Here are the rules in regards to the Mystery Meat Category ONLY.

1. Must be cooked, raw/uncooked product will be disqualified.

2. Must have 6 servings, or enough to get six samples from the entry.

3. Must be cooked and prepared ON SITE, meat should not leave the contest site, period.

4. Can use ANY cooking method or fuel – gas, electric, solar, etc.

5. Can use ANY garnish – ANYTHING GOES!

6. Not required to use 9 x 9 turn in containers, we’ll supply a 3 x 5 index card for your number and tape if need be to secure it. You MUST have your number on the entry (and not on the underside please!).

7. Limit turn in overall size to 18 x 18 x 18 or so, and must be carry able by a single person without assistance.

8. If you feel the need to ask – Can I/we make it part of a _____________________, most likely our answer will be YES! Keep in mind we are judging the MEAT, not the sides/extras.

9. Have fun and get creative!

10. Teams will get the Mystery Meat during the cooks meeting, and we hope to have enough to allow teams to do a test cook Fri night.

If  you have any additional cooked Mystery Meat, rest assured some of the support staff would very much enjoy trying your creations, hint hint, nudge nudge.

There will more hints before the contest….

It’s official….

Don’t be afraid, it’s really not that big an issue….

Nonetheless, in what seems like an annual tradition, at least for those who have been to the West Coast BBQ Championships before, we are once again on the move.

This time we are moving farther West!

A whopping FOUR blocks to be exact.

Our new digs offers us more shade, better judging accommodations, and hopefully more obstruction of the notorious Fairfield wind. This also means for teams who were with us last year and have requested to be placed in the same spot, chances are extremely unlikely that you will get it, and if you did, not only are you facing a very very long walk to turn in’s, but an enormous amount of solitude as if you were an outcast from the rest of the BBQ family, which is not what we want.

For the last several years we have been in the general area of Jefferson street at Texas:

One of the main reasons for this move is the building in the top right of the image above *could potentially* be demolished around the time of the contest.  If this indeed becomes the case, the possibility of dust or debris affecting the contestants and their entries would be HUGE. A risk far beyond what we are willing to accept.

In 2009 we will be re-locating to Taylor street at Texas.

For those that have been to the contest during its inaugural year in Fairfield this is right about where it all started. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ever wonder what it takes to become an award-winning barbecue champion? Come to the Tomato Festival in downtown Fairfield, Aug. 15-16, and see the WEST COAST BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP in action.

Fresh off the press at Solano Magazine, click here to read the article.

Our head spokesperson Ben Lobenstein was invited to be a guest on Comcast Newsmakers a few weeks ago. Watch him talking up the contest and the Tomato Festival with Jack Hanson. Check out the video below…

In case the player above doesn’t work, here is the direct link to the YouTube page – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uxdKcv1O4I

102…

That’s the number of new BBQ Judges that we Certified on Saturday July 11, 2009.

Having never organized or orchestrated a single KCBS Certified BBQ Judges class, let alone two, we weren’t sure what to expect. 102 Certified BBQ Judges later, this will be another one that goes into the record books. As of

Time to Score a Rib! - Image courtesy of Dr. Biggles

December 2008 there were roughly 220 KCBS CBJs in California, another 30 something were added from a class held in SoCal back in March. We’ve practically added 50% more judges to the California judging pool in a single day. This is by far the largest CBJ induction West of the rockies, ever, in recorded history. Wow.

Let us get some important thank yous: Thank you to Gene Goycochea for doing 3 classes in 24 hours (he did 2 CBJ Classes back to back without a break, and a Certified Table Captain’s Class the night before). Not to mention he nearly missed his (and the last) flight back home to SoCal.

Thank you as always to Harry Stewart (CBJ) of Great American BBQ restaurant/catering for preparing all of the meats, he seems to always pull it off (and exceptionally well) even when challenges are thrown his way.

Chicken Turn in's

Thanks to the behind the scenes crews: The shift supervisors Richard Gonzales (CBJ) of We B Qn for the morning shift, and Fast Freddie Stanek (CBJ) of Love Shack BBQ for the afternoon shift. Thanks to Dave Hiatt (CBJ) and Tom Breitweiser – (CBJ/CTC) for their FULL day shifts, as well as David Towne (CBJ) and Michael Fletcher (CBJ) of Alchemy BBQ, Lacey Fisher (CBJ) of the Smokepranos, Aidan Robson (fresh CBJ out of the morning class), Trish Iriye (same), Matt Young (same) of Ms. Bizzy’s Bar B Que, as well as volunteers Laura Kalk-Philpot and Jen Brehl all of which were tireless in their behind the scenes efforts to promote BBQ!

Thanks to Anita Horwath of the Fairfield Downtown Association for coordinating with the Fairfield Suisun Chamber of Commerce in allowing us to use their space for our class. Thank you to all who attended and we hope you all enjoyed the class, we look forward to seeing you out on the BBQ circuit sometime soon. As always our time with our guests is shorter than what we’d like it to be. Be sure to check out www.cbbqa.org for all the latest in California BBQ happenings.

Flavors of the day - not shown are Great American BBQ "House Sauce", and a vinegar selection

Here are some links from attendees:

http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/001449.html

http://www.madmeatgenius.com/2009/07/certifiable.html

….and now from some quotes from the new CBJs:

Chris and I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work for the CBJ class last weekend. We had a great time; learned a LOT; and are really looking forward to judging.

Thanks again for arranging for the class.  I really enjoyed Gene insight and his experiences in competition BBQing.

The class Saturday was a great experience, and one I’ll be recommending heartily to all my ‘cue-minded friends.

Thanks for the great class yesterday. Peggy and I took away a wealth of information to use when we judge our next competition. This was a fun and informative class. I will also use some of the info in my personal cooking.

My partner and I were in the afternoon session and thought you and the others put on a great class. Obviously, there’s a lot of work involved in something like that and we just wanted you to know that your efforts were very much appreciated.  Also, Gene was great, we learned a lot and cant wait to judge our first competition!

That was a great event! Thanks to everyone that had a hand in putting it together. Cant wait to put that new training to work.

Thank you for putting the judging class together. Great and useful information.

Just a heads up that early bird pricing ends this week on 7/15/09.

As of 7/16/09 the price for entering all 3 contests goes up by $100 and the price of the Easy Road contest goes up $50. You must have your payment made by then, not just have your entry forms in. Thanks and looking forward to seeing you at the contest.