Official Rules

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!

The competition is Saturday November 7, 2026. Each team must arrive and check in between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. at Spaceship Earth Coffee located at 345 E. Choctaw Avenue in McAlester. At the cook’s meeting each team will receive two full racks of untrimmed pork spare ribs and approximately 24 separated chicken wings from 3F’s Farms in Checotah, Oklahoma. 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, People’s Choice and Grand Championship competition entries.

SCHEDULE

BIG V FEEDS RIBTOBERFEST COMPETITION

RULES AND FORMAT:

1. Turn in time will be between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. No ribs will be accepted after 5:00 pm.
2. The event will be judged by a panel of judges and will be in a “blind judging” format.
3. The head cook of a team must be 18 years old.
4. The Cookoff promoter/organizer will provide each team with two full racks of untrimmed pork spare ribs.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Should there be a tie after all tie breakers, the tying teams would split the combined financial payout.
9. Cooks may cook on any fire or heat source.
10. 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.
11. Ribs may not be removed from the team’s numbered cooking area except to turn in the entry.
12. Ribs may not be marked or branded in any way. (Grill marks are not considered marking)
13. No other pork ribs outside of those provided by Grillmarks may be present.

Reasons for Disqualification:

1. Turning in ribs for competition judging that are different than the official ribs provided during the cook’s meeting.
2. A rib entry turned in after the time window has expired.
3. Any foreign object found in the turn in box (this includes garnishes and separate sauces).

Judging Criteria:

1. 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 and 10. Appearance is purely subjective and is based on each individual judge’s preferences. All aspects of the appearance should be considered, including but not limited to uniformity, color and shape.
2. 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 and 10. Scores will be reduced for overcooking or undercooking equally.
3. Taste: Scored between 1 and 10. This is purely subjective and based on the seasoning choices and potentially the application of sauce by the cooks. Sauce is not required, and is neither encouraged nor 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 not overwhelm it.
4. Overall Impression: Based on the judge’s overall impression of the entry using the above criteria and any other personal criteria the judge subjectively chooses. Ribs will be scored 1.0 to 10.0 and judges are encouraged to use decimal points to avoid ties.

Scoring: The highest combined score across all four categories wins.
Tie Breakers: 1) Taste, 2) Texture, 3) Appearance
Winning Prize: $2,000.00

THE BANK, N.A. BEST BITE CHICKEN WING COMPETITION

RULES AND FORMAT:

1. Turn in time is from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm at Sage Salon.
2. The Best Bite Contest is optional and is included in the entry fee. No portion of the entry fee is refunded for teams that choose not to enter.
3. Each team will receive 24 separated chicken wings, divided into flats and drummies.
4. Each entry must cook the wings in any method they choose using any ingredients at their disposal. Teams can use sauces as a baste, a marinade, a dipping sauce for the judges, or all three. Sauces must be created by the entry team but need not be made on site.
5. Each team will turn in 6 wing pieces of their choice. If dipping sauce is used it should be divided into 6 portions, one for each judge.
6. The wing entries will not be blind. Each team must be prepared to present the entry to the judges, explain and describe the ingredients and cooking process, and answer questions.
7. Any method of plating is allowed and is up to the team as part of the presentation and appearance score.
8. Contestants will not be provided turn in boxes for wings.
9. Wing entries will be judged with regard to Taste, Appearance, Originality and Overall Impression.

Winning Prize: $1,500.00

SPANKY ROBINSON PEOPLE’S CHOICE COMPETITION

RULES AND FORMAT:

1. People’s Choice judging will be from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm at each team’s cook site.
2. The People’s Choice contest is optional and is included in the entry fee. No portion of the entry fee is refunded for teams that choose not to enter.
3. 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.
4. At the designated time, teams will prepare their food and make it available at their cooking station for the public judges.
5. 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.
6. 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 and prepared safely following all applicable food health and sanitation standards.

Winning Prize: $1,500.00

GRILLMARKS GRAND CHAMPION

SPONSORED BY ARVEST BANK

1. Teams are not required to enter the Grand Champion. To be eligible for the award, a team must compete and be judged in all three events: Ribs, Best Bite and People’s Choice. Teams that sit out an event are simply not eligible.
2. In each event, participating teams will be awarded Grand Champion points that correlate to their ranking in that event.
3. The Grand Champion is awarded to the team with the lowest point total.

Team A has the lower point total and beats Team B.

Tiebreaker: Highest rib score.
Winning Prize: $2,500.00