Contestants compete in three grill off categories: Chicken, Mystery Meat, and BBQ Ribs.
Interested in being a contestant in the Grill Off? Its free of charge, see details below.
Not a contestant? You better still check this event out as there are lots of delicious foods that need sampling!
$10/person or $20/family
Samples are not required and can run out but there is a People’s Choice Award so your vote matters!
The main awards however are selected by honorable judges in random order.
Times of the Events
- Chicken Challenge → Turn in time is 3:00 PM
- Mystery Meat → Turn in time is 4:00 PM
- B-B-Q RIBS → Turn in time is 5:00 PM
At approximately 5:30 PM all the Peoples Choice Award votes will be reviewed and tallied. The trophy awards ceremony will be around 5:30 PM. Trophies will be awarded for champions and runners up in each category.
If there is bad weather, we may need to adjust the turn in times.
Categories
- Mystery Meat
- Chicken Challenge
- B-B-Q Ribs
- There will be a People Choice Award per category. Contestants can choose to have non-judges sample their food. This is not mandatory. Tickets will be issued to the patrons to be used for voting purposes. If a person likes your food, they will give you one of the tickets. The contestants with the most tickets will be awarded the People’s Choice Award trophy.
- Patrons will sign a waiver before they get to sample foods.
- An independent judge will tally the ticket results.
- There will be a $10 fee charged per person or $20 per family to patrons to taste small samples of competitors foods. The money collected will be used for the payout pool for the competitors. Family rate consists of mom, dad, and kids. Not cousins, uncles, etc.
- There will be other prizes awarded.
- The payout will be divided amongst the top placements. The payouts depend on the amount of funds raised.
- The cost of trophies and advertisement is reimbursed, the rest is paid out 100%
Contestant Criteria
- Zero-dollar entry fee and covers all categories. Signing disclaimer required. Day before event, Friday, is the cutoff date to sign up.
- We allow any and all kinds of wood, charcoal, or gas grill cookers for this event. The goal is to compete and have a good time.
- Each participant can use assistants, but the prized trophy will be awarded to the “Chief Chef”
- The prep work and precooking of product may be begun elsewhere, but the final cooking of the products shall be done in the confines of the assigned cooking space.
- Parking is not permitted at the cook site, load and unload only.
- Contestants must provide all needed equipment and grill.
- digging into ground is not allowed.
- Contestants will clean their assigned area before departing.
- Contestants will bring their own products, including meat, seasoning, cooking equipment, coolers, tables, chairs, ice, etc.
- Contestants are responsible for observing prudent temperature and sanitary requirements. You will be observed with the potential of disqualification from a category.
- All contestants are expected to respect the rights of other contestants. Profane language or infringement on other contestant’s areas are not permitted.
- Be competitive, help your neighbor, and have fun!
- Note the turn in times, you can arrive and set up as you feel necessary.
Presentation Criteria
- A contestant may enter only 1 entry in the same food category.
- All contestants will use provided “turn in boxes” and draw for their number.
- Garnish will not be allowed in the turn in box for Ribs or Chicken. Contestants may use Greens- (Parsley, Lettuce, Cilantro) in the turn in box for appearance.
- No toothpicks, skewers, foreign material, or stuffing is permitted with the presentation of the Ribs or Chicken. Nonconformance to this rule will result in an automatic score of 2.
- Product may be presented with or without sauce or seasonings. If you use sauce, it must be applied to the meat. Sauce must not be pooled in the turn in container.
- No aluminum foil or stuffing is allowed in the turn in container.
- Marking or sculpting of any kind, to the meat or the presentation container, will not be allowed and would be subject to disqualification.
- In the Mystery Meat challenge, anything goes. It has to be meat but may not be Chicken or Ribs. It has to be grilled. It may be presented in the required “turn in box” as contestant sees fit. Anything goes, with any garnish or sauce as contestant desires. Creativity is encouraged in this category. ex. Previous years people have made pork burgers, chip dip, chicken burgers, grilled chili, turkey tacos, and fish.
- Again, in Mystery Meat, anything goes. If you have an idea that needs its own “turn in box”, you can make your own box or tray for this event. Think big, and then think bigger!!
Judging Criteria
- Entries will be judged separately by the honorable judging team. Entries will be scored in the areas of appearance, tenderness/texture, and taste.
- The Mystery Meat category will also include creativity as a score.
- The scoring system is 9 (excellent) to 2 (poor).
- All whole numbers between 2 and 9 may be used to score an entry.
- Entries will be submitted in numbered containers, approved by the organizer, and then randomly selected for judging. The judges will not know the contestants name or random number.
- An open box is presented to the judges to visually inspect for appearance/texture points then tasted and scored.
- Judges may not use scented wipes to clean mouth or fingers.
- Judges may use saltine crackers to cleanse palate between bites or rounds.
- Judges will review all criteria and take the official judges’ oath before the competition.
- In the event of a tie, there is a tie breaker system predetermined by the independent judges, following the guidelines of the Kansas City Grill Off Society.
- The decisions by the judges will be final.