching the episode I have a question for those who compete. I thought the clock in the corner said it was 28 hours before turn ins when the cooks meeting was going on - is that right? Wouldn't that make it 8am Friday? The few comps I was involved with years ago had the cooks meeting on Friday night - most of the cooks wouldn't even be there Friday morning. I wasn't sure if the show took some creative license with the times or if that's when the cooks meeting was held.

It was really cool to see how much of a different animal the comps are then real life. I enjoy the Franklin series of shows.

Margarine?!

Hahaha Ron. I didn't notice that! He does mention in his book that one of the few things that frustrates him is when something is going on that prevents him from having his espresso when he shows up midnight during his prep cycles at the restaurant.

suddenly i want a shot of espresso.