BBBQS Draft Rules

British BBQ Society

INTERPRETATION OF RULES
The interpretation of the BBBQS rules and regulations are those of the BBBQS Representative at the contest and his or her decisions are final. The BBBQS Representative may not deviate from nor change any BBBQS rule for any contest for any reason.

TEAM
Each team shall consist of a chief cook and as many assistants as the chief cook deems necessary. A team shall not compete in more than one contest under the same team name, on the same date. Team members may not enter the judging area at any time until judging has been completed. All teams are equal. There will be no Professional/Amateur Classifications. Team member names details and positions should be recorded on the team entry form. Each team will be provided with minimum 5m x 3m working area, actual size to be confirmed by each event.

EQUIPMENT
Each team will supply all of the equipment necessary for the preparation and cooking of their entry including a cooker, wood, charcoal, or wood pellets. A Fire Extinguisher shall be near all cooking devices. Gas and electric heat sources shall not be permitted for cooking or holding. Propane or electric is permitted as fire starters, provided that the competition meat is not in/on the cooking device. Electrical accessories such as spits, augers, or forced draft are permitted. No open pits or holes are permitted. Fires shall not be built on the ground. Electric or manual operated wood, charcoal, or wood pellet augers are permitted during the cooking process. Electric or manually operated power draft devices are permitted during the cooking process. Please note, power will not be available at all venues, if you require power please consult the event organiser.

MEAT INSPECTION
No pre-seasoning, injecting, marinating or cooking of any entry is permitted until after inspection by the Official Meat Inspector as appointed by the BBBQS Representative or the contest organizer. Meat inspection begins at noon on the day prior to the contest. All meat must be maintained at a maximum temperature of 40 degrees F prior to inspection. Prior to cooking, all meat that is resting in preparation for cooking must be covered at all times. All meats must be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F. After cooking all meat must be maintained at a minimum temperature of 140 degrees F in a covered container until turned in for judging. All contest meat, once inspected, may not leave the cook team's site until turn in. All seasoning and cooking of product shall be done within the assigned cooking space. Teams shall not share an assigned cooking space or cooking device. Parboiling and/or deep-frying competition meat is not allowed.

CONTESTANT'S SITE
Each team will be assigned a cook site. All equipment including cooker, canopy, trailer, etc. must be contained within this space. If additional space is required the team should contact the contest organizer and make satisfactory arrangements.

BEHAVIOR
Every team, including members and guests, are expected and required to exhibit proper and courteous behaviour at all times. A quiet time will be in effect from 11:00 PM on the night prior to the contest judging, remaining in effect until sunrise on the following day. No alcoholic beverages will be distributed to the General Public. Teams will be informed of all local laws and will adhere to same. Failure to abide by these rules of behaviour may result in expulsion from the contest and repeat offenders will be barred from competing in BBBQS sanctioned contests.

CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION
All teams are expected to maintain their cook sites in an orderly and clean manner and to use good sanitary practices during the preparation, cooking, and judging process. The use of sanitary gloves is required at all times while handling food. Failure to use sanitary gloves may result in disqualification. Teams are responsible for cleanup of their site once the competition has ended. All health & Safety and Food Hygiene must be adhered to at all times, a copy will be posted outside the Judges tent during the competition.

MEAT CATEGORIES
The following categories are sanctioned by the BBBQS
a. Chicken: The team may cook chicken whole, halved, or individual pieces.
b. Pork Ribs: Loin back (baby back) or spare ribs only. No country style ribs.
c. Pork: Whole shoulder, Boston butt or Picnic only. Must be cooked as a single piece of meat.
d. Beef Brisket: Packer trimmed, flats or points.

JUDGING
Entries will be submitted in an approved BBBQS numbered container provided by the contest organizer. The number must be on top of the container at turn-in. The container shall not be marked in anyway so as to make the container unique or identifiable. Aluminium foil, toothpicks, skewers, foreign material, and/or stuffing are prohibited in the container. (Marked entries will receive a one (1) in all criteria from all Judges).

Each judge will first score all the samples for appearance of the meat. The turn-in containers will then be passed around the table and each judge will place a sample from each of the containers in the appropriate box on the judging mat. The judge will then score each entry for taste and tenderness/texture, before moving on to the next entry.

The scoring system is from 9 to 2, all whole numbers between two and nine may be used to score an entry. 9 excellent, 8 very good, 7 above average, 6 average, 5 below average, 4 poor, 3 bad, and 2 inedible

Each contestant must submit at least six (6) separated and identifiable (visible) portions of meat in a container. Chicken, pork and brisket may be submitted chopped, pulled, sliced, or diced as the cook sees fit, as long as there is enough for six (6) judges. Ribs shall be turned in bone-in. Judges may not cut, slice, or shake apart to separate pieces. (If there is not enough meat for each judge to sample, the shorted judge(s) will score a one (1) on all criteria, and the judges having samples will change the Appearance score to one (1).)

Meat shall not be sculptured, branded or presented in a way to make it identifiable. Rosettes of meat slices are not allowed. (Violations of this rule will be scored a one (1) on all criteria by all six judges.)

PERMITTED GARNISHING
Only green varieties of

Parsley
Lettuce

TURN IN TIMES
Each meat category turn in time will allow for a 10 minute window, that is 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the time as suggested below:
a. Chicken: 11:00AM
b. Pork Ribs: 12:00PM
c. Pork: 1:00PM
d. Brisket: 2:00PM
The contest organizer may revise the times but a one hour time frame between categories must be maintained. Meat turn in times as posted by the contest organizer, either in the application form or the confirmation notice, are final and cannot be changed.
Optional Categories
a) BBQ Sauce
b) BBQ Desert ( enough for 6 judges)
c) Best Decorated BBQ Stand

DISQUALIFICATION
An entry can be disqualified by the BBBQS Representative only.
An entry can be disqualified for any of the following reasons:
a. There is evidence of marking or sculpting. Marking is defined as: any handwritten or mechanically made mark inside or outside the turn-in box that identifies the submitting team to any judge. Sculpting is defined as: the carving, decorating, forming, or shaping of a meat entry contained in a turn-in box that identifies the submitting team to any judge.
b. There is anything in the box besides the meat and the permitted garnishes.
c. There are not a minimum of 6 separate and identifiable pieces.
d. There is evidence of blood such that the meat is uncooked.
e. The entry is turned in after the officially designated time.
f. Gloves are not used while handling food products.
g. Not cooking pork as a single piece of meat.
h. Not cooking the meat that was inspected.
I. Persons not named on the Team Entry Form assisting food preparation or cooking.
J. Animals or Pets within the team working area.

WINNERS
The winners in each meat category will be determined by adding all the scores together and the team with the most points will be 1st. place, the team with the next highest total will be 2nd. place, etc.
The GRAND CHAMPION will be the team with the most total points, and the RESERVE CHAMPION will be the team with the second highest total points. To qualify for either GRAND CHAMPION or RESERVE CHAMPION a team must submit entries in all four sanctioned categories.
Ties in any meat category, grand or reserve champion are allowed. In the event of a tie in a meat category the next lowest rank will be omitted and the tied teams will be awarded the same rank. In the event of tie for grand champion the tied teams will be declared grand champions and there will be no reserve champion. In the event of a tie for reserve champion the tied teams will be declared reserve champions. Any prize money for the tied rank and the next lowest rank will be combined and distributed evenly amongst the tied teams. For example a two way tie for 1st place in brisket with a £150 prize for 1st place and £75 prize for 2nd place would result in the two teams sharing 1st place and £225; there would be no 2nd place award. The results of an BBBQS sanctioned contest are considered to be certified at midnight local time after the completion of the contest.

Health & Safety
The following cleanliness and safety rules will apply:
A. No use of any tobacco products while handling meat.
B. Cleanliness of the cook, assistant cooks, cooking device(s) and the team’s assigned cooking space is required.
C. Shirt and shoes are required to be worn.
D. Sanitizing of work area should be implemented with the use of a bleach/water rinse (one cap/gallon of water). Each contestant will provide a separate container for washing, rinsing and sanitizing of utensils.
E. Teams are responsible for their own first aid kit to include blue plasters and gloves.
F. Prior to cooking, meat must be maintained at 40 degrees or less.
G. After cooking, all meat:
(a) Must be held at 140 degrees or above, --or—
(b) Cooked potentially hazardous food shall be cooled:
(1) Within 2 hours from 140 degrees F to 70 degrees F and
(2) Within 4 hours from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F or less
(3) Potentially hazardous food (meat) that is cooked, properly cooled, and later reheated for hot holding and serving shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 165 degrees F for a minimum of 15 seconds.

Looks familiar.

Though you're allowing for 1 hour between turn-ins... 1/2 an hour longer than we're used to in most contests here in the states.

Was going to reduce it to 30 mins after chatting to one of the KCBS Reps. We need to use the same rules if our champions are ever going to progress to the major 2 in the US. I have taken bits from a few different sources, thought it was better than just copy and pasting one set of rules

Just double checked, this set of rules are old, i have already updated the set on the web site for 30min turn ins. Losing track of everything...

Toby wrote:Just double checked, this set of rules are old, i have already updated the set on the web site for 30min turn ins. Losing track of everything...

LOL...I just found an older copy...leave it to me to find the outdated info first.