Hey Judges - Pork Rule

Mustang Sally · Apr 19, 2014

Hey all you judges out there. It's a couple months into the contest season with the new pork rule. I'm curious if you've seen major changes in the way pork is presented. When the rule was changed there was lots of talk about how different things would be. I've talked with some cooks who said they aren't changing a thing while others say they do plan on tweeking a little. What have you experienced?

bignburlyman · Apr 19, 2014

I have only judged once so far this year. I didn't see anything different, nor would I expect to see anything different in the turn in boxes. The rule change affects the cook process, not what gets turned in.

DUBBAGA · Apr 19, 2014

I have found that there is more money muscle being turned in than previously was the case. Typically there would be one portion of sliced MM, but this year I have seen entries with 2 or 3 of them, and less pulled/chunks

MikeJ65 · Apr 19, 2014

My pork box looks the same as it did at the end of last year. It's just easier to cook and, hopefully, a bit better because of the new rule.

2Fat · Apr 19, 2014

think I'm seeing less and less pulled pork--only one sample today--rest was all chunks and medallions

bbq.tom · Apr 19, 2014

I've judged 5 contests so far this year and it seems that I'm seeing more chunks with bark than ever before. Had bark on the MM today, that was different.

dhuffjr · Apr 20, 2014

bbq.tom said:
Had bark on the MM today, that was different.

....but was it good?

bbq.tom · Apr 20, 2014

dhuffjr said:
....but was it good?

yes!!!

MikeJ65 · Apr 20, 2014

bbq.tom said:
Had bark on the MM today, that was different.

Do you mean on all sides of the slices?

jketron · Apr 20, 2014

I always have bark on my MM

bbq.tom · Apr 20, 2014

MikeJ65 said:
Do you mean on all sides of the slices?

ALL sides, ALL the way around.

BMerrill · Apr 21, 2014

@ BBQ Tom. Did the rep see it?
Even with the new rule it would be difficult to achieve that.

bbq.tom · Apr 21, 2014

BMerrill said:
@ BBQ Tom. Did the rep see it?
Even with the new rule it would be difficult to achieve that.

Hey Billy, I didn't bring it to Don's attention. To be honest with you, I didn't even realize it until after the box had gone to the grazing table - EMPTY.

Congrats on your 3rd place finish!!!

MikeJ65 · Apr 21, 2014

BMerrill said:
@ BBQ Tom. Did the rep see it?
Even with the new rule it would be difficult to achieve that.

I haven't tried it, but I can think of a couple of ways it would be possible to do it within the rules. I think both would have a very acceptable result.

That brings up another point: if the rep questioned it, would the team be obliged to tell the rep how they cooked it? Or would, 'we did not separate until it was 145 deg.' suffice?

hogzgonewild · Apr 21, 2014

@BMerrill - It's not that difficult.

MikeJ65 · Apr 21, 2014

Except that doesn't account for bark on the face of the slices.

cpw · Apr 21, 2014

I'm really surprised I'm not hearing more about pork burnt ends. It seems like it would be a great idea, but I'm afraid to do it if it's out of the norm too much.

J&B'sBBQ · Apr 21, 2014

cpw said:
I'm really surprised I'm not hearing more about pork burnt ends. It seems like it would be a great idea, but I'm afraid to do it if it's out of the norm too much.

We cooked them at home once and really liked them so we made them at a comp with the intention of turning them in. In the moment, we decided against it because we were not 100% sure on the tenderness, and we weren't sure how it would be regarded in the box. It was to our benefit to only put in our best as we ended up in 9th in Bainbridge with that last minute decision. We would like to readdress the idea, but we just haven't figured out how to get it to the same level as the rest of our turn in meat yet.

Smokin' Gnome BBQ · Apr 21, 2014

cpw said:
I'm really surprised I'm not hearing more about pork burnt ends. It seems like it would be a great idea, but I'm afraid to do it if it's out of the norm too much.

???
call me crazy for asking but what's a pork burn end?

cpw · Apr 21, 2014

Smokin' Gnome BBQ said:
???
call me crazy for asking but what's a pork burn end?

Like a brisket burnt end, but pork. It would take some figuring out where to get the best pork from, but I would cook til almost ready, cube, sauce/rub, put back on smoker til tender.

I haven't even tried it in practice yet but it seems like a great way to replace "chunks."

Hey Judges - Pork Rule

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