Ribtoberfest

2024 Grillmarks Ribtoberfest Competition and Best Bite Cook-Off

The competition is Saturday November 2, 2024. Each team must arrive and check in between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 am at Spaceship Earth Coffee located at 345 E. Choctaw Avenue in McAlester. Upon arrival each team will receive two full racks of untrimmed pork spare ribs, 10-12 ounces of fresh roasted and ground Spaceship Earth coffee and 4 "It's a Lager!' beers from Prairie Artisan Ales. Teams will also receive two t-shirts and/or cooking aprons, foil pans and gloves. At check in each team will be instructed to return for a cook's meeting that must be attended by one representative from each team to receive the competition boxes and procedures for turning in entries. Bring additional ice, chairs, canopy for shade and all cooking essentials. Cooking will be done in the street in front of buildings.

Entry Fee: $155.00
Entry Fee includes Ribs, Best Bite and People's Choice competition entries.

Ribs rules and format:
Turn in time will be between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm. No ribs will be accepted after 6:00 pm.
The event will be judged by a panel of judges and will be in a "blind judging' format.
The head cook of a team must be 18 years old.
The Cookoff promoter/organizer will provide each team with two full racks of untrimmed pork spare ribs.
Each team will receive a black Styrofoam container that will be used to turn in ribs for judging. The box will have two envelopes taped to it which contain your team number. Do not open or remove the envelopes.
Each team will place five ribs, separated, in the box to be judged. Sauce can be applied to the ribs. Side sauces or garnishes are not allowed.
Do not remove the envelopes from your box. After you turn in your box you will be given one of the envelopes. This contains your number. Do not open the envelope until you are instructed to do so at the results ceremony.
Teams are subject to random ice chest inspections by any contest organizer.
Should there be a tie after all tie breakers, the tying teams would split the combined financial payout.
Cooks may cook on any fire or heat source.
Each team needs to cook on a separate fire source with the following exception: Trailers that have multiple grills or large grills that are totally divided are allowed as long as each cooker has their own fire source.
NO other pork ribs should be present at the cook site other than the ones given to the teams.
Ribs may not be removed from the teams numbered cooking area except to turn in the entry.
Ribs may not be marked or branded in any way. (Grill marks are not considered marking)
Reasons for Disqualification:
Ribs other than the ones provided for the event found in team area
A rib entry turned in after the time window has expired
Any foreign object found in the turn in box (this includes garnishes and separate sauces)
Judging Criteria

Ribs will be judged with the following criteria:
Appearance - Each judge should have ample opportunity to view the ribs before they are removed from the box. Each entry will be scored between 1-10. Appearance is purely subjective and is based on each individual judges' preferences. All aspects of the appearance should be considered including but not limited to uniformity, color and shape.
Texture/Doneness - Ribs should be tender, easy and pleasant to chew but should not fall off the bone. Ribs should hold onto the bone after a bite is taken. Each rib entry will be scored between 1 – 10. Scores will be reduced for overcooking or undercooking equally.
Taste - Taste should be judged between 1– 10. This is purely subjective and based on the seasoning choices and potentially the application of sauce by the cooks. Sauce is not required nor encourage or discouraged. To use sauce or not is totally up to the cook. Scores will not be reduced or increased simply by the presence of sauce. Any sauce that is used should complement the meat and no overwhelm it.
Overall Impression - The final category is based on the judge's overall impression of the entry using the above criteria and any other personal criteria that the judge subjectively chooses. Ribs will be scored 1.0-10.0 and the judges will be encouraged to use decimal points to avoid ties.
–The order of tie breakers for ribs is: 1) Taste 2) Texture 3) Appearance
–Total score from each category wins

Winning Prize: $2,000.00

Cook-off competition rules and format:
Turn in time is from 1:00-2:00 pm at Miller Glass
The Best Bite Contest is included in the entry fee.
Each team will receive 10-12 ounces of fresh roasted and ground coffee from Spaceship Earth and 4 lager beers from Prairie Artisan Ales.
Each entry must prepare a recipe with five individual portions using one or both of the Best Bite ingredients (Beer or Coffee) in any manner they choose.
Each dish must prominently feature one or both of the provided ingredients (beer or coffee) in a way that enhances the overall flavor profile. The use of the ingredient(s) should be evident and play a significant role in the taste and concept of the dish. Beyond this, there are no limitations to what type of dish may be prepared: dishes can be sweet and/or savory and can include any proteins, vegetables, or other ingredients or seasonings at the team's discretion.
Each Best Bite entry must be prepared at the cook site and must be made from scratch by the competing team.
The Best Bite entries will not be blind and each team must be prepared to present the entry to the judges, explain and describe the ingredients and cooking process and answer questions.
Any method of preparation is allowed as long as it is prepared on site.
Contestants may serve their entries in any manner they choose and will not be provided turn in boxes.
Best Bite entries will be with regard to Appearance, Taste, Originality and Overall Impression.
Winning Prize: $1,250.00

People's choice competition
Rules and format

People's Choice judging will be from 3:00 to 4:00 pm at each team's cook site
The People's Choice contest is optional and no additional entry fee is required.
Each team will be given a People's Choice placard with their team name and QR code that must be displayed at the cooking station to participate in the People's Choice contest
At the designated time teams will prepare their food and make it available at their cooking station for the public judges.
Members of the public will sample food items from any teams they choose and will cast their vote with the QR code given to that team.
Teams can prepare as many different food items as they want and any category of food is acceptable as long as it was made by the participating team at their cook station, is prepared safely by following all applicable food health and sanitation standards.
Winning Prize: $750.00