Sliced or Chopped Brisket for Competition

I've been talking to some competitors and judges and I'm trying to figure out if I want to go with sliced or chopped brisket for my first competition next weekend at Smoke in the spring? After hearing about how the judges judge brisket, wouldn't it be better to do chopped because it can be sliced much thinner, which would make it harder to test for over doneness? I asked one recently trained KCBS judge about chopped and he said that he would have given me a 9 based on the picture of the chopped brisket I posted last weekend from a small catering gig I did. The 9 would be on appearence only, so obviously no one knows where the taste would score, but based on what the lady and her guests said about it, it would probably be in the 7 or 8's.

So the questions is sliced or chopped? What will get a better score?

Puppyboy said:

As a cook, I am planning on turning in slices with some chopped in a corner because judges might not be use to seeing Chopped/Pulled brisket. As everyone knows, people are afraid of what they do not know.

As a judge, appearance could get a good score. An expierenced judge should be able to taste and tell the difference between overcooked and cooked spot on.

Click to expand...

Ya, your all probably right. I guess being a novice competitor I should not be looking for shortcuts but instead be looking for way's to perfect the standard, and in this case it's sliced not chopped. I do have to admit that the sliced brisket presentation, like the picure above, to me, is a lot more appealing than chopped. Guess I better get that 25 year old electric knife out and make sure it's sharp and still works.

Thanks for advise Brothers...