The Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) was founded in 2013 by two friends, Brett Gallaway and Ken Phillips. At the time there were only 9 organized steak cookoffs in the United States and all operated with different rules. After winning most of those competition but seeing discrepancies in how the events were run and judged, they created the SCA.

The SCA’s primary focus is ribeye steak competitions, but it also conducts ancillary categories to challenge cooks and help involve the entire family. Its goal is to create a fun and relaxed environment while overseeing a fairly run competition to help ensure the best cook that day wins. In 2014, SCA sanctioned 19 events and by the end of 2015, they sanctioned 47 events, including cookoffs in both Europe and Canada. In 2017, SCA sanctioned 116 different events in a total of seven different countries and today they sanction over 450 competitions worldwide.

What makes the competition so much fun is the fact that you can use the exact same recipe and technique you use at home to win in a steak cookoff. No special equipment or rubs are needed. As an SCA Contest Rep I have seen cooks use sous vide, cook on a weber kettle, use pellet grills, and even just put a grill grate over a charcoal chimney and do quite well in the contest.