im confused about how comps work

Many of the teams with the "rig" have attended many comps. They have the practice and experience to put together winning entries.

Your second question is interesting. You have to remember that you are trying to impress the judge, not your neighbor. Most judges have tasted very good bbq and are looking for the top bbq, with only 1 bite.

Also keep in mind, taste, tenderness and presentation are all factors....did he take pictures of his entries?

I'e seen UDS's win GC

Regretfully as a judge I score a lot of too sweet meat and competitors say thats what I'm looking for...
I'm looking for excellence in BBQ

What is wrong with CO comps? :boxing: More competition than UT.:becky:

If your buddies BBQ does not have any sugar, than I assure you it is not "balanced". How much good comp BBQ have you tasted? Or are you basing "ANYONE can pour sugar over meat" on what you have heard. The guys that are winning are doing so making balanced BBQ, not just overly sweet.

To be consistently on top at comps you have to compete a lot (usually). The teams that compete more, have nicer rigs because that's what they do. Oh and some people just have more money than others. Fact of life.

Competition BBQ is not the same as home cooking, and you have to present your product (meat) in the manner that will appeal to the judges, who judge based on the current "trend" of what good BBQ is...... sweet, hot, etc... Even the big winners, like Johnny Trigg and Myron Mixon will tell you that what they cook at competitions is NOT what they would feed their family at home. Gotta appeal to what will bring the scores.

LT72884 said:

why? i dont get that concept yet. good bbq is good bbq right? comp bbq should always be what you make at home haha.

thanks

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I agree but that's not what brings home the check.

Are you talking about Sam's club in SLC last weekend? GC ownes a resturaunt and was catering before that so they cook everyday. RGC cooks on WSM's but compete quite often so that's not big hardware. As others have said it's a one bite contest so you need to pack a lot of punch in that bite.

LT72884 said:

Ok, so this leads me to my second question. My friend was in that comp and he is from texas. His bbq is low and slow and oh so tasty, but he follows his traditional roots of his family...

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From what I've seen, this is the wrong attitude to have if you care about winning. What wins varies based on sanctioning body and location, but there's definitely a "what will win" for every competition. You can stick to what you like and it may win you praise from your friends and family, but if you want to take home prizes you have to play the same game as everybody else. Taking a class from a winning team in whatever sanctioning body your friend wants to win in would be a huge help.

LT72884 said:

why? i dont get that concept yet. good bbq is good bbq right?

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Nope, this is 100% false. What you like isn't what I like, and neither of those is what the judges like.

DaveAlvarado said:

From what I've seen, this is the wrong attitude to have if you care about winning. What wins varies based on sanctioning body and location, but there's definitely a "what will win" for every competition. You can stick to what you like and it may win you praise from your friends and family, but if you want to take home prizes you have to play the same game as everybody else. Taking a class from a winning team in whatever sanctioning body your friend wants to win in would be a huge help.


Nope, this is 100% false. What you like isn't what I like, and neither of those is what the judges like.

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If I could add in more; go judge a few contests. See what comes across tables and wins, and see why.

Also know that most judges in KCBS take 1 or 2 bites. In other sanctioning bodies they may eat a little more, but the common thread is that the Q has to impress in a very few bites. Also, the judges are stone cold sober. What impresses the family and groups of folks around the home who have possibly been drinking doesn't necessarily impress the judges.

LT72884 said:

Ok, so i have a question. How political are competitions?

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How political can you make a double-blind white styrofoam box?

LT72884 said:

Its almost like i can walk into a comp, see who is compitting and automatically know who is going to win based off the rig and what not.

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Where did this team place?

LT72884 said:

I told him it is up to him but sometimes sticking with your roots is not a bad thing. Be unique and eventually people in this area will taste the awesomeness of texas bbq.

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Then I guess "eventually" wasn't the day of that contest. :thumb: Since you have tasted competition BBQ three times and have not competed, perhaps a balanced flavor profile might be worth a whirl. Did your friend's raw score sheet reflect that only the taste was the issue, or were the appearance and tenderness scores in line as well?

LT72884 said:

I just know them personally and they try and buy your comp spot off of you so they have a guaranteed win. Basically they pay you to leave the comp. haha .... Oh yeah, the money thing was mostly about teams trying to buy out some of the other teams. i thought that was interesting and didnt know you could actually do that. haha

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Can you please explain to me how that works?

I'd guess he may not have originally got into the Sams and was trying to buy someones entry so he could get in. Just a guess but that is a logical way such a rumor started.

For comps you are cooking for judges period. What I like is different in some instances and not in others. I must admit I like my chicken and we've had some success in that department.

If someone buys your entry to keep you away go big I say.... :becky:

Alexa and others have been very nice. The problem is that rather than asking questions, you're posing them more as accusations...

If you think the biggest, baddest rig/team wins in a completely blind competition, come to MBN where there's a large portion of judging done in person on site. Having said this, as both an MiM/MBN judge and have competed in it many times, we're a very small team and had no problem beating Myron Mixon of Jack's Old South and many other notables that have very impressive set ups. Frankly, my experience that shy of tie-breaker things, the best BBQ on that day has always won. Plain and simple.

As to flavors, etc. Balance is the key. Not too anything. Also, even with a great sauce, dont completely mask the flavor of the meat. Enhance it, but dont mask it. Also, never take the results of any one contest and make adjustments/changes based on that. You may have a slightly sweet entry and get placed on a table with 4 judges that really dont care for sweet. That said, find the balance and hopefully the liklihood of this will be reduced if not eliminated. At that point, the winning entries, or at least the top 10%, all have 1 thing in common, and that's that they nailed tenderness as defined by the sanctioning body (they define it differently) perfectly.

I have to agree with pahutchens...

Regretfully as a judge I score a lot of too sweet meat and competitors say that's what I'm looking for...
I'm looking for excellence in BBQ

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There seems to be a myth that BBQ has to be sweet in the upper Midwest, and particularly for chicken. Judging a contest with all six chicken entries smothered in overly sweet sauce leaves much to be desired...

And as far as the size of the rig goes...? Judges don't know which rig made which entry. There's a team seen at most of the contests around here (upper MW) with the most impressive rig ever - over $400k all in, and his name never seems to show up on the winner's list...