Newbie here. My dad and I have been backyard barbequing as long as I can remember and we’re finally considering coming over to the dark side, and entering our first competition this year.
We found a smaller competition in our area that looks good, but we want to do it right and make sure we’re making the best BBQ we can make, so we’re trying to get our ducks in a row before entering. We are doing it for fun as a father son type deal, but we don’t want to drop a bunch of money and end up disappointed, confused, or upset like many of the first timers in the posts I’ve read.
BBQ Brethren has been a huge help in getting ready so far. I was hoping some of you experienced folks would point us in the right direction, to make sure we aren’t forgetting something, or overlooking a great resource. Here’s what we’ve done so far to prepare:
1) Took a class at our local BBQ store
2) Read through a bunch of old forum posts about competing for the first time.
3) Timed our cooks and made a tentative schedule of when things should go on, and the temperature and estimated time they should be done
4) Signed up for a KCBS CBJ class so we have an idea of what they’re looking for
5) Pulled together a list of things to bring, based on a bunch of people’s lists we found online
6) Found some examples of good blind boxes for the meats we will be competing in
7) Watched a TON of YouTube clips to get a feel for other people’s techniques.
I’m sure there are other things we can do, and other sources (good books, websites, etc.) we should check out. Can you point us in the right direction?
We found a smaller competition in our area that looks good, but we want to do it right and make sure we’re making the best BBQ we can make, so we’re trying to get our ducks in a row before entering. We are doing it for fun as a father son type deal, but we don’t want to drop a bunch of money and end up disappointed, confused, or upset like many of the first timers in the posts I’ve read.
BBQ Brethren has been a huge help in getting ready so far. I was hoping some of you experienced folks would point us in the right direction, to make sure we aren’t forgetting something, or overlooking a great resource. Here’s what we’ve done so far to prepare:
1) Took a class at our local BBQ store
2) Read through a bunch of old forum posts about competing for the first time.
3) Timed our cooks and made a tentative schedule of when things should go on, and the temperature and estimated time they should be done
4) Signed up for a KCBS CBJ class so we have an idea of what they’re looking for
5) Pulled together a list of things to bring, based on a bunch of people’s lists we found online
6) Found some examples of good blind boxes for the meats we will be competing in
7) Watched a TON of YouTube clips to get a feel for other people’s techniques.
I’m sure there are other things we can do, and other sources (good books, websites, etc.) we should check out. Can you point us in the right direction?