Bbq 2015 season need team mates for Rusty Kettle Barbecue

R

Rusty Kettle

Babbling Farker
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
5,573
Points
113
Age
36
Location
Butler PA
Ok so this year I am down to just me on the team. It was just her and myself. My wife has decided to take the season off. She is pregnant with our second kid and is not going to be able to keep up competing. It is just not in the cards for her this year. I am excited for the new addition to the family but sad she can't compete. The thing is we got our rear ends handed to us at Whiting Weber Bbq competition in New Wilmington PA last may. I have a chip on my shoulder as I let my nerves get the better of me. Now I want to get back up and take another crack at it. I took a class by 3 Eyez Bbq and I think it will make a difference. I was unfortunately not able to upgrade my smokers this year as other problems of a sick pet ate the money for a new smoker for this year. Again this year I will be competing with a traeger junior elite and weber kettles and possibly the weber smokey mountain cooker 14.5".
Ground rules are simple we split the costs equally. As in contest fees and meats. We will need to provide our own equipment such as a smoker and utensils. power chords if needed bring your own. We all will share dish duty if you have free time do dishes and get it done. We will meet once a month and practice cooking, box building, and time lines. I am free Sundays and ask that you be able to deal with it as my job situation prevents me from usually meeting regularly on any other day. If you decide to do this we all agree to be committed to compete at whitings in May is usually when it is held. If we don't click we agree we can part ways after this contest. I retain the team name no matter what though. It is an amateur contest 3 categories ribs, chicken, and chef's choice. If we click we may decide to do more contests in the future. There are three spots on this team in addition to myself. I am taking position of head cook as I founded this team but don't think that means I make the calls we will put it to a Vote but if we are tied I get the tie breaker vote as head cook. We all agree to abide by the votes decision even if we disagree with the outcome. I am sure there will be more to discuss but just wanted to get some ground rules out there. I think my backyard would be a good place to meet. Only reply if you are interested and feel free to ask questions. My name is Tom Winslow and am 27 years old and am from Butler, PA. Please introduce yourself if interested. Ask any and all questions you have. Remember this is a low budget team and we are here to have fun and try our hardest to win. Thanks for reading and hope to see you in January for our first meeting and team practice.
 
I'm not interested, but I wanted to wish you good luck! I met my teammate, kwas68, through this site - we connected and chatted at an unsanctioned comp, talked more at a brethren event, and then he asked if I would consider teaming up with him for a KCBS contest. I said yes and Hatfield and McCoy Barbecue was born. We pretty much do what you are planning to do. We did a full comp. practice in my backyard. We split entry fees. I cook ribs and pork, he cooks chicken and brisket - we each buy our own meat, rubs, charcoal, wood, and all the necessities required for our categories. I cook dinner on Friday nights (usually wings) and he cooks breakfast Saturday morning (usually some delicious sausage). We each bring our own smokers and required equipment (we cook mostly on UDSs; I use the WSM for pork butt only) We each have our own tables, chairs, pop up canopies, etc. and email back and forth quite a bit to make sure all bases are covered before a competition. I would consider us a "low budget" team as well. We don't get as formal as voting on things, but we do bounce ideas off of each other. I learn something every time I cook with Steve. It can be done, you just have to remember to respect your fellow teammates and most importantly, HAVE FUN. We compete to win, but we sure have a great time doing it. When we compete against each other at non-sanctioned events (we each also have our own teams for that) we root for each other. Good luck to you again!
 
Thanks. I hope I can find a couple people to join. I just decided to make it more formal so there aren't any blow outs over money issues or deciding an issue if any. Such as who cooks what or does what. I figure a way to resolve problems if any will allow those blow outs not to occur.
 
Guess no one is interested. If anyone decides they are interested message me. Thanks.
 
Let's be honest. I think you need to rethink some of your "requirements" when looking for someone to join your team. Assuming you only get one person to join your team, from what you have posted you want someone to help pay for competitions and do their share of the work, but when it comes to making decisions for the team their vote will not count because you have the final say in ties.

You claim to be a low budget team. Where would that money have come from if your wife were able to be part of the team with you? I can't imagine you were requiring her put up half the entry fee and other costs. (Technically, I guess she is assuming you have a joint bank account) Also, monthly practices doesn't seem to be very budget friendly.

I would assume that all prize money would be split evenly, but what happens to any trophies won?

Keep in mind that there are very few Brethren in this end of the state, and a good majority of the ones that are, already have their own team. So getting takers here may be a long shot. I see that you are on Facebook. There are several BBQ/Competition pages on there that cover western PA/NY/East Coast that might serve you better.
 
Ok well I will take your advice but how then would I break the ties in a more fair manner then? I am not trying to say their votes would not count but there has to be a tie breaker of some sort. Maybe draw straws and short straw gets the tie breaker vote for that time? I certainly want to be fair to everyone but we can't split in ties and make decisions. If there is a tie someone has to make the decisions. I am totally open to suggestions from experienced teams in what they would do. Really I don't care about the keeping trophies I just want to compete and try to win and have some fun. Mainly right now I am looking to just get a team going and only really committed for one event and then decide if we click well enough to keep going. I just want to be part of a team and honestly running everything as a one man show is too much. I want to be fair so we can all equally have fun. Heck I would be even willing to rotate head cook position if we went beyond one competition. With the team name I just don't want to lose that name because my wife and I made that name. The thing with cost is we did one amateur event. It was 25 bucks plus a couple racks of ribs chicken thighs and meatballs. I am talking amateur events right now not the high cost high end comps.
 
I wish you the best of luck with both the addition to your family and getting your team set so you can compete. As for the tie breakers in decision making you could always draw straws or even flip a coin. Best wishes to you.
 
Since you don't have much experience you might want to see about hooking up with another team for a competition or two. It would be a great learning experience and you might have better luck with that as opposed to finding someone to join your team.

Best of luck.
 
Tie breakers and final say seem to be an underlying message in your post...just don't have an even number of team members and there won't be a problem with a tie. My team consists of me. Sometimes I argue with myself, but most of the time I don't. In the end, I end up doing what I want to do 100% of the time, and I always win the arguments I have with myself. I take full responsibility for my failures, and credit for my success. It is a rewarding experience competing as a 1 man team. As far as your team name...unless you have it trademarked and then are willing to take legal action, there is nothing you can do about somebody using your team name.
 
NRA4Life said:
Sometimes I argue with myself, but most of the time I don't. In the end, I end up doing what I want to do 100% of the time, and I always win the arguments I have with myself.
Click to expand...

I've always said: You can talk to yourself, even argue with yourself, but if you lose that argument, you're in trouble!
 
I think you should be able to cook a chicken, rib, and chef's choice contest by yourself. I am a fluffy old girl, and I regularly cook 4 meat contests by myself. Trim your meat before hand to save you some time. Find a friend you be your helper. Draw up a time line to keep yourself on track. You will only get better with experience, and you need to cook a few contests to get a feel for how things work, and get some a-ha moments.

As someone suggested above, you may want to find a team to cook with if your budget is tight. Some teams "team cook," meaning anyone can do anything, or they have "specialists" who cook a specific meat(s). When my cooking partner cooks with me, we team cook. I view it as it is my job as pitmaster to develop each of our skills in every area. We do each have our areas of skill, and we have found these out over time. I don't think he has ever complained about me trimming the chicken!
 
Rusty Kettle said:
Maybe asking to tag along with a more established team would be a good idea.
Click to expand...

Let's be honest, some more. You aren't going to find your perfect team mates overnight, especially with the attitude you have. The entrance fee for that contest is $25. You really want to split that four ways and then leave every decision to a vote? That's petty. And, like mentioned before, you really get two votes because you get to make the final decision for a tie breaker. I gotta be honest, that doesn't sound like a team I would ask to be a part of. BBQ isn't a cheap sport... you want to practice once a month (in your back yard)? That's not price friendly at all. You are asking a lot of people who don't even know you. I suggest that you scrimp and save your money for the so steep $25 entry fee and do it again - use what you learned at the 3 Eyz class. Tom... good luck to you. I hope you are at the Royal, the Jack and KOS sometime. Make some friends, get out of the house, and loosen the restrictions on your "team." I have two kids (6 and 1) and an adoring wife who love BBQ events. Honestly, it just might not be your time.


I know what I said might sound harsh, but I say what I think. I have nothing against you at all, and I wish you all the best. I just think you are going about things the wrong way. Good luck with your team, Rusty Kettle.
 
Last edited:
I understand the desire to want to lay down ground rules in advance, but for doing a single backyard show perhaps you are overthinking it a bit. What if you scaled back your advert to something like this:

Looking for a buddy to to cook the Whiting Weber BBQ competition in New Wilmington PA next year. Categories are ribs, chicken and chef's choice. I took a Pro class from 3 Eyz over the summer, and I think I can do pretty good ribs with what I learned. Need someone else to handle the chicken, cause I tanked with mine last year! We'll put our heads together on chef's choice to come up with ideas. Costs and prize money split down the middle.

I live in Butler and have a good place in the backyard where we could practice recipes. If we work well together, maybe we could look into cooking some more events together. Let's have a beer and talk over the possibilities!

-Tom Winslow
Click to expand...

Pretty much the same information, but the tone is friendlier with fewer rules being laid down. After all, you're just talking about one event to see if you can get along. Think of it as a blind date, not a marriage matchmaking. ;)
 
I think some of you might be being a bit harsh. He was simply trying to find a partner and was being upfront about the way he thinks things should be handled. It was a little overkill on the details but I think he was just trying to be upfront. There is a lot of dynamics that can go into a team.

As I mentioned earlier I think it might be best to try to do a pro cook or two with an established team. The amount you would learn would be tremendous. That would then also give you the basis combined with the class you took to put together your own team and come out of the gates running.

I do agree though that if the contest you are talking about has a small entry fee you could easily do it yourself. I will be doing at least one contest by myself this year.
 
RumRunner_1492 said:
I think some of you might be being a bit harsh. He was simply trying to find a partner and was being upfront about the way he thinks things should be handled. It was a little overkill on the details but I think he was just trying to be upfront. There is a lot of dynamics that can go into a team.

As I mentioned earlier I think it might be best to try to do a pro cook or two with an established team. The amount you would learn would be tremendous. That would then also give you the basis combined with the class you took to put together your own team and come out of the gates running.

I do agree though that if the contest you are talking about has a small entry fee you could easily do it yourself. I will be doing at least one contest by myself this year.
Click to expand...

You're right. I know what I wrote may come across as harsh, and I said so in my post. I shouldn't be telling people what to do. I just wanted to point out that he may be putting off potential teammates because of how things were worded. I know I will be doing at least two contests in 2015 on my own, one of them a 4 meat unsanctioned comp with a $100 entry fee. My wife and I are teachers, but we make it work.

Again, good luck OP. I hope you find what you are looking for and that you put your knowledge from the class to good use!
 
for a $25 contest have fun.

For a 4 meat ~$250 contest, split the costs, split the meats - each person gets a big meat (pork butt or brisket) and a small meat (chicken or ribs). no arguing, just cook your category. give it a few contests, change up if needed, and find a sweet spot.

My teammate and I met here on the boards, and we "team cook" but that just worked out easy for us. If you want a more black and white approach, do what I said above and there is no arguing.

Good luck out there!
 
ITBFQ said:
Let's be honest, some more. You aren't going to find your perfect team mates overnight, especially with the attitude you have. The entrance fee for that contest is $25. You really want to split that four ways and then leave every decision to a vote? That's petty. And, like mentioned before, you really get two votes because you get to make the final decision for a tie breaker. I gotta be honest, that doesn't sound like a team I would ask to be a part of. BBQ isn't a cheap sport... you want to practice once a month (in your back yard)? That's not price friendly at all. You are asking a lot of people who don't even know you. I suggest that you scrimp and save your money for the so steep $25 entry fee and do it again - use what you learned at the 3 Eyz class. Tom... good luck to you. I hope you are at the Royal, the Jack and KOS sometime. Make some friends, get out of the house, and loosen the restrictions on your "team." I have two kids (6 and 1) and an adoring wife who love BBQ events. Honestly, it just might not be your time.


I know what I said might sound harsh, but I say what I think. I have nothing against you at all, and I wish you all the best. I just think you are going about things the wrong way. Good luck with your team, Rusty Kettle.
Click to expand...


Hey don't worry about being harsh. Truthfully just trying to lay ground rules so there wasn't any surprises later. I have never really worded the things the best.
I am one of those people that either you really like me or your really hate my guts. I try to be upfront and honest. It's not that I am intending to rub anyone the wrong way. I am just overthinking it. I am just taking this more seriously then I should be. Last year I got my rear end handed to me and well it's because at least in part I jumped my time line way too early because I got nervous as I was parked next to a huge Lang and then a cabinet smoker I think a backwoods smoker. I know it's the cook not the smoker but I let myself be intimidated. They weren't trying to intimidate me but when you pull up with as small of a set up as I have and you realize some of the competitors are caterers you freak out. I just don't want another DAL and I want to be prepared fully to compete against guys with much more experience than I have. Now I am worried as my wife won't be teaming up with me this year. She built the boxes and well I am a terrible box builder. It will probably be a wreck this year without my wife backing me up but you never know. I know why I crash and burned last year and it was all my fault hopefully even if I can't even get one team mate to come along for the ride I just don't want to be last. It just sucks to practice all the time and then blow it totally. We ate barbecue every day for months before the contest as we weren't going to waste it. Every day bbq for breakfast lunch and dinner. I love bbq but to eat that much of it for that long and work so hard and blow it because I was an idiot well it eats at you. We will see this year if I can do better. If anyone would be interested let me know and if not oh well maybe I can find a team mate for other comps later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Anyone going to the American Royal?
Replies
10
Views
809
Juggy D Beerman
J
N
American Royal Open Contest - Incorrect Results
Replies
6
Views
4K
Bill-Chicago
Bill-Chicago
J
My Annual Deer Grind.......
Replies
18
Views
657
SmokeOCD
S
D
What to do with beef rib (lifter, wedge, blade) muscle
Replies
2
Views
378
Jordan5
J
cueball21
Is the Migration Complete?
Replies
1
Views
41
Ron_L
Ron_L
Back
Top