Judged a backyard rib cookoff in Waco and the winner used the cheapest offset smoker there
I was a judge at a small rib contest in Waco last month and the guy who took first place was cooking on a $200 Oklahoma Joe he bought used, while two teams with $3,000+ custom pits finished dead last. Everyone kept blaming their gear, but his ribs hit the bite test clean and theirs fell apart, which is a cook problem, not a smoker problem. What is the cheapest rig you have seen win a local contest?