I'd like to hear about hat you do to make things work for competition. I am happy cooking in my backyard, but it would be interesting to hear about "the other side."
Thanks!
In competition, appearance, taste and tenderness are the judged factors. This makes the thigh ideal because it is easily trimmed, has good natural flavor and moisture, and is forgiving of overcooking (doesn't dry out easily like white meat). So, I did several test batches of my competition recipe (usually done in my Memphis) in my PBC. The "sweet spot" temperature is typically around 300 degrees so I had to shorten my cook times (cook lower temp in Memphis). I put the trimmed and seasoned thighs in a pan on the grid uncovered for a while, then covered, then finally on a rack pan, sauced to glaze. Getting the timing right for these steps is the only way to do this since the PBC allows no adjustment. Trial and error and lots of notes later I finished 8th at a recent contest. Not exactly big money but a walk is a walk and I bested Myron Mixon in the category
I used the PBC for logistical reasons. I was cooking only chicken -- my 3 other teammates each took a meat to specialize -- so I elected to use the PBC because it is much easier to transport than the Memphis. When I compete again in September (doing ribs and chicken) I'll go back to the Memphis (more space, better control).
The PBC company competes with their cookers and has posted several good results but they do not share their approaches and methodologies. One must reverse-engineer and do a lot of adapting and experimenting to compete with one. It is fun in some ways and a bit frustrating in others. Some cooker manufacturers will assist their customer/users with competition methodology (Jambo, Fast Eddy, Country, etc.) but most do not.
So, there's "the rest of the story". I love my PBC but will likely never do a lot of competing with it because I'd have to have several (not a lot of space/access for competition) and with two pellet cookers (two temps, one for the long cook, one for the short cook) I get the job done easier.
Hub