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1st Competition Questions

D davefMember
I am getting ready to try my first competition in mid July and was hoping some of you folks can help me with a few basic questions:
1. When does the meat inspection generally occur? The competition I am going to do has check in starting Fri evening with a peoples choice ribs event Sat and then the KCBS judging on Sunday.
2. Since I need to get there Fri or early Sat do you typically just keep the meats in a cooler with ice to keep below 40 until cook time?
3. Is there typically enough time between inspection and when you need to get the larger cuts in the smoker to do an brining? Just trying to make sure I set up my practice runs to be realistic to the timing I will have on site.
4. Any general advise for the newbee?

I have read through a bunch of the forum and have gotten some great info. Any additional help will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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P padrefan98Member
In the event I went to over the last weekend, meat inspection was happening Friday as teams pulled in. Very courteous staff would come up and ask if we were ready for inspection. We turned them away once, just because we weren't as our coolers were still burried.

Our first meats didn't go in until Midnight Friday, several hours after inspection.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by davef:
...
4. Any general advise for the newbee?



If you've read through this comp forum (there's a bunch of great tips here, that's why we created the comp forum) you'll be good to go.

#1 tip. Practice, practice, practice. Before your first event, download one of the checklists and practice in your driveway/backyard. EVERY time you go into the house to get something, then write it down.

And go with the contest timing (12:00 chicken; 12:30 ribs; 1:00 pork, 1:30 brisket). Trying to get everything done on time, perfect taste/tenderness at the set times is VERY difficult. If you've never built a box, the day of the event isn't the day to practice.
FM Former Member
Notes, take good notes during your practice.

And come up with a timeline/list of items to do.

I GUARANTEE that you'll forget multiple steps when you compete. It's the little things that win, and the little things that hurt. Remember all the little things.

And taste your food. No matter how it tasted in practice, taste it before you turn in and remember, there's no rule that says you can't add flavor if it doesn't taste like you want. More than once I've added some seasoning at the end to wake up some turn-in that just didn't seem right on.
D davefMember
A few more questions as I continue to practice and get ready:
1. Were I am located it is a little harder to get full briskets, ussually just smoke the flats. For a KCBS competition are they expecting to get burnt ends in addition to slices from the flat or is just turing in slices of the flat ok?
2. How long can I hold the brisket and butt in a cooler before it looses too much temp? or should I be investing in a Cambro (and how long can you hold in a Cambro)?
3. St Louis vs Babybacks assume St Louis is the way to go for a KCBS competition?

Thanks again for all the feedback.
cal 2cal 2Member
I've judged quite a bit the last two years, so let me talk to you as a judge....

NEVER put a product in your box that you don't want a judge to score, cause most judges will average the two...ie, burnt ends and slices...if one is not as good as the other, leave it out. NO one has told us that you need slices and burnt ends in the box.

BB's or spares, as a judge I will score whatever the cook puts in the box and judge it on it's own merits...so put in what you cook the BEST.

I'll let a fine cook answer your other questions.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by davef:
A few more questions as I continue to practice and get ready:
1. Were I am located it is a little harder to get full briskets, ussually just smoke the flats. For a KCBS competition are they expecting to get burnt ends in addition to slices from the flat or is just turing in slices of the flat ok?
2. How long can I hold the brisket and butt in a cooler before it looses too much temp? or should I be investing in a Cambro (and how long can you hold in a Cambro)?
3. St Louis vs Babybacks assume St Louis is the way to go for a KCBS competition?

Thanks again for all the feedback.


1. Flats are fine. I always separate my point and flat and cook them separately. If you can't get points don't sweat it. There are many great brisket cooks that never turn them in.

2. We have held ours for as little as an hour and as much as 7 hours. I have my preference but don't let the time scare you too much as long as you know you aren't continuing to cook your meat.

3. St. Louis is a better rib to cook in my humble opinion. They typically have more fat and aren't as thin. That will help in many ways. BB's also have that strip of lean meat running across the top and I've found it hard to get that part consistently tender.
D davefMember
So I am just a little over a week away from the first competition. The event coordinator indicated that they will supply power 20amps. I have read alot about back-up power set-ups and must admit I am a little confused. I will be running the competition off of 1 FEC100 can I rely on the provided power or should I pick up an inverter and battery (along with a battery charger to plug into the site power??)?
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by davef:
So I am just a little over a week away from the first competition. The event coordinator indicated that they will supply power 20amps. I have read alot about back-up power set-ups and must admit I am a little confused. I will be running the competition off of 1 FEC100 can I rely on the provided power or should I pick up an inverter and battery (along with a battery charger to plug into the site power??)?

We do not trust the power at the contests. The Organizers are very well intentioned, to say the least, but they cannot forsee what teams will plug in, along with many other issues.
We run our FEC 100 off of a 750 watt inverter powered by a deep cycle battery that has a "battery maintainer" on it. We normally start the FEC around 8:00 pm and shut it down around 1:00 pm the next day. There is still enough power in the battery to operate the winch that pulls the FEC into the trailer and the power jack on the toung.
Just make sure your battery has a really good charge in it. Your battery charger, which a lot of teams use, is a good idea. You should be good to go.

The most important thing is to have FUN!
Good Luck!!
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by davef:
Smokin and Gary thanks for the input. Gary where do you get a "battery maintainer" and do you essentially plug that in to the competition power connected to the battery that is running to the inverter during the competition to help maintain the battery charge?
Thanks, David


The battery Maintainer came from Interstate Batteries. Anytime the trailer is pluged into 110v, it trickle charges the battery. It does help maintain the charge, but I don't think it will totally keep up with the drain of the FEC. Now that I have the PG500, I may need to look at an additional battery, or bigger charger. Search the archives, Nordy and Smokin have some good posts on that subject.
Yes, it is hooked to the contest power but the battery is the first line power.
I must also add that we have 2 Honda 2000i generators as a back up to power. We never rely on the contest power to run the Pellet machines. It is the Inverter or the Honda.
FM Former Member
I never go to a competition without some kind of backup power. The comps with temporary power seem to have lots more problems in my experience.
A FEC100 will run fine on a 500 watt inverter, I've run mine and my FEPG on one.
Remember that the FEC will retain memory for a few minutes if you have to switch from site power to backup power at 2am Wink
D davefMember
Just wanted to thank all of you for your advice and guidance. We competed this past weekend at the Troy Pigout in Troy NY under the team name of Dr Butts BBQ.

We placed 12th overall with a 9th in chicken and an 11th in Pork!

Think we are hooked already trying to figure out when we can squeeze in another event. Thanks again for all the info, it really gives the 1st timer the confidence to just go and do it.

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