Competition Rules
Cooking Meat
All meat entries will be cooked on site with no pre-marinating, injecting or pre-seasoning allowed. Pre-trimming of the meat, however, is allowed. No meat may leave the contest site after the conclusion of the cooks meeting or when preparation for the contest has begun.
Meat Inspection
An inspection will ensure purchased meat is appropriate and cold storage temperatures have been maintained while in transit. At time of inspection the meat must be in chilled cooler or refrigerator with a temperature of 40 degrees or less.
Equipment
Each team will supply all of the equipment necessary for the preparation and cooking of their entry including a cooker, wood, charcoal, or wood pellets. Only wood and wood/charcoal products are allowed as heat sources to cook the meats; however, a barbecue pit may include gas or electricity for starting the combustion of wood or wood/charcoal products but NOT to complete cooking. Cookers that use electricity to run augers, rotisseries, or similar non-heating devices are allowed. No team may share a cooker or grill with any other team.
In ancillary categories like side dish, fish, hamburger, or beef steak, the use of gas or electric as a heat source is permitted.
Each team is required to have working fire extinguisher near its site.
Sanitation
Cooks are to prepare food in as sanitary manner as possible. Each team is required to provide its own power source if need. Water source connections will be available near the individual cook sites to aid in the overall sanitary conditions present at the contest location. Grease must be contained and disposed in proper locations. Ashes must be contained and disposed in a proper location. NO LIVE COALS should be placed in garbage cans. When applicable, local health department rules override these rules on sanitation and must be followed.
Meat Categories
The following barbecue meat categories will be part of this barbecue contest:
· Chicken: Each contestant will turn in in six (6) portions of chicken of the cook’s choice wither legs, thighs, wings, or breast. A wingtip does NOT have to be present for an acceptable entry. An entry with a missing wingtip is not considered to be marked. Each chicken entry must fit into the container and its lid must close. No Cornish game hens are allowed.
· Pork Ribs: Each contestant will turn in six (6) portions of St. Louis spareribs. Each rib should be bone in, meat side up, and completely sliced with all product stacked parallel to the container hinge. Ribs that are not completely cut will be given a score of zero. All acceptable turn-in boxes will have three (3) bones stacked directly on top of three (3) ribs, with both layers parallel to the hinge. All bones will be positioned tightly in the center of the box. Only St. Louis cut spare ribs are acceptable for entries.
· Griller’s Challenge: Each team will be notified of the Griller’s Challenge after registration. Each team must cook the specified item on a charcoal grill that may be provided if necessary. The cook is allowed to be as creative s/he in the preparation and presentation of the Griller’s Challenge. However, s/he must ensure s/he entry is submitted within the specified time.
Garnish
Garnishes such as lettuce, kale, parsley, or cilantro is NOT required. A foil lined boxed is sufficient.
Turn-In Times
Turn-in times for each category will be:
· Chicken 1:00pm
· Ribs 1:30pm
· Griller’s Challenge 2:30pm
Cooks may turn in no later than five(5) minutes after the start of the turn in window.
Judging
A computer application will be used to score all of the barbecue competitions. At a minimum, a contest official will train prospective judges on organization rules and procedures before the start of each turn-in window. For chicken, judges will be advised to taste either white or dark meat for all samples, depending on their individual preference. Judges should bring any potential raw chicken samples to the attention of the contest official.
There will be a minimum of five (5) judges (but no more than six (6) per table be utilized during the initial round of judging. For meats presented, judges will score each entry on a scale of two to ten (2-10), in integer increments. A score of 10 is the highest score any product can achieve. Conversely, a score of 2 is the lowest score any judge can give a product. Any whole number score between 2 to 10 is allowed. A score of zero (0) is not allowed. Judges will score each entry immediately after taking no more than two bites. Judges will not compare entries to assign scores. Judges will use an approved score sheet to record their assigned scores for each entry.