When it comes to competition barbecue, every detail matters. The tenderness of a slice of brisket, the shine on a rack of ribs, the bite-through skin on chicken — each category has its own set of challenges, and in KCBS you don’t get the luxury of focusing on just one. You have to nail them all.
After winning Memphis in May, we earned an invitation to cook at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational — one of the most prestigious contests in the world. To prepare, I ran a full practice cook with all four KCBS categories: chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket. All of the meat for this cook came from Mister Brisket, ensuring top-quality cuts that matched the high standards of a competition run. The goal wasn’t just to cook good barbecue — it was to replicate turn-in conditions, dial in flavor profiles, test tenderness, and practice boxing so everything would be second nature come competition day.
KCBS Competition Practice Cook for The Jack
This blog is a deep dive into that practice run. It’s long because it has to be — there’s no shortcut to cooking world-class competition barbecue. Whether you’re a fellow competitor looking for strategy or a backyard cook curious about what goes into a championship turn-in, this walk-through will give you a front row seat to how we prepare for The Jack.
Smoker Setup for the Practice Cook
Every cook starts with fire. For this practice run, I fired up Royal Oak Charcoal paired with center-cut hickory wood splits. Hickory is bold, but it’s classic barbecue — it builds a smoke profile that carries across all four meats without overpowering.
- Brisket & Pork: Ran steady in the 300°F range on my Outlaw 2860 Porch Model, starting hotter (325°F) to puff up the meat before backing down for tenderness.
- Ribs: Same pit, rotated and stacked every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking across multiple racks.
- Chicken: Cooked separately on a Recteq Bullseye pellet grill running Royal Oak Charcoal Hickory Pellets at 325°F. Pellet cookers excel at steady, hot chicken cooks that crisp the skin while keeping the meat moist.
Moisture management was also key. I used water pans in my main cooker to balance humidity, and butter baths in pans for chicken and ribs to keep them juicy. A clean-burning fire, steady airflow, and careful rotation made sure each category cooked consistently.
KCBS Competition Chicken
Ingredients & Flavor Profile
- Brine: Springer Mountain Farms chicken thighs and wings soaked overnight in Heath Riles Chicken Injection & Brine mixed with low-sodium chicken stock.
- Rubs: First, Heath Riles Chicken Rub for savory notes, then Heath Riles Competition BBQ Rub for balance and color.
- Butter Bath: Cooked in Fowl Forms in half pans surrounded by Parkay Squeeze Butter.
- Sauce: Sauce mixture (1 Sweet BBQ Sauce, 1 Competition BBQ Sauce, ½ cup Apple Habanero Glaze) kept in a Yeti Rambler Bowl.
Cooking Process
After brining, thighs were shaped in fowl forms, seasoned, and set in butter baths. Cooked at 325°F until 205–206°F internal for bite-through skin. Each thigh was dipped in sauce, brushed evenly, and set back on the grill briefly to tack up.
Boxing
Six thighs and six wings were arranged neatly on a parsley bed. Meat tweezers helped align them, and the glossy finish made the box shine.
Results
Juicy thighs with true bite-through skin. Next time, I’d add a sprinkle of finishing salt before boxing.
KCBS Competition Ribs
Ingredients & Flavor Profile
- Ribs: Prairie Fresh ribs trimmed and prepped.
- Rubs: Heath Riles Garlic Jalapeño Rub + Heath Riles Competition BBQ Rub.
- Wrap: Heath Riles Honey Chipotle Rub + Butter Bath & Wrap Mixture (Heath Riles Butter Bath & Wrap + Apple Juice + Brown Sugar Honey Habanero Glaze + Apple Habanero Glaze)
- Finishing Sauce: Sauce mixture (1 Sweet BBQ Sauce, 1 Competition BBQ Sauce, ½ cup Apple Habanero Glaze)
Cooking Process
Seasoned ribs smoked at 300°F, wrapped after 2 hours in butter bath & wrap mixture. Once tender (confirmed with the push-pull test), they were unwrapped, sauced, and set back on the pit to finish.
Boxing
Cut with a Victorinox Fibrox Bread Knife, sauced on the cut edges, and arranged in neat rows. Bones were cleaned with Q-tips.
Results
Perfect KCBS bite — tender without falling apart. Flavor balanced sweet, heat, and tang.
KCBS Competition Pork
Ingredients & Flavor Profile
- Cut: Prairie Fresh pork collars.
- Injection: Heath Riles Pork Injection mixed with apple juice.
- Rubs: Heath Riles Garlic Jalapeño Rub + Heath Riles Competition BBQ Rub.
- Wrap: Butter Bath & Wrap + Maple Honey Habanero Glaze + Brown Sugar Honey Habanero Glaze + Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce
- Finishing Sauce: Sauce mixture (1 Sweet BBQ Sauce, 1 Competition BBQ Sauce, ½ cup Apple Habanero Glaze) blended with separated drippings.
Cooking Process
Injected collars were smoked at 300°F, wrapped at 165°F with butter bath & wrap mixture, and cooked until money muscle probed tender at 206°F. After resting in a Cambro, money muscle was sliced, tubes were chunked, and pulled pork was glazed.
Boxing
Money muscle slices went up front, sauced chunks and pulled pieces behind. Symmetry adjusted with tweezers.
Results
Great money muscle, though a few tubes weren’t as tender. More collars = more selection for a contest.
KCBS Competition Brisket
Ingredients & Flavor Profile
- Brisket: Imperial Wagyu brisket from Mr. Brisket.
- Injection: Heath Riles Beef Injection with beef consommé and Smartwater Alkaline.
- Rubs: Heath Riles Garlic Jalapeño Rub, Heath Riles Beef Rub, and Heath Riles Competition BBQ Rub.
- Finishing Glaze: Sauce mixture (1 Sweet BBQ Sauce, 1 Competition BBQ Sauce, ½ cup Apple Habanero Glaze) + au jus brushed lightly over slices.
Cooking Process
Cooked on the Outlaw 2860 Enclosed Porch Model at 325°F then 300°F. One brisket in a caddy on the microwave shelf, the other on the grate. Wrapped with injection liquid, cooked until probe tender at 212°F. Rested in Cambro, then sliced flat.
Boxing
8 to 10 even slices all adjusted with tweezers and cleaned with Q-tips.
Results
The caddy/microwave shelf brisket was puffier and more tender. Flavor and tenderness were right where I wanted them.
Wrapping It Up
Running a full KCBS practice cook isn’t just about cooking good food — it’s about replicating competition conditions, testing flavor profiles, and refining every detail until the process feels automatic. From managing fire to boxing with precision, each step is a chance to build consistency and confidence before heading to a big stage like The Jack.
This run gave me valuable takeaways: chicken proved the importance of skin texture, ribs reminded me to cook extra racks for selection, pork reinforced the value of variety, and brisket confirmed that tenderness rules above all else. Together, the four categories showed why practice makes the difference between a solid cook and a winning one.
Whether you’re chasing trophies or just cooking for family and friends, the lessons from competition barbecue still apply: cook to tenderness, layer your flavors, and present your food with pride. Do that, and you’ll always turn out something worth remembering.
Now, let’s take a look at the equipment and tools that made this practice run possible.
Equipment & Tools Used in This Practice Cook
Cooking four KCBS categories in one day takes more than good fire — it takes the right tools. Here’s the full list of gear and products mentioned in this practice cook:
Smokers & Fuel
- Royal Oak Charcoal (lump and briquets)
- Royal Oak Charcoal Hickory Pellets (used for chicken)
- Center-Cut Hickory Wood splits
- Recteq Bullseye (for chicken)
- Outlaw 2860 Porch Model (for ribs, pork, and brisket)
Thermometers & Fire Management
Pans, Racks & Forms
- Fowl Forms (chicken shaping pans)
- Foil pans for butter baths and resting meats
- Heavy-duty foil for wrapping
- Cambro (for holding/resting meats)
- Cooling racks (used for saucing chicken)
Cutting & Boxing Tools
- Victorinox Fibrox Pro 12-Inch Slicing Knife
- Electric knife (for brisket/ribs)
- Victorinox Fibrox 10.25-Inch Bread Knife (used for ribs in practice)
- Meat tweezers (for adjusting meat in boxes)
- Q-tips and napkins (for cleaning bones and sauce smears)
- Scissors and spatulas for garnish work
Brines, Injections, Rubs & Sauces
- Heath Riles Chicken Injection & Brine
- Heath Riles Beef Injection
- Heath Riles Pork Injection
- Heath Riles Garlic Jalapeño Rub
- Heath Riles Beef Rub
- Heath Riles Competition BBQ Rub
- Heath Riles Honey Chipotle Rub
- Heath Riles Butter Bath & Wrap
- Heath Riles Sweet BBQ Sauce
- Heath Riles Competition BBQ Sauce
- Heath Riles Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce
- Heath Riles Maple Honey Habanero Glaze
- Heath Riles Brown Sugar Honey Habanero Glaze
- Heath Riles Apple Habanero Glaze
Extras
- Yeti Ramler Bowl (for keeping sauce warm)
- Beef consommé & Smartwater (for brisket injection)
- Apple juice (for pork injection and spritzing)
