Heat and KCBS Judges

Cliff H. · Sep 20, 2014

My BBQ sauces and rubs are very mild when made at home for family or even large catering events.

Do competition judges expect a little bite or would that be scored down more often than up?

bbq.tom · Sep 20, 2014

Serious KCBS judges do NOT expect anything. We are to score each entry "as presented".
That being said, I will tell you that too much heat will not increase your score, just like too much anything. Go for balance.

midwest_kc · Sep 21, 2014

What bbq.tom said. Also, and this is just my limited experience, too much heat is nowhere near what I would call too much heat, and I'm not a super spicy food guy, though I do like a little heat.

rob g · Sep 21, 2014

Personally I am not a spicy guy. Some guys manage to have a sauce that is sweet but with a little heat at the end. Not sure how they do it but I enjoy it. When I get something really spicy it tends to get marked down. Especially if it is bad enough to make it difficult to judge the next sample. I had a couple this weekend that crackers and water just couldn't make it go away.

Gowan · Sep 21, 2014

KCBS judges are greedy - they want it all, in balance.

So when you're asking if judges want, sweet, spicy, smokey, or meaty flavor, the answer is YES.

DR · Sep 22, 2014

I don't expect anything. I do however LIKE a bit of spice and heat but won't mark you down if its not there. Like mentioned above, we are to judge what is presented to us and nothing more or less.

BMerrill · Sep 22, 2014

The final product should offend no one and please everyone.

Rookie'48 · Sep 22, 2014

midwest_kc said:
What bbq.tom said. Also, and this is just my limited experience, too much heat is nowhere near what I would call too much heat, and I'm not a super spicy food guy, though I do like a little heat.

What I might consider to be a low to medium amount of heat will definitely set another judge or two on fire. :icon_blush:

DR said:
I don't expect anything. I do however LIKE a bit of spice and heat but won't mark you down if its not there. Like mentioned above, we are to judge what is presented to us and nothing more or less.

See my remark above.

Those of us who love habanero salsa aren't in the majority. Aim towards a bit less heat - no one's ever beotched because there wasn't enough heat.

5string · Sep 23, 2014

As Tom said, a balance is what most judges I've spoken with seek. I personally don't mind a little heat but too much of any single component will distract from what we are trying to judge, the meat. What I really dislike is too much black pepper to the point that it's all I can taste, which happens mostly on chicken. I've judged in 6 states so far this year and thankfully have only been over peppered twice.

midwest_kc · Sep 23, 2014

This may sound funny, but I think this year I'm going to use my 6 year old as a judge for spiciness. If he says it's spicy, then I'll tone it down, because I cannot trust my palate when it comes to spice, and what works for judges.

If he says it's good, though, I have no way of knowing if it's too sweet. Everything has it's drawbacks!

thirdeye · Sep 24, 2014

I leave my personal choices at home on judging day. Balance and complimentary flavor combinations are what I'm looking for in an entry. Meat flavor, spices, and sauce or glaze (when used) need to work together in my book.

That said my personal spectrum is pretty broad on the sweet-to-spicy scale, meaning I can tolerate heat. Only once was I at a table that received an entry that was "sting your lips" hot (at least one judge did a discrete removal after a couple of chews), and the reason I scored it down was balance... or out-of-balance as the heat was all that was recognized.

thesemicullen · Sep 24, 2014

There's a hotwing festival here that I judge and it's probably one of the most difficult events I've ever judged. It's KCBS sanctioned, so there's only water and crackers to help cut down the spice. Very tough.

I've never really had the problem with the regular KCBS entries. HOWEVER, some things that I've found to have a very pleasing backend heat were too hot for other judges and they rated them down. I would advise caution when ramping up your heat.

landarc · Sep 24, 2014

An interesting point, I got a chance to taste the meat from one of Harry Soo's entries, and the flavors were well balanced, but, far lighter than I expected. Nowhere near the intensity I was expecting. I think if you have a balanced flavor entry, it can range from super intense to very light, it will do well at times. Then again, I was almost DAL in that comp.

Cliff H. · Sep 24, 2014

Thanks for the replies. My wife can eat a speck of black pepper and you would think she bit into a habanero. I will know after this weekend if I chose right jar.

Heat and KCBS Judges

Cliff H.

is Blowin Smoke!

bbq.tom

is Blowin Smoke!

midwest_kc

is one Smokin' Farker

rob g

Full Fledged Farker

Gowan

is One Chatty Farker

DR

Take a breath!

BMerrill

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Rookie'48

Quintessential Chatty Farker

5string

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midwest_kc

is one Smokin' Farker

thirdeye

somebody shut me the fark up.

thesemicullen

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landarc

somebody shut me the fark up.

Cliff H.

is Blowin Smoke!

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