Competition Smoking on a propane smoker?? Is it done??

[5oakssmoker]

I sense its probably more of a logistics/safety issue.

We all know you can't effectively run an electric smoker on a long drop cord, can you imagine trying to go to a fairground and set up 40 or maybe 100 electric smokers... the people down the line would be at a disadvantage from those closer to actual wired electric, not to mention the load on the cords, and the chance of disaster with cords, wet grass in the morning etc etc.

Limiting folks to small wattage use for rotisserie and fans is different from burners.

Could you imagine if an unscrupulous competitor intentionally pulled a cord of a competitor... or if one came undone by accident and wasn't noticed right away....

Propane, would you really want say 60 people who you don't know, don't know their experience, don't know their build, to have propane bottles, the chance of flame out, and open flames in a somewhat confined space? I'm sure the folks providing the insurance for the event would have something to say about that, and the time involved in having more thorough inspections of units to ensure safety...

I honestly think the 'quality smoke' or 'anyone can do it' is just a nice way of saying, we don't want the trouble, hassle, or cost.

Also, its a tradition, it just seems more 'authentic' if its done over coals/wood. Sponsorship probably has a factor as well, but I'm sure they could get Masterbuilt or some of the other Electric/Propane companies to sponsor them if they were allowed, so that can't be all of it.

In the end, its their competition they are allowing you to buy into and participate, so they get to set the rules as they see fit.

 

[hdflame]

I competed in a non-sanctioned whole hog competition about a month ago.  It was sponsored by the Harley dealership in Raleigh, NC.It was a fund raiser for our Veterans.  You could cook on any kind of cooker with any fuel.

There were two teams that compete regularly in North Carolina Pork Council whole hog competitions cooking at this event.  Both were cooking on gas cookers.  The same cookers they compete with.

I cooked my hog on my TS120 Meadow Creek reverse flow using only charcoal to start and Hickory to cook with.  I wanted to see how the RF performed cooking a pig.  This was the first time I had used the reverse flow to cook a hog because I also have a PR60 Meadow Creek Pig Cooker that is set up to cook with charcoal/wood/and or gas.  I usually cook the hog on charcoal and hickory for about 4-6 hours and switch over to gas to finish so I don't have to tend the fire the whole cook.

Just wanted to let you know there is a sanctioned competition series that do allow gas cookers.

With that being said, This being only my second competition, it was also my second 1st Place win!  The judges made comments that the hickory smoke flavor is what set my BBQ apart from the rest.  Brought home $500 which covered entrance fee, expenses, and a a little left over.  The other 1st place win was cooking Boston butts, also cooked on the RF but with Cherry wood.

I think it would be hard to compete against other teams if you're cooking on gas and they're cooking with wood.  I would think at a minimum you would have to have some way to add smoke to your gas cooker if you're competing against teams cooking with wood.

Here's picture of the TS120. Kinda hard to see it in this picture due to the two of us standing in the way!  I'm the FAT guy on the right!  lol

IMG_5773.JPG

• hdflame
• Dec 3, 2015

Here's a better pic of the RF.

IMG_5756.JPG

• hdflame
• Dec 3, 2015

 

[mtbken]

thats funny you mentioned that.  I read that Slapyodaddy has won 20 grand champions using WSM!  Now, of course I think he has as much money in electronics as the smokers themselves.

I run a MES 40, which would never be allowed, but that box was really just to get me to the point of perfecting my recipes!  Now that I have that down, I can worry about heat source control!

 

[bbqbrett]

I met Harry from Slap Yo Daddy and he was indeed cooking on WSM's with the fans\electronic temp controls hooked up to them.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Myself.. i don't think fan controlled units should be allowed... it's still cooking with electric in my book....

 

[okiedave]

Myself.. i don't think fan controlled units should be allowed... it's still cooking with electric in my book....

I propose a compromise: if you can design and build the circuit (including source code), you can use it.

 

[erazz]

You want to see a true fair competition, have everyone cook on the same equipment, then it comes down to flavor, not how good of a rig you were able to bring

 

[jokensmoken]

I've used (and still do) a WSM, a MES 30" and a Masterbuilt 40" propane smoker and since adding chip boxes (now pellet tubes) I've noticed absolutely NO difference in the flavor or quality of anything...Even my little Masterbuilt 18" camp king propane unit does remarkable butts, and has become my "go to" for single butts.