My First KCBS Experience

[Swamp Donkeyz BBQ]

I thouroghly enjoyed the KCBS format. The garnish really isn't that big of an issue. Through the guidance, and tips, from some friends my boxes actually turned out pretty good. Out of 7 turn ins the only thing we got lower than an 8 on appearance for was beans. Not too sure how to improve the looks of beans. They were still good enough for a 3rd place walk.

The 30 minute turn ins weren't that much of an issue either. Gives you less time to sit around thinking about how tired you are.

My favorite part was the sheets we recieved after awards. In the 4 meats, we only walked on pork. Got dinged by a couple of judges on appearance and tenderness. So now I know why I placed 10th, at least from the judges point of view. Ribs and chicken need some minor tweaks, and our 14th place brisket was due mostly in part to Judge 5. Every other judge gave 8's and 9's for everything and Judge 5 scored our brisket 8 5 5. OUCH!

Overall, my KCBS experience justifies doing it again as soon as the oppurtunity presents its self. If you haven't tried it yet, you really should consider it.

[allend23]

Correct me if im wrong but I believe the bottom score from a judge gets removed. Anyway this was my first experience with the KCBS as well. It was almost all positive and we are looking to do more KCBS events in the future. The whole point of this was to get some experience with KCBS because we were fortunate enough to win a qualifier so we didn't want to go to Kansas City without a clue of what to expect(still expecting an butt whooping up there but oh well). Now that we've been through it we are actually looking at making the haul to Bedford in August. The positives 1. Awards ceremony was awesome. They just call your name, you get up there and collect your stuff. Its fast and theres no confusion, no sorting through tickets etc. 2. The turn in times. I liked the fast 30 minute windows. No waiting around all day to turn in your entries. 3. Overall score handouts. Not only do you find out how you placed, but you know how you placed in every aspect of the judging criteria. You know what is hitting the mark and what you need to work on. The negatives I don't really like the garnishing. Its not a big deal like Stacy said but I think its unnecessary. Not a big deal really. 2. Chicken turn in. I do not like cooking individual pieces of chicken. Again not a big deal but under my dream sanctioning body it would stay as half chickens. I will do much more chicken practice before my next KCBS event.

The negatives were very minor and overall we had an awesome experience. My favorite part of the whole thing was competing against high level KCBS competition. I was tickled to death getting 2nd place in ribs to Butcher BBQ. I will definitely be looking forward to the Shotgun Fred Showdown nest year.

[TexasPyro]

Correct me if im wrong but I believe the bottom score from a judge gets removed. Anyway this was my first experience with the KCBS as well. It was almost all positive and we are looking to do more KCBS events in the future. The whole point of this was to get some experience with KCBS because we were fortunate enough to win a qualifier so we didn't want to go to Kansas City without a clue of what to expect(still expecting an butt whooping up there but oh well). Now that we've been through it we are actually looking at making the haul to Bedford in August. The positives 1. Awards ceremony was awesome. They just call your name, you get up there and collect your stuff. Its fast and theres no confusion, no sorting through tickets etc. 2. The turn in times. I liked the fast 30 minute windows. No waiting around all day to turn in your entries. 3. Overall score handouts. Not only do you find out how you placed, but you know how you placed in every aspect of the judging criteria. You know what is hitting the mark and what you need to work on. The negatives I don't really like the garnishing. Its not a big deal like Stacy said but I think its unnecessary. Not a big deal really. 2. Chicken turn in. I do not like cooking individual pieces of chicken. Again not a big deal but under my dream sanctioning body it would stay as half chickens. I will do much more chicken practice before my next KCBS event.

The negatives were very minor and overall we had an awesome experience. My favorite part of the whole thing was competing against high level KCBS competition. I was tickled to death getting 2nd place in ribs to Butcher BBQ. I will definitely be looking forward to the Shotgun Fred Showdown nest year.

You said that they don't call numbers but rather call your name/team name. How do they know who was what? Does someone know what numbered box is associated with every team? If so, I have a problem with that, seems like that'd start all kinds of problems. Ive never cooked KCBS, Ill get to see how it all works out this weekend in San Marcos

[Swamp Donkeyz BBQ]

The boxes are numbered when you get them, from the rep. The judges only see a number, not a team name.

[TexasPyro]

The boxes are numbered when you get them, from the rep. The judges only see a number, not a team name.

That's what I figured, I guess I don't like the fact that someone knows whose number is what.

[jtilk]

Allen and SD... Touche'
Pretty much everything you state I agree with. It was our first KCBS comp as well and I must say I was impressed with how well ran it was and how smooth things ran. Its not very often we drift outside our local "sphere" but this was well worth it. Before we even left we all agreed we plan to do it again. Granted there was a negative or 2, but the NET sum of things were by all means positive.

[Gomeat]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the KCBS format. It's my favorite as well, come on up to Bedford in August. It may be hot but good music and good competition.
As to the numbered containers, it's a double blind list. You have a team number and there is a list of what team number got what numbers on the containers. Only the contest coordinator and assistant can get that list. When they have a winning container number, they cross reference and come up the team name. Perfect? No, but it's at least as secure as ticket stubs taped to a container and as mentioned really speeds up the award ceremony.
Garnish? We used to do the entire putting green thing, then the wifey couldn't make it to a comp so I just put green leaf lettuce in the bottom with the edges turned up on the outside. . .and won first place chicken! So it's not a big deal, if you don't like it, don't put it in. At least know that some judges don't like the parsley big, if they pick up a rib and have to clean off the green stuff they will score you down.
Chicken? Go ahead and cook a half chicken and cut it up for the box. KCBS has no rule that says you can't cook half a chicken, there just have to be six individual pieces. It's considered unsanitary to have a half chicken that every judge has to touch to hack off a piece with a plastic knife. By the time the last judge gets it, it's not very appealing. I agree that I'd rather BBQ a half or whole at a time, but look at it like this: more chicken surface area for rubs, spices and sauce. And it cooks a lot faster in pieces.