4th Annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival

A Brisket State of Mind: The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival

Imagine having 25 opportunities – or more – to taste the best kosher brisket you ever had? Then, think about ribs and chicken – and beans, too. All of it kosher. You won’t need to dream about it anymore at the 4th Annual Atlanta Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival, Sept. 25 at Dunwoody’s Brook Run Park, presented by the Atlanta lodges of the Hebrew Order of David. More than 5,000 visitors are expected again this year to sample the BBQ from 25 teams – made up of professionals and enthusiasts, policemen and firemen, and Jewish camps – from as far away as New York.

Kosher barbeque competitions are growing in popularity in North America as Jewish communities embrace both the preparation and taste of barbeque that follow the rules of kashrut. Teams will be judged on their preparation of ribs, brisket, chicken and beans. Contestants don’t have to be Jewish to enter, but they do need to follow the rules of kashrut under the supervision of local authorities. Atlanta is part of the National Kosher BBQ Circuit that includes Birmingham, Kansas City, Memphis, Charlotte, Chicago, San Antonio, Dallas, and two in the New York City – with Toronto joining next year. All entries will be judged according to Kansas City Barbeque Competition Rules.

Contestants have several hurdles in a kosher barbeque. For example, kosher meat is saltier than non-kosher meat due to the process of its “koshering.” Contestants need to take this saltiness into account when preparing the sauces and rubs that they use to season their meat. Also, the laws of kashrut prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy products. Another twist for a kosher BBQ competition is the timing. Because of the Jewish Sabbath, contestants need to prepare their entries under rabbinic supervision – provided by the Atlanta Kashrut Commission for this event – on the Thursday preceding the competition. The meat is then locked in a refrigerated truck and delivered to the teams after the Sabbath. Smokers are lit around midnight and cooking takes place throughout the night.

When the sun comes up and 11 a.m. rolls around, you’ll just be interested in how it all tastes. You’ll need tasting tickets that you can buy online or at the event. They cost $1 apiece, and you must redeem a ticket for each taste of brisket, ribs, chicken or beans. Tastings for each item in the competition start as soon as that item is submitted to the judges, so pay attention to the activity. When you start to see representatives from each team scurrying to the table outside the judges’ tent, you’ll know that the sampling is underway.

If the tastings don’t fill you up – well, they’re not designed to replace lunch – food and drinks will be available for purchase. You’ll need tickets for purchases from our food vendors, including our HOD Pitmaster and Big Green Egg. You can also cart off a brand new Big Green Egg, if you hold the winning raffle ticket. Big Green Egg, one of the competition sponsors, will have a demo area set up and will be offering tastes just like the competing teams for a $1 tasting ticket. The Big Green Eggs at the competition will all be certified as kosher before they are used and a number of them will be available for sale at a reduced price at the close of the event.

Kids will probably want lunch or a snack after working up an appetite in the Sunburst Bin Cleaning Kids Zone. Sunburst, which provides environmentally friendly trash bin cleaning, will also clean all the grills after the event. Kids activities are also sponsored by Macaroni Kid, which will feature activities with Circus Camp, face painting, inflatables brought to you by College Hunks Hauling Junk, and activities from the B’nai Torah Preschool.

You can enjoy your food and your breaks with performances by Hello, Goodbye, Peace and other artists brought you by the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival.

With all the food and fun, it’s important to remember that The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Competition is also a community-wide fund-raiser the HOD lodges. Proceeds from the event will be donated by the HOD lodges to Atlanta-area charities: The Weinstein Hospice, Gift of Life, I Care Atlanta, Cobb County Police K-9 Unit, and JScreen.

You can stay up to date on all the BBQ happenings by visiting – and contributing to – our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.