Competition BBQ the struggle is real!

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SimplySwineSmokers

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Hey all, this is my fist post, we have been competing now for three years primarily in Mississippi and do around four or five a year. We have had good success in butts or in ribs but chicken and brisket not so much. My question is all that I read judges say we need to taste the meat and I get that, but with ribs all the turn in boxes I see everything looks really glossed up how can you taste the rib in that. One comp turned in a traditional style rib light sauce decent texture scored middle out of 65. Same comp following year candied them up receieved the same score same place 33 out of 65. So what gives, brisket we started out texas style we knew no other way that don't work in KCBS so off to the drawing board, I have learned a lot from reading past post from this site and I thank you all for that. Chicken I'm clueless. I guess what I'm wanting is from a judges perspective in reality what is good comp Q. Sorry for the long venting
 
The advice I have is to evaluate what you have been getting for tenderness scores and hone in on that. Rubs, sauces and "flavor profiles" mean nothing until you are consistently nailing tenderness on all 4 categories.
 
Take a judging class (as stated above). I've been looking for one in this area for 2 years and none have come up so far

Also look for a cooking class to take. Memphis BBQ Supply here in Memphis has some classes that are mostly backyard but do get into competition stuff sometimes

BBQ Live is a great class from what I've been told. Victory Lane has classes around here too

As was already mentioned, nail the tenderness and the rest will fall into place (thanks Fatback Joe :wink:)

Message me if you have any specific questions
 
Lets see, 3 yrs at 4-5 comps a year, correct? Now how many comps have you taken the time to visit Friday evening with some of the cooks that regularly get calls? How many drinks have you shared with them? How many times have you asked them to taste your turn in or if they minded if you tasted theirs?

Folks, sometimes you have to make an effort to ask...the good teams tend to share enough to help you get on the correct path.
 
As a judge, I would note that many of the flavor profiles are similar.
Be sure you have no flavor that may be judged as "off". That may be a perfectly appropriate flavor but may cross over some invisible line from different to off.
Also , you would be surprised how many entries are seen as too salty.
Another line that can be easily crossed.
As has been said above.. Take a judging class even if you have to travel.
I know some areas don't have many if any every year.
From what I have seen about half of the people in the judging classes are competitors looking for a better understanding of judging.
 
From a judge's perspective - what I'm looking for in an entry is whatever is in the box in front of me. I'm not "looking" for anything, I'll judge your entry on its own merits. That being said, I will give a higher score for an entry that makes me want to keep the whole box to myself and not pass it along (Appearance); for an entry that has a pleasant balanced flavor (meat, rubs, sauce, smoke, heat, etc.); and for an entry that is properly cooked (tenderness).

As a Table Captain I see judges that like a sauce that totally masks the flavor of the meat (Blues Hog for instance) and others that want the meat flavor to shine through.
As many others have said on this and other forums - when it comes to judging it is a crapshoot. Until KCBS comes out with a better system of scoring and/or judging and/or tracking and retraining judges and/or placing judges at tables and/or a variety of other things to level the playing field it will remain a crapshoot.

Nail the tenderness, make it look appealing (already have done that apparently), and hope you land on a table where the judges like whatever flavors used on your entries.
 
Thank you all for the comments, we've had several calls with pork and y'all are very correct on the tenderness because I have had to turn some in that were dry and the result showed, I guess I struggle with the tenderness of a chicken thigh and getting it to maintain moisture. I guess we will listen to the instruction of others. We have tried to speak to other teams a very few are willing to help, a couple have been very helpful and I remember them well, thanks again
 
tduffy said:
The advice I have is to evaluate what you have been getting for tenderness scores and hone in on that. Rubs, sauces and "flavor profiles" mean nothing until you are consistently nailing tenderness on all 4 categories.
Click to expand...

I mean, flavors matter more than "nothing". I also agree knocks on tenderness also knocks flavor, but saying flavors don't matter at all before nailing tenderness is extremely misleading :loco:.
 
Finding balanced flavors will be a huge part of fixing these two meats, but figuring out how to consistently hit tenderness will be a bigger impact because tenderness directly impacts flavor.

In terms of flavor for these meats, both meats can be a bit more regional on what judges appreciate and do not, so I agree with the suggestion of becoming a certified judge and judging a few contests in your area. You will learn what people are turning in as well as what is good tenderness and flavor. Since you don't cook that often, a high dollar class may not be in your best interest, but if you're looking at a class, there are a few great suggestions in your region and into the eastern side of the SE.
 
Chicken..this will get you on the path to enlightenment.

http://blog.gatewaydrumsmokers.com/basted-competition-thighs/

What are you getting nailed in? Taste or Tenderness? As mentioned they do go hand in hand, have a nice balanced flavor and nail your tenderness. Practice, then practice some more. Tired of chicken? Practice some more.. And drink more whiskey.... :thumb:
 
Taking the judging class is a very good idea, but I think you might want to look into a cooking class as well. Mark Lambert (Sweet Swine o' Mine) has a class coming up here in Memphis July 29.

Otherwise, I would repeat what folks above had said. Focus on tenderness. Nail tenderness. Tenderness just may, just might, be very important.
 
SimplySwineSmokers said:
Thank you all for the comments, we've had several calls with pork and y'all are very correct on the tenderness because I have had to turn some in that were dry and the result showed, I guess I struggle with the tenderness of a chicken thigh and getting it to maintain moisture. I guess we will listen to the instruction of others. We have tried to speak to other teams a very few are willing to help, a couple have been very helpful and I remember them well, thanks again
Click to expand...

Chicken dry???..... ask your butcher! :grin:
 
I know this gets said all of the time, but seriously look into taking a competition class. Plan your competition season out, and skip one comp. Figure 200 entry fee 300 on meat... you've just paid for your class. You'll learn way more in a 1 or 2 day class than you will at 20 competitions turning in 20th place entries.
 
bpeyton89 said:
I know this gets said all of the time, but seriously look into taking a competition class. Plan your competition season out, and skip one comp. Figure 200 entry fee 300 on meat... you've just paid for your class. You'll learn way more in a 1 or 2 day class than you will at 20 competitions turning in 20th place entries.
Click to expand...

Agreed! Good classes are very pricey - plus airfare, lodging, car rental. But compared to your costs for entry fees, fuel, meats, time off work, etc, it's not that bad.

Take as many classes as you can! The first couple will be eye openers. Continue taking classes, and you broaden the depth of contingency tricks up your sleeve.
 
I for sure agree that a class will really open your eyes! I've down one so far and it really helped me peak behind the curtain.

for those of you that have done several......what classes did you enjoy and would recommend?
 
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