SCHEDULE

Friday, April 26, 2024

12:00 p.m. | Cooking Teams Move-in
6:00 p.m. | Cooks Meeting & Appetizers Ready
10:00 p.m. | Gates Close/Locked

Saturday, April 27, 2024

7:00 a.m. | Pancake Breakfast
8:00 a.m. | Cooking
11:00 a.m. | Beans Turn – in
11:30 a.m. | Chili Turn – in
12:00 p.m. | Other Meat Turn – in.
1:00 p.m. | Ribs Turn - in
2:00 p.m. | Brisket Turn - in
3:00 p.m. | Awards Announced
4:00 p.m. | Move Out & Clean Up

BBQ & Chili Cook-Off Rules

**IEC Follows the IBCA format and rule

1. COOKED ON SITE: All entries will be cooked on-site. The preparation and completion of all meats in the competition are within the confines of the cook-off site. IEC requires all competition meat to be sealed and unopened.  Meat will be inspected upon arrival. Raw meat must be stored in a cooler at a temperature of 40 degrees or below (a well-iced cooler will do this). No cooking in motorhomes is permitted
2. COOKED FROM SCRATCH: “Scratch” is defined as starting with raw meat (i.e., chili ground only, no cubed or strips). No marinating is allowed. Commercial chili powder is permissible, but complete commercial chili mixes (just add meat mixes that contain pre-measured spices) are not permitted.
3. PRE-TRIMMING: NO PRE-TRIMMING
4. SANITATION: Cooks are to prepare and cook in as sanitary a manner as possible. Cooking conditions are subject to inspection by the IEC Committee. Infractions identified by the judging committee shall be immediately corrected, or the cook will be subject to disqualification.
   If you do not have a sink on your rig, use the 3-pan cleaning method:
   •1st - hot wash w/soap
   •2nd - hot water rinse
   •3rd - sanitizing rinse (1 tsp bleach per gallon of water)
5. ENTRIES PER PIT: 1 entry per pit. (If a team has 3-4 people wanting to cook, that is fine, but you can only turn in 1 brisket, 1 ribs, 1 other meat, 1 bean, and 1 chili. If you each want to enter, then you must pay for a spot.
6. OPEN FIRES or BBQ PITS: N/A
7. CATEGORIES: Beans (no garnish); Chili (no garnish or beans); Other Meat (no garnish); Pork Spare-Ribs (no garnish); Beef Brisket (no garnish).
8. DOUBLE NUMBER SYSTEM: We use the secret, double-number system. This system assures a fair competition and requires that two tickets bearing the same number be utilized, one firmly attached to the top of the judging tray in a manner that hides the number and the other ticket easily removed by the Head Cook for retention after signing the Head Cook’s name in front of an IEC Judge. Winning numbers will not be revealed until time to announce each place in each category. At that time, the secret numbers attached to the lid of the tray will be removed, and announced. Only lids with tickets will be taken to the awards ceremony with final table numbers.
9. JUDGING TRAYS: We will use a Styrofoam tray with a hinged lid and without dividers or the best readily available judging container, which is approximately 9 inches square on the bottom half. A single sheet of aluminum foil should be supplied for each tray (i.e., Reynolds 710 foil sheets
   9”x10”). All judging containers shall be clean and free of any markings. Marked containers may be disqualified at the Head Judge’s discretion. Cooks are responsible for ensuring that the containers they receive remain clean and undamaged.
10. JUDGING TRAY CONTENTS: All entries to be judged must include enough meat and beans for ten judging samples. Judges will advise all cooks at the Cook’s meeting if there are changes to the exact quantities and cuts of meat placed in the judging.
11. COOKS MAY HAVE TO TASTE THEIR CHILI: At the direction of the head judge, chili cooks may be required to remove the lids from their chili cups and taste their chili before turning them in for judging.  If a contestant refuses, his or her chili will be disqualified.
    JUDGING WILL BE ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: AROMA, APPEARANCE, TASTE, TENDERNESS, AFTERTASTE (chili should leave a pleasant taste after swallowing)
    Brisket: Full slices recommended 1/4′′to 3/8” thick. Blocking brisket ends is allowed. The fat cap may be trimmed or cut away before the slices are placed into the tray.
    Pork Spare Ribs: Individually cut ribs (bone-in) (St. Louis Cut acceptable). Ribs must be placed in the tray TOP side up lying parallel to the hinge.
    Other Meat: Fill the tray
    Chili: Fill Cup to Line (ground or chili ground beef only) (no beans or other fillers-beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients are permitted). Beans: Fill Cup to Line (nothing bigger than a bean inside the cup)
12. TURN IN TIMES: Once this time is set and/or announced at the Head Cooks meeting, no change will be made. A turn-in window of ten (10) minutes before the set turn-in time will be recognized. Judging trays received after that time will not be accepted for judging. Ten minutes and one second is considered after the set turn-in time.
13. TERMS FOR DISQUALIFICATION: After the tray has been turned in, any tray found to be in violation of the IBCA rules will be disqualified at the discretion of the Head Judge. Disqualified tray numbers will be called out immediately following the category announcements.
14. JUDGES: IEC Fort Worth/Tarrant County Chapter will provide the Judges.
15. JUDGING QUANTITY: Judges will assign a score from 1 to 10 for each tray. A maximum of twenty (20) trays or containers should be assigned to each judging table except for the final table, with a maximum of 24 trays or containers. Judges should not be required to sample and judge more than this number during any event. It is recommended that a predetermined number of top results from each preliminary judging table be sent on to the subsequent levels of judging.
16. ANNOUNCING WINNERS: The format for announcing winners will be as follows: Beans, Chili, Other meat, Pork Spare Ribs, and Brisket.
17. PRIZES: We will have trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each of the following categories: Ribs, Brisket, Other Meat, Chili, and Beans. Grand Champion and Reserve Champion Awards are the cumulative totals of all meat scores.
18. TEAMS MUST: Clean up their own space; prepare a Friday evening appetizer for other teams to sample. Provide food for their own team on Friday and Saturday and provide their own tents/shade. Teams must provide 2 cases of water and two cases of sodas. Teams must keep a fire extinguisher at their cooking spot at all times.
19. ALCOHOL: No alcohol will be served. Teams can bring their own alcohol but are responsible for anyone to whom they provide alcohol.
20. TEAM COOKS MEETING: Teams will be present at 6:00 p.m. Friday for a mandatory team meeting.
21. ADDRESS: United Rentals, 5930 E Loop 820 S, Fort Worth, TX 76119
22. MOVE OUT: Move out is Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. All equipment and vehicles must be removed from the property by 6:00 p.m.