I have competed a couple of events and now that I have a decent smoker setup, plan to do a few more events next year. I will tell you that I went into it thinking that I am just here for fun, but you know as well as I do that BBQ is a matter of pride, and I would have felt really bad coming in dead last. I was as green as they come, but had a round-about connection to the guy that was competing across from me (his partner is my insurance guy, a rep for Backwoods smokers, and the person solely responsible for informing me about insulated smokers). I asked a lot of questions and he helped me out with decent answers (after giving me grief of course). Although I was a rookie competitor, I am by no stretch a rookie at BBQ or TBS. In fact I was cooking on my homemade insulated backwoods knockoff, and he was a backwoods rep. Well I will tell you that I walked away from that contest with a 4th place ribbon and check in the brisket category, not to mention that I came in 12th overall. It was a KCBS event and I got 4th out of 49 for my first competition.
Competing was a lot of fun, and I look forward to many more. There is a sense of comraderie, but then again, I am not competing to earn a paycheck.
They can get pricey, especially since I throw a big party for friends on Friday night. The entry fee for the ones locally are at least $200 and for the last one I did spring for a nice tent and other assorted gear...Mrs. Engineer kept receipts and overall it was over a thousand dollars after all of the meat, gear, entry fee, and assorted items. I am, however, sponsored by the local liquor store, and that is a cool thing too. If you are going to compete, you will need to learn the garnish thing, otherwise you are just pi$$ing your money away...it is that important. If you can't play the game, you will lose.
