To become a great BBQ competitor, you need to practice your food preparation skills. While you might be busy cooking during the competition, practice by preparing new dishes or trying out new barbecue recipes. It is also important to have a panel of hard critics test your creations. Family and friends will be a good source of positive and negative feedback, so make sure to solicit both. Then, you can improve on your creations based on their feedback.
In the United States, barbecue competitions have grown from the popular 1960’s cook-offs that included foil-wrapped kebabs, chili bowls, and cakes. Major manufacturers began sponsoring these competitions, which led to barbecue competitions at a variety of events. In 1974, the Houston Rodeo added a barbecue cook-off to its event lineup. Memphis in May, in 1978, added a barbecue competition to its lineup. The American Royal, held in the same month as the Texas barbecue competition, came along in 1978. The Jack Daniels World Championship began in 1988.
For the Memphis BBQ Festival, there are seven categories, with 68 teams representing the U.S. and 26 from other countries. In competition, teams move their barbecue items from cook sites to turn-in tables every half hour. Judges include barbecue luminaries such as Famous Dave. Whether your entry makes it to the competition or not, you can still be a part of the excitement by judging the competitions. If you’re a barbecue enthusiast, it’s worth giving barbecue competitions a try.
