im confused about how comps work

Let me explain the buying thing. This is what i am confused about. So there were 3 teams competing and all three have won championships. So apparently ( i have not done comp yet so im still learning) one of the teams would walk around and try and pay the other teams to withdraw so they could buy there spot and have a possible gurentee to win. 4 spots available and one team had purchased 3 and paid others to withdraw...... Thats why i asked if it is political or not hahaha. Sorry for confusion. Not trying to accuse but it seems odd to me.
 
LT72884 said:
Hmm, can i taste without judging or will i have to be a kcbs judge in order to eben taste it at a comp? Some may accept you as a guest judge. Around here they're 100% CBJ's, but then, we're in BBQ country here...

I have only had my ribs judged from two diff kcbs judges and they said it was good and i could compete but winning, im not sure where i am at on that one. On any given day... Who knows.

Ok moving forward, how do i find out what judge likes what type of style?

I dont know about in your neck of the woods, but around here there are very few people living here who were born here. Even of those born here, everyone has different taste preferences.


What if the judges who show up likes spicy but every one cooked sweet?

Bingo! We have a winner. And, this will happen at every table. This is why you try hard to find that balance between sweet and spicy, not too much of anything, and no too bland either.

I totally appreciate the info for my friend. Im going to see if he will join the brethren.

Oh, i have had comp chicken from pitmaster T who has won many national comps. His chicken was amazing. Used apple in his offset.

Anyway thanks guys
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In bold above.
 
LT72884 said:
Let me explain the buying thing. This is what i am confused about. So there were 3 teams competing and all three have won championships. So apparently ( i have not done comp yet so im still learning) one of the teams would walk around and try and pay the other teams to withdraw so they could buy there spot and have a possible gurentee to win. 4 spots available and one team had purchased 3 and paid others to withdraw...... Thats why i asked if it is political or not hahaha. Sorry for confusion. Not trying to accuse but it seems odd to me.
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So you're saying a team that has paid to enter, paid for supplies, paid for the gas to haul their crap and set up in a contest site... will fold camp when offered money? And that the judges somehow know how to apply the points from the withdrawn team to the team that bought them out????
freak3.gif


Maybe there would be less confusion if you would state clearly what contest this was supposed to have happened at, and what team was supposedly attempting to buy spots, and what teams withdrew. And if you were not a firsthand party to the information, who told it to you?
 
LT72884 said:
why? i dont get that concept yet. good bbq is good bbq right? comp bbq should always be what you make at home haha.

thanks
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Have do disagree with this. in competition BBQ you have one, maybe 2 bites to convince the judge that its the best BBQ he ever had. This WOW factor and the techniques to obtain it can be overwhelming. The use of things like phosphates and msg is not something I would use at home when the family is enjoying a rack of ribs or half a chicken. My comp food is much richer and seasoned differently than what I make at home. Anyone eating too much of my comp briskets will find themselves looking for a hot water bottle due to the richness of the marinade., but one bite has a wow factor.
 
What Alexa is saying is that this sounds rather preposterous. That said, the last time I was in an MBN competition, I had about $1600 in it. If someone would've paid me say... I dont know, $3,000, I probably would've packed up and sat on the sideline sipping cold beer... Most KCBS and similar competitions, without much travel expense, I usually have $800 in those. For $2000 I'lll gladly sit. For that matter, perhaps we can schedule/plan this in advance. :)

Seriously though, it's highly unlikely. I have had cases where someone in past the refund date for a fully paid competition could not attend and they offered their spot either for free or for a very nominal fee...
 
on the figuring out the judges part... you won't know which table of judges gets your box and what they like in BBQ taste wise, so I don't know how you'd be able to figure out the judges tastes, not knowing which judges get your box. Also, what wins the gold at this competition may not place at the next.... even the pros constantly evolve and mix up their rubs/sauces/etc... And the area you compete in holds sway too.... what wins in Memphis won't necessarily work in South Carolina...which may not work in Kansas City....which may not work in Texas.
Also, If your friend is dead set on his flavor profile... don't lose hope after one competition. Give it two or three.... and if you're still not placing, then you may want to look at changing some things. Go with little changes and tweaks until you finally get where you need to be.
 
Im with Alexa RnQ. I am just as confused. See, this is why i was affraid to compete because all the people i know that do compete, every single one has said somethin or another about someone doing this or that or whatever. I am beginning to think that what i am hearing is just peoples opinions about other teams and what they have heard and what not. So i am like right in the middle of a crap throwing contest it seems. hahaha.

Thats what i have heard and also one thing that didnt make sense was another team, do not know their name, but apparently there were only 4 spots left for people to buy and they purchased 3 of them and then tried to buy the other spot off of someone. That confused me.

anyway, i can leave that alone because it doesnt affect me at the moment. Right now, i wanna focus on the right game plan for my buddy which is for him to join so he can ask the right questions haha. since he is cooking and not me.

thanks for all the education you have given me.
 
Like many have said here, you definitely have to tailor your comp meats to the prevailing tastes of the times. Down here in Florida, older judges typically do not like anything that brings the heat. Sweeter Kansas City Style wins all day long. I am seeing a shift away from the "candy bar" rib style being scored highly. Seems down here things are trending back to an actual "meat" competition. That said, it's still all KC style so regional styles here and elsewhere around the country are "not invited." KCBS has done so much to promote BBQ nationally, but there is a bit of homogenization we have to deal with as a result.

As far as the size of the rigs is concerned, I see guys down here win with UDSs all the time. Sweet Smoke Q just took a GC at the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles event in Tavares, FL cooking on his.
 
Wow. Alexa gets her OWN Alabama/Georgia with Louisiana tossed in translator who's expert in MIM/MBM as well as other organizations advising on KCBS territory to a member in Utah. I truly love this place. And Alexa, were those Harry Soo's WSMs?
 
deguerre said:
Wow. Alexa gets her OWN Alabama/Georgia with Louisiana tossed in translator who's expert in MIM/MBM as well as other organizations advising on KCBS territory to a member in Utah. I truly love this place. And Alexa, were those Harry Soo's WSMs?
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They appear to belong to Vince and Alexa, since they were the RGC at that contest.
 
man, thats gonna be tough to do. what tastes balanced to me my be not enough sweet for another. haha. Guess im gonna go with one cup salts to one cup sugar ratios. balance it mathematically. haha

Whats RGC mean?
 
Jorge said:
They appear to belong to Vince and Alexa, since they were the RGC at that contest.
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yeah they were there. I dont know scores but i think they placed 2nd or 3rd overall.

Oh and to answer the question i did not see, this buying rumur thing i have heard did not happen at sams. it was earlier in the year or last year. and it was not a specific team, i have heard that TEAMS were doing this. That is why i posed the political question so i could see if that was even possible...

Anyways thanks for info.

Now moving forward with the rest of the stuff. Balancing is the key it seems

sorry guys, not trying to piss people off. Im trying to learn how things work and filter through all the bs i have heard about comps. haha. i appreciate your help and informing me with the info.

EDIT EDIT.. I figured out what GC and RGC means. OMG, i feel dumb, i thought it was referring to peoples names not grand champ or reserve champ hahahahaha. Ok this thread now makes sense to me.

im now on same page. And now i am moving forward with bigger and better stuff...
 
DaveAlvarado said:
Hey, somebody has to fund the winnings.

Definitely go for the cup of salt and cup of sugar rub. :laugh:

I think your confusion is that you think there are hard and fast answers for how to win BBQ comps. There aren't.
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Yeah probably. I tend to think of black and white with a we bit of gray but bbq comps seem to have ALOT of gray. It is not cut and dry. Its a mix of everything. haha

Please forgive, i was not trying to judge just filter out the rumor and BS or not BS from alot of people i know. haha.

Also, I see what people are saying about rigs. Totally forgot that Hary uses WSM's and the RGC lasst week was Alexa with WSM's..
 
Jorge said:
They appear to belong to Vince and Alexa, since they were the RGC at that contest.
Click to expand...

Cool. For some reason I had expected them to be using a large tow behind smoker. Don't know why, other than they really impress me. The pic reminded me of what I had seen on the first season of BBQ Pit Masters.
 
LT72884 said:
Ok, so i have a question. How political are competitions?

Its almost like i can walk into a comp, see who is compitting and automatically know who is going to win based off the rig and what not.

I feel that the little guys who have been cooking for ever, dont win. IE, this last kcbs tour here at sams club. there is a team who has been compitting for only 5 years and cooking for only 6. But they have the largest rig and a ton of money from family business. I mean there rig is MASSIVE. While some of the long time bbqers, have smaller rigs and more humble roots, but yet they dont place at all.

Bare in mind i have not really competed before.

Ok, so this leads me to my second question. My friend was in that comp and he is from texas. His bbq is low and slow and oh so tasty, but he follows his traditional roots of his family... no sugar in the rub. So he placed 27th. He is wondering if he should switch it up and do all sweet because every other cook had a very sweet rub and they all seemed to place way high. I told him it is up to him but sometimes sticking with your roots is not a bad thing. Be unique and eventually people in this area will taste the awesomeness of texas bbq.

Any advice for him would be cool. Thanks.
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First three contest I had a borrowed truck, borrowed utility trailer, hell I even borrowed the damn canopy I slept under. I owned the cooker, a crappy table, a bag chair, and the meat that was in the cooler. RGC, GC, GC. No, a fancy setup does not make you a winner. It sure is nice though.
 
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