The conventional wisdom on getting ready for a competition includes practice cooks. For new teams, this also usually includes advice on setting up at home to do a cook, but acting as though you’re off site. This helps a team figure out if they have the right equipment or not.

I’ve been thinking about this lately, and while that works, it leads to a different problem then not having what’s needed…

Problem #2: Having too much stuff!!!

While this may not sound like a problem, try prepping and cooking 60 pounds or so of meat under a canopy with nothing but coolers and bins of supplies. When you have too much, you just have to wade through all the extra stuff to get to what you need! Continue reading →

Our first competition of the season is over! It was both a disappointment and a success.

It was a disappointment because we made 2 big blunders… First, we didn’t test the sauce we used for chicken, and it was too thick, resulting in low scores for oversaucing. Second, I didn’t get the ribs done enough, resulting in low scores for tenderness/texture. I think those scores also lead to lower taste scores. Continue reading →

Tonight, we get loaded up and ready to go to Fairbanks, IN, for Q For The Kids, our sixth competition.

We’re pretty excited about this one; we just took Dr. BBQ’s class last month, and we think we have a shot to place better than we have in the past. There are some great teams going, but we’ve cooked against most of them before. Whether we win or not, we’ll have a great time. Continue reading →

This Friday, June 1, Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue will be in their 6th competition at Q For The Kids in Fairbanks, IN!

We’ve taken Ray Lampe’s “Dr BBQ’s Real Deal Cooking Class”, and we went through a practice cook over the weekend. We were EXTREMELY happy with our results. The ribs were moist and tasty, and the color was great. The chicken was good, but maybe a bit too spicy; we thought we might need a thinner sauce than the Javacue sauce, and one that’s a bit lighter in color. Continue reading →

As of this morning, I heard from Jim Emig of Jim Dandy’s BBQ that their competition in Cincinnati is now officially sanctioned by the KCBS!!!

The comp will be on September 22 and 23, which is a Saturday/Sunday competition. Turn ins will probably start a bit early so people can get home at a decent time. I’ve read stuff on people wanting this set up, so it will be worth a try!

Look here for more info; email me at cmcadams@buckymcoinkumsbbq.com for more info if you want. I spoke with Jim this morning, and he said they’re hoping to have a judging class put together for the end of August, too.

Ohio comps… Gotta love it! Continue reading →