Breakup Shakeup 2025 4/26/25

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Backyard BBQ Competition 4/26/25
all grills and smokers welcome.
categories are chicken, ribs, people's choice and chili
kids pork chop competition sponsored by Wild Smoke BBQ and Mr Prime Beef
email breakupshakeup49@gmail.com to sign up

Bleeding Heart Brewery 562 S. Denali st., Palmer, AK, United States, Alaska

6th Annual Breakup Shakeup 2025 Backyard Competition Rules

The following rules, regulations and judging procedures will be used at Breakup Shakeup and other

Backyard BBQ Competitions.

1) The decision and interpretations of Breakup Shakeup, Regulations, and Judging Procedures

(hereafter known as backyard rules) are at the discretion of the Competition Representatives. Their

decisions and interpretations are final to the extent consistent with the rules.

2) Each team shall consist of a head cook and up to five assistants. Head cooks and/or assistant

cooks may only cook for their designated team at the Competition they are attending.

3) Each team will be assigned a cooking space. Pits, cookers, props, tents or any other equipment

(including generators) shall not exceed the boundaries of the team’s assigned cooking space. All

seasoning and cooking of product shall be done within the assigned cooking space with the exception

of chili. Chili seasoning, preparation, and initial cooking may occur away from the competition.

4) Contestants shall provide all needed equipment, supplies and electricity, except as arranged for in

advance. Contestants must adhere to all electrical, fire and other codes. Each team shall maintain a

working fire extinguisher near all cooking devices.

5) It is the responsibility of the contestant to see that the team’s assigned cooking space is clean and

orderly following the contest. All fires must be put out, all hot coals and ash must be placed in the

appropriate coal bin, and all equipment must be removed from the site. It is imperative that clean-up

be thorough. Any team’s assigned cooking space left in disarray or with loose trash, other than at

trash containers, may disqualify the team from future participation at Breakup Shakeup events.

6) Fires shall be of wood, wood pellets, charcoal, or gas. Electric heat sources are also permitted.

Electrical accessories such as spits, augers, or forced draft are permitted. No open pits or holes are

permitted. Fires shall not be built on the ground. All generators must operate at below 60 dBA per

City of Palmer.

7) All competition meats and chili shall be inspected by the Official Meat Inspector during the times

established by the Competition organizer but not prior to the day before judging. Once the

competition meat or chili has been inspected, it shall not leave the Competition site. Cooking or

reheating of chili shall not begin until the competition meat has been inspected by the Official Meat

Inspector. All competition meat shall start out raw (ribs and chicken). Competition meat may be

pre-trimmed. No pre-seasoned meat is allowed. Competition meat not meeting these qualifications

shall be disqualified; given one (1) on all criteria by all six judges. People’s Choice items and chili will

not be inspected for anything except proper food safe temperatures.

8) No fryers over open flame allowed. Only electric fryers are permitted.

9) Meat shall not be sculptured, branded or presented in a way to make it identifiable. Rosettes of

meat slices are not allowed. Tooth picks, or any other nonfood foreign object are not allowed.

Violations of this rule will be scored a one (1) on all criteria by all six judges.

10) The four Break Up Shake Up Backyard BBQ Meat Categories:

CHICKEN: Chicken includes Cornish Game Hen and Kosher Chicken.PORK RIBS: Only Baby Back, Spare, or St. Louis styles are allowed and shall include the bone.

Country style ribs are prohibited.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE is whatever you decide to bring. It can be made offsite. Please bring at least 100

servings.

CHILI: Can be any type of chili as long as it is homemade such as traditional red chili, homestyle chili,

chili verde, etc. Beans are allowed but not necessary. Event organizers do not support the use of

canned chili.

11) Judging is Saturday afternoon. The three (3) Backyard BBQ categories will be judged in the

following order:

Chicken 1:00pm

Chili 2:00pm

Kid’s Pork Chop 2:30P

Pork Ribs 3:00pm

People’s Choice 4:00pm

Turn-in times will be confirmed at the Cooks Meeting. An entry will be judged only at the time

established by the Competition organizer. The allowable turn-in time will be five (5) minutes before to

five (5) minutes after the posted time. A late turn-in time will receive a one (1) in all criteria. People's

Choice will be judged at each cook site and voting will be held by ticketholders at the information tent.

People’s Choice will be judged by the people that have paid for a punch card.

12) Garnish is optional and will not reflect on your score. Aluminum foil will be allowed but not

provided to protect the bottom of turn in box.

13) Sauce, if used, shall be applied directly to the meat and not be pooled or puddled in the container.

No side sauce containers will be permitted in the turn-in container.

14) Entries will be submitted in an approved numbered container, provided by the Competition

organizer. The number must be on top of the container at turn-in. One cook from each team is

required to attend the Cooks Meeting at 11:00 am and will receive their containers at the

Cooks Meeting.

15) The container shall not be marked in any way so as to make the container unique or identifiable.

Toothpicks, skewers, foreign material, and/or stuffing are prohibited in the container. Marked entries

or containers with the above-listed material will receive a one (1) in all criteria from all Judges. If a

container becomes damaged prior to turn in competitors should switch it out with a new container

from the Head Judge.

16) Each contestant must submit at least six (6) portions of meat in an approved container. Chicken

may be submitted chopped, pulled, sliced, or diced as the cook sees fit, as long as there is enough

for six (6) judges. Ribs shall be turned in bone-in. Judges may not cut, slice or shake apart to

separate pieces. If there is not enough meat for each judge to sample, the shorted judge(s) will score

a one (1) on all criteria, and the judges having samples will change the appearance score to one (1).Each contestant participating in chili must submit at least 12 ounces (6 portions of 2 oz each) in an

approved container. Judges will take samples from the container at the times of judging.

17) The following cleanliness and safety rules will apply:

a. No use of any tobacco products while handling meat.

b. Cleanliness of the cook, assistant cooks, cooking device(s) and the team’s assigned cooking space

is required.

c. Shirt and shoes are required to be worn at all times during the event.

d. Sanitizing of work area should be implemented with the use of a bleach/water rinse (one cap/gallon

of water). Each contestant will provide a separate container for washing, rinsing and sanitizing of

utensils.

e. First aid is not required to be provided by the contest, except at the election of the Competition

organizer.

f. Prior to cooking all food must be maintained at 40˚ F or less.

g. After cooking, all meat: Must be held at 140˚ F or above OR Cooked meat shall be cooled as

follows: Within 2 hours from 140˚ F to 70˚ F and Within 4 hours from 70˚ F to 41˚ F or less

h. All food that is cooked, properly cooled, and later reheated for hot holding and serving shall be

reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 165˚ F for a minimum of 15

seconds.

18) There will be no refund of entry fees for any reason, except at the election of the Competition

organizer.

CAUSES FOR DISQUALIFICATION & EVICTION of a team, its members, and/or guests:

A cook team is responsible jointly and severally for its head cook, its team members, and its guests.

a. Public intoxication with a disturbance.

b. Serving alcoholic beverages to the general public and/or minors.

c. Use of illegal controlled substances.

d. Foul, abusive, or unacceptable language or any language causing a disturbance.

e. Excessive noise, including but not limited to that generated from speakers, such as radios, CD

players, TVs, public address systems or amplifying equipment, will not be allowed during the event.

f. Fighting and/or disorderly conduct.

g. Theft, dishonesty, cheating, use of prohibited meats, or any act involving moral turpitude.

h. Violation of any of Breakup Shakeup Rules above, save and except #9-13.Excessive or continued complaints from teams on any of the above rule infractions shall be

considered grounds for immediate disqualification from the Competition by Competition

Representatives and Organizers.

JUDGING PROCEDURES FOR BACKYARD COMPETITION MEAT AND CHILI

Other than People's Choice. Entries will be submitted in an approved numbered container provided

by the Competition organizer. The container may be re-numbered by the Competition Rep or

authorized personnel before being presented to the judges.

Judging will be done by a team of up to 6 persons who are at least 16 years of age.

Only Judges, Competition Reps and necessary support staff are allowed in the judging area during

the judging process. No other activities are permitted in the judging area, during the judging process.

Each judge will score the sample in front of them for the appearance of the meat. The turn-in

container will then be passed around the table and each judge will place a sample from the container

on the judging mat. The judge will then score the entry for taste and tenderness. Once the entry is

completely scored by each judge and the scoring sheets collected the judging panel will move on to

the next entry.

The scoring for Appearance, Tenderness, and Taste is from 9 to 6, all whole numbers between six

and nine may be used to score an entry. 9 excellent, 8 very good, 7 good, 6 average. A score of one

(1) is a disqualification and requires approval by a Competition Rep.

The scoring for the Bonus is from .1 to .9. The Bonus score is based on the overall impression the

entry made on the judge.

Grounds for disqualification: All judges will give a one (1) in appearance for less than 6 samples of

meat or chili. All judges will give a one (1) in all criteria for sculptured meat, a marked turn-in

container, foreign object in the container, incorrect meat.

All judges not receiving a sample will give a one (1) in all criteria.

JUDGING PROCEDURES FOR PEOPLE’S CHOICE

100 tickets will be sold for People’s Choice. Portion size should be at least 2 oz. 100 2 oz cups will be

provided to each competitor who requests them.

People Choice shall be offered to judges at the prescribed times reviewed in the cook’s meeting.

People’s Choice results will be based on which competitor receives the largest amount of tickets with

the maximum possible being 100 and the least amount possible being 0.

TALLYING OF RESULTS

Results will be tallied. Copies of scored judging sheets and People’s Choice tickets (if desired) will be

given to each competitor for their entries upon completion of the competition.

If there is a tie in one of the categories, it will be broken as follows: The scores will be compared for

the highest cumulative scores in taste, then tenderness, appearance, then bonus. If still tied, then a

coin toss will be used.Total points per entry will determine the champion within each category. Cumulative points for the

three (3) Backyard categories of Chicken, Pork Ribs, and People’s Choice will determine the Grand

Champion and Reserve Grand Champion, or at the election of this organizer. NOTE: CHILI AND

KID’s PORK CHOPS ARE NOT PART OF THE SCORE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE NAMING

OF THE BREAKUP SHAKEUP GRAND CHAMPION.

The Official Competition Representatives for The Breakup Shakeup Competition will preside over the

Judging for the Backyard BBQ competition.

CLARIFICATION: If the product is turned in and is disqualified, it receives a one (1) in all criteria. If

the team does not turn in a product or is disqualified and not allowed to turn in, that team’s category is

not judged and receives no score. If a product is turned in and then disqualified for a late turn in, no

bone in ribs, etc., it is not judged and will receive a one (1) in all criteria.

Rules, regulations, and judging is designed to be fair and equal to all cookers. Integrity of the

Contestants, Judges, Competition Representatives, and Organizers is es