Quote:
Originally Posted by tooge
Funny thing about bbq comps is that you can turn in the perfect product and get 7's and 8's, or turn in basically shit and get a call. Several years ago we were doing the now defunct Great American BBQ out at the old dog track in KCK. I was in charge of the chicken that year. I normally debone and brine my thighs, trim the skin (don't scrape it), then smoke and glaze finish them.
We stayed up way too late and drank way too much beer and rum. I didn't get up in time to get my chicken prepped. In fact, I only had about an hour until turn in. I grabbed some drumsticks I had brought to grill up for lunch. I put them in a plastic bag with my rub and shook it around, think shake and bake. They were totally crusted with rub, lol. Knowing I had no time to smoke them and get them done, I put a chimney of charcoal in the old weber kettle that we use to keep coals ready to load onto the smoker. I grilled them over high heat, turning them constantly. They developed a nice color and char. Then I sauced them and continued to turn them constantly, developing even more char and layers. I put them in the turn in box and we all laughed our asses off. Well, you guessed it, we got a call for chicken and a 9th place ribbon out of 212 teams.
I tried to replicate it the following year and ended up with middle of the pack scores. Must've just got the right table of dumbassed judges.
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This is soooooo true. After a few too many years of that we started having friendlies at a friend's farm (who owns a landscaping business), and it was so much cooler. His landscaping clients were, perhaps, the big winners. The competition was just as competitive, just as serious, but the judging was done by peers not competing in that area (you couldn't compete in them all). I'll never go back. At the end of the day we camped at his pond, rode horses, drove tractors, did horse rides, and (in my case) watched lawn tractor races.
There was never a better competition I spent money on to get a table of judges who made you scratch your head.