BLUE GOOSE 2026 BBQ COOK-OFF

1. CONTESTANT 

A contestant is any individual or group that will prepare and cook an entry for the purpose of being judged. Contestant and all team members must be amateur competitors. The contest organizer may not cook in any category in this contest. Contestant will be  referred to as “Griller.” Contestants will receive five (5) entry tickets to the event.

2. INTERPRETATION OF RULES

The interpretation of the rules and regulations are those of the contest organizer, and his or her decisions are final.

3. REFUND OF ENTRY FEES 

There will be no refund of entry fees. This is a rain, snow or shine event.

4. EQUIPMENT 

Each Griller will supply all of the equipment necessary for the preparation and cooking of their entry including a cooker. COOKER can ONLY be one of the following: Charcoal, wood, pellets (NO open/pit fires). The health and safety of contestants and event goers should be a primary consideration when selecting appropriate cooking fuels.

5. CONTESTANT'S SITE 

Each Griller is required to keep all equipment including cooker, canopy, etc. contained within the assigned space.

6. CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION 

All Grillers are expected to maintain their cook sites in an orderly and clean manner and to use good sanitary practices during the preparation, cooking and judging process. The use of sanitary gloves is required at all times while handling food. Failure to use sanitary gloves may result in disqualification. Grillers are responsible for cleanup of their site once the competition has ended. All food safety rules and regulations must be adhered to at all times. A common sanitation/water supply will be provided for all teams use during this event. Organizer will provide means of discarding used coals/ash.

7. JUDGING 

Entries will be submitted in the containers supplied by event organizer at check-in by the Griller. NO GARNISH. Only the entry to be judged is allowed in the container. Each entry will be judged on APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR, TENDERNESS, and TEXTURE. Meat may be sauced or un-sauced. Griller must submit for judging a minimum of 6 separate rib portions and 6 separate chicken thighs in containers supplied to Griller at check-in

8. SCORING 

Each entry will be scored by 4-6 judges in the areas of APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR, TENDERNESS and TEXTURE. Scoring ranges from a low of 2 to a high of 9 in increments of 1 point for each category. Any entry that is disqualified as per SECTION 9 will receive a score of zero for all four categories from all judges at the table.

9. DISQUALIFICATION

An entry may be disqualified by the event organizer only. An entry may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

- There is anything foreign other than meat/sauce in container submitted for judging.

- The entry is turned in after the officially designated time.

- There is not a minimum of 6 separate and identifiable portions entered.

- There is evidence of blood such that the meat is uncooked.

- Gloves are not used while handling food products.

- Not cooking the meat that was inspected.

10. JUDGING PROCEDURE

The event organizer brings all approved containers to the table. He/She announces the number of containers to be judged, opens each container and checks for rule violations as stated above. The containers will be passed around to the judges for sampling. The judge will then score each entry for APPEARANCE, TASTE/FLAVOR, TENDERNESS and TEXTURE. The event organizer makes sure that all scores for the containers are recorded in the proper place. This procedure is repeated for all containers. After each container has been scored the event organizer will return the container(s) to the designated area. The event organizer will then collect the judging slips.

11. WINNERS

Grillers will have the opportunity to win First (1st), Second (2nd), or Third (3rd) Place. THE GRAND CHAMPION Title will be the Griller with the most total points and be declared the 1st Place Trophy Winner. THE RESERVE GRAND Title will be the Griller with the next highest total points and will be declared the 2nd Place Winner. The Griller with the third highest total points and will be declared the 3rd Place Winner. In the event of a tie, the next lowest rank will be omitted and the tied Grillers will be awarded the same rank. Prize monies will also be awarded. For Ribs: $400/$200/$100. For Chicken: $150/$75/$50. Contestants will participate in each category, may win either category, both categories, or no categories.

12. TIMING

Set up will start at 5:00 am. Trailers and or Grills maybe dropped off only (no prep) Friday afternoon.

Ribs & Chicken Thighs Ready for Pick Up: 8am (2 racks of St. Louis Ribs/6 thighs)per contestant. Chicken to be presented to judges at 12. Ribs Presented for Judging: 2pm

13. TELEVISED EVENT

This event will be televised by DestinationGo.