How Do You Compete in the Kansas City BBQ Contest?

The Kansas City BBQ contest began in 1980 with about a dozen teams in a parking lot. It was a pretty informal affair of people getting together to show off their skills and visit and eat. Now the American Royal Barbeque in Kansas City is one of the largest, if not the largest, BBQ competitions expecting to draw more than 500 teams over September 30 to October 3, 2010.

The American Royal Barbeque was started by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) more as a social event than a contest. They made up their rules and invited friends and had a cook off. The original rules had the contestants preparing 10 pounds of pork, beef, or lamb and judges rating them on a scale of "10 ("Super Excellent") to 1 ("Not For Me!")". The current rules are more codified, but the cooks are just as serious about producing a great meal. Today's entrants may select to prepare brisket, pork ribs, pork (shoulder or Boston butt), chicken or all four. Competitors for the title of Grand Champion must show excellence in all four categories.

As you might imagine, there is some serious cooking going on. To even be accepted as a competitor a team must have previously won a sanctioned BBQ competition with a certain amount of teams competing. There's a lot of cooking expertise going on behind those smokers and grills. These are serious grillers who have honed their skills on their family and friends long before moving on to cook offs. They may have started out as backyard grill masters, but they've developed their interest and skills to much more than that.

The prizes in BBQ competitions are a lot more about bragging rights. There is money and prizes (usually grills and smokers) but the grand prize of $7500 for the Grand Champion of the Kansas City BBQ contest probably doesn't cover all the time and money spent getting the team to the finals in the first place. Those bragging rights can be worth a lot more than the money. Ever hear of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce? What competition do think it was the masterpiece of?

Do you think you have what it takes to compete in a BBQ competition? Do you have secret sauce that your friends and family brag about? Something you've always wanted to try?

I don't cook in BBQ competitions, but sure do enjoy grilling for my family and trying out new recipes. For more ideas and recipes for Competition BBQ recipes visit BARBECUECOOKBOOK.INFO

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