Are you willing to take a risk? To be bold and stand out? In this week’s BBQ Tips Podcast, pitmaster Christie Vanover explains why competition barbecue has started to feel repetitive to her — and what she plans to do about it.
We’re discussing risk-taking in competition barbecue. Do you have the courage to be different? That’s the focus of today’s conversation. Lately I’ve felt stuck and, honestly, a bit bored with competitive barbecue.
I still love the sport — the camaraderie, the challenge of cooking to impress judges and chase calls. Those elements are irreplaceable, and I’ll continue competing. What’s grown stale for me are the repetitive flavor profiles dominating the circuit.
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Table of Contents
- Listen to the BBQ Tips Podcast on
- The endless cycle
- Why we don’t take risks
- A judge who made me think
- Why it’s the perfect time to take a risk
- Changes I could make
- Save room for dessert
The endless cycle
Here’s the pattern: successful teams win competitions, share their methods, and those techniques and flavor profiles spread. I’m guilty of sharing tips too, but I usually avoid giving away exact flavor formulas. When everyone adopts the same sauces and rubs, the field narrows.
It makes sense — teams copy what works. I’ve taken classes, bought recommended sauces, and tried proven techniques because they perform well on the circuit. But barbecue isn’t a single taste. There’s huge diversity: Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, the Carolinas, the Pacific Northwest, and global influences such as Asian flavors.
Yet the circuit often favors a dense, sweet, tomato-based Kansas City profile. Judges expect it and often reward it, which reinforces the loop: cook what scores well and repeat. That loop is what I’m tired of, and what I want to break.
Why we don’t take risks
Competing is expensive — meat, rubs, sauces, travel, registration — easily over a thousand dollars per event. So the fear of experimenting is real: try something new and you could finish dead last. Will judges accept an unfamiliar flavor? Will a different presentation score poorly simply because it’s unexpected?
As a competitor and a judge, I attend KCBS judges’ calls where certified and master judges from across the globe discuss the sport. A recent open forum raised a pointed question: when teams compete outside their home region, why don’t they change flavor profiles to fit the local style?
Some teams answered that they win with their tried-and-true Kansas City profile, so why change it? Others noted that judges travel widely, so a contest in, say, the Carolinas will still have judges from elsewhere with varied tastes. Both points are valid, but they don’t fully explain why so many cooks default to the same profile.
We are a diverse group of cooks with varied culinary backgrounds. Why are we so often stuck in one style? The short answer: fear. Teams worry judges will be biased toward a familiar look and taste. But judges are trained to be objective — to score based on appearance, aroma, taste, and texture — not on whether the entry matches a mental picture of “KCBS barbecue.”
That said, new judges or those who learned to expect a certain presentation might be less open-minded. Proper table captain guidance helps, and in my judging experience many reps do prepare judges well. Still, creativity is often curtailed by fear of being penalized for being different.
A judge who made me think
At Smoke Slam in Memphis, I served individually cut party ribs glazed with a Filipino-inspired sauce and seasoned with an Asian-Pacific rub that included ginger, turmeric, and annatto. Those ribs weren’t Kansas City style, but they were praised as some of the best samples of the day.
Later a KCBS judge told me he’d been to Hawaii hoping for local flavor profiles, only to receive boxes of familiar KCBS-style barbecue. He enjoyed the entries but was seeking creativity and regional variety. That stuck with me as I booked a trip to compete in Hawaii this November.
Should I serve Hawaiian or Asian-influenced profiles there, or stick with traditional KCBS flavors? Travel costs, logistics, and prize stakes make the decision weighty. Hawaii is the only KCBS event on the islands, and the winner earns an automatic draw to the Jack — a large incentive. I haven’t decided yet, but I’m seriously considering taking the risk.
Why it’s the perfect time to take a risk
My season hasn’t produced a guaranteed draw for the Jack, and the window for draws closes at the end of July. I have one last event on June 29 for a chance to secure a draw, but even if I could, traveling to the Jack and then to Hawaii soon after would be too much. I’m planning to judge the Jack this year instead.
Because I’m not chasing points right now, I’m freed from the pressure to secure a GC. This gives me the perfect opportunity to experiment and try something creative without the same stakes. The question remains: do I have the nerve? With the competition days away, I still haven’t decided whether to cook my usual profile or try something bold and unexpected.
Refresh of the rules
I reviewed the KCBS rules to be sure creativity falls within the guidelines. The taste rules emphasize that sauces and seasonings should complement the meat — not overpower it — and be pleasing to the palate. They do not mandate a Kansas City-style profile.
The rules allow chunky sauces provided any chunks are diced to an eighth of an inch or smaller. There is also flexibility in protein presentation: chicken can be any cut, including wings, thighs, or even breaded preparations. Pork, brisket, and ribs have some presentation options as well. The limitations are mostly the ones we place on ourselves.
Changes I could make
Chicken offers the most room for creativity because of its variety of cuts. While many teams present Kansas City-style wings, nothing in the rules prevents serving Korean sticky wings, lemon-pepper wings, Alabama white sauce chicken, or other regional styles. I’m tempted to experiment with chicken at my next event.
Ribs have fewer presentation options but vast seasoning possibilities. At Smoke Slam, a team served Jamaican jerk ribs without sauce and they were a hit. Why not turn in ribs with global seasonings when they taste great?
For pork, instead of the standard sweet glazes, consider Pacific Northwest influences like a red-wine-based sauce or richer braising liquids. Brisket typically stays classic for me — salt, pepper, garlic — but presentation can vary: slices, burn ends, mini point slices, or even shredded point. Shredded point can offer a tender, richly flavored alternative similar to pulled pork.
Save room for dessert
This week’s contest also features dessert categories — cream pie, fruit pie, and cake — and that’s where I’ve been having a lot of fun. Desserts allow full creativity without the same expectations as savory boxes. While cheesecake often scores well, I’m exploring something different because I want to break out of the loop.
I’ll share my turn-in boxes on social media so you can see whether I stuck with the classic red, shiny Kansas City style or went off the rails with something inventive. I’d love to hear from you: have you ever submitted an out-of-the-box entry? How was it received? Did it score well? If not, was it the execution or the unfamiliar flavor that affected scoring?
Tell me which flavor profiles you’d rather be cooking instead of Kansas City, and what risks you wish you had taken. Maybe I’ll take a leap for both of us. I’m ready to shake things up, get creative, and have fun again — I think I have the guts. We’ll see how it turns out.
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