Competition BBQ has grown in popularity over the last two decades to become in many cases both a spectacle and a source of open competition where entrants from the locality of the event, and some from much farther afield, come together to cook the best BBQ possible in order to win a prize.
Competition entrants usually start to arrive at the event mid-afternoon the day prior to the judging of the event, and pay a fee to participate in the competition.
There is a great incentive to take part in a BBQ competition as many of them offer prizes that reach into thousands of dollars. Prizes aside, many of those who enter the competition do not necessarily do so for the money, but rather the feel of both camaraderie and the thrill of competing against other talented BBQ chefs.
Despite the competitive nature of BBQ competitions, the underlying feeling at one is often quite light-hearted in nature, and participants always end up having a great time socialising and taking part in an enjoyable atmosphere with like-minded people. Barbecue is fun after all, and is rarely taken too seriously which is a good thing.
The great tradition of cooking American-style BBQ is rarely seen in a more focussed light, with hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of entrants and visitors from many different states of the U.S.A. resulting in new friendships that span the globe.
Some competition BBQ’s are on such a large scale, that entrants and visitors will attend from all over the World where the prizes at stake are as high as $30k dollars, and this is where the competition is at its most challenging for the entrants.
Of course, not all competitions are on such a large scale, and many are localised to smaller towns allowing budding BBQ chefs to participate in a slightly more relaxed environment that is slightly more leisurely but just as rewarding and enjoyable as larger ones.
All manner of foods are cooked by the BBQ competition entrants, from pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs, chicken and lamb. The only real necessity for someone who is new to taking part, is that the recipe that they intend to use should be very well rehearsed and practised before the day.
In the next part of this article, we will take a look at how to get involved and how to carefully prepare your ultimate BBQ recipe for your first BBQ competition.
Steven Aucoin is an avid fan of competition BBQ and urges keen BBQ chefs to try and experiment with new barbecue recipes and wishes to encourage improving their skills on the BBQ.
Other Blogs
