Anybody Here Compete in the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA), or KCBS?

[KolchakAU85 430]

I've been a KCBS BBQ judge for a couple years.  I had planned to eventually get into KCBS competition, until I recently heard about the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA).

SCA is huge in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, and Missouri.  They are just getting started in Alabama.  I attended a judge class in June, and judged my first cookoff last weekend.  It was great.

And I signed up for my first cookoff as a competitor (November 2nd in Hartselle, AL).  I can't wait.  In the mean time, I'm cooking a lot of practice ribeyes on my PK grill, and will judge 2 more cookoffs before then.

Is anybody here into competitive KCBS BBQ or SCA steak cookoffs?

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

2 hours ago, KolchakAU85 said:

I've been a KCBS BBQ judge for a couple years.  I had planned to eventually get into KCBS competition, until I recently heard about the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA).

SCA is huge in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, and Missouri.  They are just getting started in Alabama.  I attended a judge class in June, and judged my first cookoff last weekend.  It was great.

And I signed up for my first cookoff as a competitor (November 2nd in Hartselle, AL).  I can't wait.  In the mean time, I'm cooking a lot of practice ribeyes on my PK grill, and will judge 2 more cookoffs before then.

Is anybody here into competitive KCBS BBQ or SCA steak cookoffs?

Certainly not I, but intriguing.

Keep us posted?

[KolchakAU85 430]

2 hours ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Certainly not I, but intriguing.

Keep us posted?

Sure.

SCA steak cookoffs are all about cooking ribeye steaks.  They are one-day events.  The steaks are provided by the contest organizer, and are choice-grade ribeyes.  Each contestant draws for steak pick order, and each picks a steak in the order drawn.  Then each contestant picks another steak, in reverse draw order.

As odd as it may seem, experienced contestants would rather pick last than first (in the 1st round).  In that case, then they pick first in the 2nd round, which means they'll actually be picking two steaks in a row.  No one wants to pick toward the end of the 2nd round.

After that, you have three hours to season and cook your ribeyes to medium doneness, and turn one in (you get to eat the other).  The steaks are judged by trained judges, results are announced shortly thereafter, and you're on your way home.

 Typical payout is $1000 for 1st place.  Second place typically gets $500.  Places 3-10 get their entry fee back.  Although the contest I judged last week paid out $2000 for first place, and $1000 for 2nd place.  But that was the Kentucky State Championship.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

12 hours ago, KolchakAU85 said:

Sure.

SCA steak cookoffs are all about cooking ribeye steaks.  They are one-day events.  The steaks are provided by the contest organizer, and are choice-grade ribeyes.  Each contestant draws for steak pick order, and each picks a steak in the order drawn.  Then each contestant picks another steak, in reverse draw order.

As odd as it may seem, experienced contestants would rather pick last than first (in the 1st round).  In that case, then they pick first in the 2nd round, which means they'll actually be picking two steaks in a row.  No one wants to pick toward the end of the 2nd round.

After that, you have three hours to season and cook your ribeyes to medium doneness, and turn one in (you get to eat the other).  The steaks are judged by trained judges, results are announced shortly thereafter, and you're on your way home.

 Typical payout is $1000 for 1st place.  Second place typically gets $500.  Places 3-10 get their entry fee back.  Although the contest I judged last week paid out $2000 for first place, and $1000 for 2nd place.  But that was the Kentucky State Championship.

Many thanks, but that part seems fundamentally wrong to me.

Knock'em dead in Hartselle.

[KolchakAU85 430]

Actually, it's good.

The idea is not for competitors to cook steaks exactly to their preference.  Rather, the point is to set a benchmark doneness for competitors to hit, to show the skill of being able to hit it.  Consistently cooking steaks to any doneness level is challenging, because it depends upon how well a competitor knows his grill, and how the outside temperature will affect the steak in terms of carry-over cooking once it has been removed from the grill.  On a cool day the steak will not carry over much; on a hot day it will.

Competitors get judged partly on the doneness level of their steaks.  And judges are trained to know exactly what a medium doneness level looks like.  In fact, we have color pictures at our judging table to compare directly to the steaks. 

So why did SCA choose a medium doneness level as their benchmark?  Because if a judge misses low (on the rare side), the steak will still be safe to eat, and won't ooze dark red liquid when cut (that stuff is not blood, but it sure looks like it and a lot of people are turned off by that).

Other judging criteria are appearance, texture, and (most important) taste.

[KolchakAU85 430]

As an example, I cooked a "practice" ribeye today for my wife.  She likes her steaks cooked to medium doneness (same as SCA).  I know my grill pretty well, and I knew the outside temperature, but I overshot the doneness.  It was medium-well.  It tasted good, but I meant for it to be medium.

[RunInRed 16,383]

What’s typical entry fee?

 

[KolchakAU85 430]

On 9/4/2018 at 1:21 AM, RunInRed said:

What’s typical entry fee?

 

Typical entry fee is $150 for the steak category.

There are "ancillary" categories on the side as well, but they are optional, and carry an entry fee of their own (typically $25-40).  There is usually only one ancillary category at an event, and can be any of the following, or more: chicken wings, burgers, ribs, "anything on a stick", margaritas (yes, margaritas), etc.

Typical steak payout is $1000

for 1st place, but I've seen $1500 and $2000 payouts for 1st place.

[RunInRed 16,383]

Surprised payout isn’t higher; how many people typically enter?