Craft of Q BBQ Contest Rules

1.Eligibility
Amateurs ONLY, No Restaurant owners, caterers, or anyone who makes money selling food retail.
Entries will not be vetted and are based on the honor system. Entry is at the discretion of organizers.

2. Teams
Team-A Pitmaster must be named and up to 4 team members may help prepare and serve during the
event. Teams must prepare all foods on site and to the best of their abilities to respect the dignity of the
Craft of Barbecue. All minors participating must always be supervised by a parent or guardian.

3.Food
Competition food will be provided with entry. ALL teams will be drawn for “meat picking” by random
drawing. You will have 2 minutes to pick your meat from the trailer of available meats. All competition
meat will be from the same packer and of the same specification. You may place meat in a cooler for
later preparation or begin preparation and cooking after receiving competition meat. Meat may be
prepared, seasoned, trimmed, etc… but no additional food products can be served to the public during
competition. Teams may feed friends and family before or after the competition, but not during the
competition times (10:30am-1:30pm) Any team serving food not provided by the competition during
competition will be disqualified.

Competition Meat includes:

• 1 brisket
• 2 pork butts
• 6 racks of ribs

4. Pit/Smoker/Grill
• -Only units capable of operating with solid fuel may be used.
• -No electric power, including batteries to power controllers or fans will be allowed on
competition units.
• -Propane powered equipment or starters is not allowed, a fire must be started using tender,
paper, or industry approved liquid or solid fire starter.
• -To encourage the amateur spirit of the event no trailer mounted units will be allowed. Trailers
will be allowed for Load IN/OUT
5. Event Site
Each team will have approximately 15 X 20 designated area to prepare and cook food for competition.
An 8’ table will be provided to serve during the competition. It may be utilized before competition, but
clean before competition. You may bring a canopy or tent, but it must not be larger than your event site
and must be properly secured in the event of inclement weather. Each team will have access to a trash
can to facilitate a clean competition area. All tables, chairs, equipment, etc. must fit into the event site
provided. Teams may decorate with any family friendly theme and hang banners or signs on tents or
tables.

Load-in is on Friday, May 31st. After a team registration is received, teams will be contacted to select
from the following load-in times. All vehicles must be removed by 6:30 pm.

• Early load-in: 7 am – 10 am
• Mid-day load-in 2 pm – 6 pm

6. Competition
Competitors are required to:
• Attend a Cook’s Meeting with Adam Myers on Friday, May 31st at 6:30 pm
• Cook and sample all meat given for competition
- Meat will be distributed after the Cook’s meeting on Friday, May 31st at 7:00 pm
• Have samples in 1oz containers ready by 11:00am

-Guests will be given a single sample of BBQ meat or Rib without BBQ sauce

-Guest will have access to BBQ Sauce in squeeze bottles provided if you choose to serve sauce.

-Children under 5 sample free with paid adult

-After sampling, guests will place their vote in their favorite team’s ballot box.

-You may give multiple samples to the same Guest, but this limits the number of potential “tryer’s” and
thus potential votes for your team. You may give samples at your own discretion.

-Only food provided by the competition may be sampled during competition time (11:00-1:30)
NO additional food/drink or swag products may be passed out during the competition to ensure the
fairness of voting.

-You may cook your own meals or purchase food from the local area, but no eating or serving of food
can occur from 10am-11am (start time) to ensure only the food from competition is being judged and
each entrant has a comparable # of samples. (Pitmaster and team may test flavor and doneness of
competition food during this time)

-NO Negative comments regarding fellow competitors will be tolerated. The purpose of this event is to
encourage others into the Craft of Q by sharing knowledge and techniques to advance the Craft of BBQ.

-Food will be served for competition from 11:00am-1:30pm (or until gone) and votes collected promptly
at 2p.m. to accommodate late votes.

-Votes will be counted and the team with the most votes will be awarded 1st place. 1st-10th place will
receive awards. Auxiliary awards for “most spirited”, “cleanest”, and “most creative”.

-Awards will start at 5:00pm on Saturday, June 1st