How to Enter Your First BBQ Competition (or Steak or Chili Cook-off)
Updated
Pick a nearby contest from a calendar, read that sanctioning body's rules, register with the organizer before the deadline, practice your turn-in at home, and bring a simple checklist. For a first contest, a one-day steak or chili cook-off, or a backyard division at a BBQ contest, is the cheapest and least stressful way to start.
Step 1: Pick a contest near you
Use our calendar or your state's page to find a contest within driving distance. Each event page links to the official website or flyer with the entry fee, deadline and schedule. Winter is a good time to start in Texas, Florida, Georgia and Arizona, where contests run all year.
Step 2: Choose the right type
- Steak cook-off: one day, one steak, and the organizer supplies the ribeye (steak cook-offs).
- Chili cook-off: one pot, one day (chili cook-offs).
- BBQ competition: usually a full weekend and several meats (BBQ competitions). Many contests offer a smaller "backyard" division for newer teams; check the flyer.
Step 3: Read the rules for that sanctioning body
Rules decide whether you're disqualified, so read them before you buy anything. A few that catch first-timers:
- Fire: KCBS, MBN and IBCA require wood, pellets or charcoal; gas or electric can only light the fire. Steak cook-offs under SCA allow any heat source.
- Raw meat inspection: at KCBS contests all meat starts raw and is inspected before it goes on.
- Garnish: KCBS allows only certain fresh greens; IBCA, MBN blind boxes and SCA steaks allow none.
- Turn-in timing: at KCBS contests an entry more than five minutes off its time scores zero.
Our sanctioning body comparison covers the differences.
Step 4: Register
Contact the organizer through the event's official link. Registration usually closes before the event, and popular contests fill up. Membership in the sanctioning body is usually only needed if you want points toward a team of the year or world championship.
Step 5: Practice your turn-in
Cook each category at home on the timeline you'll use at the contest, and practice building the box: for example, IBCA wants 8 brisket slices and 8 bone-in spare ribs, and an SCA steak goes in whole on a foil disk with no sauce.
Step 6: Pack a checklist
Cooker and fuel (wood, charcoal or pellets as the rules require), thermometers, knives and cutting boards, cooler with ice, foil, gloves, paper towels, folding table and canopy, fire extinguisher, cash, and the printed rules and schedule.
Step 7: On the day
Arrive early, check in, get your meat inspected if required, and set phone alarms for every turn-in time. Walk your entry to the turn-in table yourself and stay for awards: you'll learn a lot from the score sheets and from other teams.
FAQ
How much does it cost to enter a BBQ competition?
Entry fees vary by contest and are listed on each organizer's flyer. Steak and chili cook-offs are usually the cheapest way in.
Do I need a big trailer smoker?
No. Plenty of teams start on backyard cookers, as long as the cooker meets the contest's fire rules.
Can I compete alone?
Yes. KCBS, for example, lets the chief cook bring as many or as few assistants as they want.
Sources: KCBS 2026 Master Rules; IBCA Rules (rev. Jan 21, 2025); Steak Cookoff Association 2026 Rules; Memphis Barbecue Network Official Rules.
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