Fellow BBQers
the sauce or glaze must be cooked on the product, if you heat the sauce or glaze and then pour it on the product, this is not cooked on. If you use this type of process, the sauce or glaze will be running or puddling in the container, which is not acceptable. Using sauce to cook with is fine and then glazing your product is really a simple process, just cook it on, not pour it on. Remember, that this is a meat contest and not a sauce contest. If you can lightly touch the product with your finger and the sauce comes off, it's not cooked on.
Pork Spare Ribs will be the type of ribs to cook. Not baby backs or country style, PORK SPARE RIBS, these can be trimmed, like Kansas City Style, St. Louis Style, or not trimmed. The cookers should smoke whole racks and prior to turn in, cut them in to individual ribs and pick out the best 7 for turn in. Place them in the container, parallel to the box hinge, 5 on the bottom and 2 on the top all facing the same way, or 4 on the bottom and 3 on the top, if you can get all 7 on the bottom, that's ok too. The meat side should be facing upward and in the same direction. I will explain this to all the cookers at the head cooks meeting.
Nothing is to be added to the product, once it comes off the pit. Again, meat contest, not a sauce contest. No juices, sauces, or apple juice puddling in the turn in container. No dipping the product in juices and then placing in the container. I will meet with all the head cooks, prior to the head cooks meeting to go over the requirements.
Appearance is a factor in the overall score of the product, however no garnish in the turn in tray or container.
The top 10 places in each category will be announced by ticket number and the head cook will come forward with their number to verify. All the containers will have a number that is taped whereby the judges can't see the number. At the awards, the number will be pulled from the tray and then revealed. I will also call the numbers of those who made the final table.
I certainly don't want to convey that the IBCA rules are overwhelming, on the contrary they are really quite simple. The cookers will really have a great experience with the IBCA format and when it's all said and done, will be ready for more cook-offs.
I hope this helps to ease some of the concerns.
It will be a fun and rewarding experience.
Don
Note to Ron;
I believe that you are only going to be turning in 1/2 of a fully jointed chicken, it's up to each individual judge as to where they want to cut a bite from, they will be using plastic ware and can only have one small bite, write down their score, they will then discard that knife and fork, pass the container to the next judge, get a clean knife and fork, and then go on to the next container.
If the cook-off generated more than 60 cookers then you would turn in 2 (1/2 fully jointed chickens), the first half would be used on all preliminary and semi final tables and the second one to be used only on the final table. This will be announced at the cook-off.
Regards,
Don
