Steak Comp vs. BBQ Comp Part 2

I was without internet connection at my hotel (sorry, I couldn’t believe the Westin wanted to charge $14.95/day for internet, and it wasn’t even wireless!), so I didn’t get any updates to the Beringer Great Steak Challenge. I wanted to finish my comparison to barbecue competitions…

I already talked about what had to be prepped and taken to the comps, with barbecue comps needing a LOT more stuff! On the Friday night at barbecue competitions, teams are generally busy getting meats ready and started on cookers, with sites that are generally 10′X20′ or so, EZ ups and tables set up, cooking gear all over the place, and having fun talking to other teams. There’s a team meeting to go over rules, with crude jokes being told, etc.

Friday night, Beringer (via Katie, our great hostess for the challenge) held a reception, serving Beringer wines with cheese and crackers. People were dressed for a cocktail party, not camping and getting brisket injection all over themselves. There were couches and leather chairs, and people were enjoying themselves in a climate controlled setting. Nick, the logistics guy for Beringer, met with each cook to ensure that he had all our ingredients and prep work correct. It was a calm, fun evening!

Then to further compare, I got to sleep in a very comfortable bed in a Westin hotel room. At barbecue competitions, I generally have a tent with an air mattress and sleeping bag. At the steak challenge, I had to be ready to go to the festival at which the event took place by 1:15 pm. At a barbecue comp, I get up at 4:30 am to get ribs on the smoker, and we’re mostly done with everything but packing up by 1:30 pm!

At a barbecue competition, we do all the set up, all the clean up, everything. At the steak challenge, I had to review all my ingredients to make sure they were all there, put together by someone else. We had 30 minutes to cook, start to finish, where I cook and watch fires for almost 20 hours at a barbecue competition.

At a barbecue competition, cooks often get a “goody bag”, with maybe an inexpensive paring knife, coupons from local vendors/stores, a tshirt, maybe some cleaning supplies, that sort of thing. The “goody bag” from Beringer included a signed copy of the Deen Brothers cookbook, a really well done book on the Rhine House at the Beringer Vineyard, a Lagouile carving set in a really nice wooden box, a corkscrew and a bottle of Beringer wine, and all were given in a reusable bag with the steak challenge logo on it.

All in all, I have to say I like both competitions, though…

Things I like about the steak competition:

• I didn’t have to take anything with me but my wife and my recipe
• The reception on Friday was a lot of fun and very relaxing
• Only cooking for 30 minutes means lots of time to enjoy myself
• Beringer provided funds for me to get to the challenge and stay at a great hotel
• I got to drink wine all weekend, at the reception and after cooking
• Beringer and Katie really went out of the way to make all the cooks feel special and welcomed

Things I like about barbecue competitions:

• The camaraderie of fellow barbecue cooks is great
• The smell of smoke in the air is one of the best things in the world
• In barbecue comps, there are more categories and more chances to win

It may seem I favor steak competitions, but I like both, actually.  If I had to choose one over the other, it would be a tough choice.  While I like the treatment given to the cooks at the steak challenge, the friendships from barbecue competitions are hard to beat.  The people I know through barbecue are life long friends now, so, fortunately, I don’t have to choose.

But I will be trying for more steak challenges, too!