Hi all you smokers, rubbers, moppers and other kinds of pig pokers, chili wackers, pastry fiends and salsamaniacs,

I have been getting questions about various aspects of these ferocious competitions. So here’s some general answers as well as some specific ones to help you plan your strategy for winning the upcoming Chicago Beer Society Salsa, Chili, Rib and Dessert Competitions, to be held at our picnic at LaBagh Woods Forest Preserve Grove #1, this coming Saturday, September 12.

We will have pretty basic conditions out at the Forest Preserve grove. There is no provision for heating or refrigeration on-site, except what people bring themselves. So, everyone is responsible for all aspects of their dishes except for plasticware and plates/bowls.

Now, quantities. With the popular voting, bringing enough of a dish does help your chances. FYI, we will probably have 300 people there, but not everybody gets involved in voting in every competition. For Salsa, maybe somewhere between a quart and a half-gallon. For desserts, I would suggest a couple of normal-size batches, cut into smaller than normal servings. Salsa judging is between noon and 2 pm; dessert judging is between 4 and 5.

I’m always too busy with ribs to pay much attention to what’s going on in chili-land, but it seems that a gallon is the minimum that anyone should bring. If any of you experienced hands have thoughts on how much chili is too much, please chime in. For chili you can pre- cook or cook on-site, but remember, you must bring your own stove/ cooker. Save your receipts for meat, as the Beer Society will reimburse you for that part of your dish. Check in at the check-in tent for that. Chili judging is between 2-3 pm.

The normal time for ribs is 3 pm, although occasionally by mutual agreement of the participants we sometimes push it back a half hour or so to give people a bit more time. Remember, ribs take four or five hours to cook properly, so start early.

This is a competition with few rules. Two competitions, actually, a blind and a popular judging. The blind judging will be supervised by a Memphis-In-May certified judge. We will follow the judging criteria in their guidelines:

http://memphisinmay.org/wcbcc_teaminfo.htm

but NOT the guidelines on cooking, flag-saluting, nose-picking or anything else. So, you can pre-cook, boil, roast, bake, fricasee or do them in your bread machine if you want to. We just don’t care. It doesn’t have to be classic American barbecue preparation, but the judges will be looking for things like smoke that are in the MIM guidelines. Contestants will turn in their ribs in a clamshell take- out plate which we will supply. Garnishing, whatever, will be allowed. We will supply all contestants with a disposable aluminum roasting pan to serve ribs to the public. It’s best to cut them into single-bone pieces unless you brought a whole truckload.

We ask that all ribbers who enter the blind competition cook at least six or eight slabs to ensure you are making a contribution to the day’s food supply and not just there to nab a fancy lucite doorstop…er, trophy.

The popular vote is just what it says. Everyone checking into the picnic will receive a ballot for the ribs, along with chili, salsa and dessert ballots. Campaigning, bribing, and other Chicago electoral techniques will be tolerated. Trash, talking is encouraged, you amateurs. However, contestants must not serve their ribs before the official “OK to serve” announcement has been made, sometime after three. This is to be fair to those who are cooking all on-site, and they need every minute they can get.

The Chicago Beer Society will reimburse all rib-cookers (not just
winners) for the cost of their meat. So, bring your receipt and check with the check-in tent.

First-come, first-serve on setup spaces. The police usually come around about 8:30 or so, so if you’re planning on coming real early, let me know, and we’ll get you a copy of the permit–No permit, no party, and we like to keep those guys happy. At some point a nice CBS official will come around and give you a contestant number.

As a final note, I want to let everybody note that I am withdrawing from the blind judging, haven proven what I wanted to prove along those lines over the last three gloriously triumphant years. But on the popular vote, a lot of you guys are puffy, confused and out of practice, and I have a new secret weapon and a genuine mess of meat, so watch out!

–Randy