All Comp BBQ is Sweet?? Your thoughts.

[JD McGee]

Balance is what we strive for...8)

 

[Porcine Perfection]

I have judged ~20 comps and at least in my area you need to be sweet or you will be beat. I have seen grape jelly on ribs that were just nothing but sweet and the other judges at my table will just rave about it! As a judge I look for a nice juicy bite with a hint of sweetness and then a savory kick of heat. At home I serve my BBQ naked and I have my own sauce that is a sweet heat if someone wants it.

That being said I am doing some comps this year and already have purchased my gallon of Blues Hog.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

I was on the other thread and I saw this one so I dropped in. Let me understand this if it is not sweet you will lose? That means that if it really is the culture bred by judging innovation is frowned upon? Got to ask why do so many buy their sauces and their dry rubs? Why not make your own? Not knocking anyone just curious as to why. I was a pro cook for a short period of time until I found a better paying job and I learned that it was all about the prep anyone can cook but it was prep that made or broke you. I plan to use my own sauce and rub this year in my first year competing and I don't plan on buying it made for me. I may tweak it to fit the tastes of the judges but I want my work to represent me including my flavor profile. Is comp bbq so sweet you really would not want to eat more than one bite? Anyone got a recipe they don't mind sharing so I get an idea of how sweet comp bbq really is? I just figure I can't knock what I haven't tried so I want to try it. Just warn me if I should not eat a lot of it as if it tastes amazing I have been known to over do good things.

 

[Alexa RnQ]

Let me see if I can address some of this in order, and still make any sense.

Let me understand this if it is not sweet you will lose? That means that if it really is the culture bred by judging innovation is frowned upon?

Nothing will slam-dunk a category loss like product that is (a) improperly cooked or (b) unbalanced in flavor. A balanced flavor profile has a sweet element to it. By the same token, if that sweet element is overpowering, it is no longer balanced. And ALL of the elements are pitched to just a couple of bites.
If innovation were uniformly penalized, then Blues Hog, parsley beds and sliced pork would never have gained widespread traction.

Got to ask why do so many buy their sauces and their dry rubs? Why not make your own? Not knocking anyone just curious as to why.

Not everyone has the palate or inclination to create successful rubs and sauces that work together. Add-ins and tweaking are the norm, creating a myriad of successful flavors. Most don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel for the base.
Additionally, this is an incredibly time-consuming hobby that most maintain on top of regular jobs. I do our own rubs and sauces, and in the seasons when we were turning around week after week you know I wished mightily we could just buy what we needed!

I was a pro cook for a short period of time until I found a better paying job and I learned that it was all about the prep anyone can cook but it was prep that made or broke you.

Absolutely agree, prep is vitally important. Again, it's one thing to do prep as your entire job, and another thing to do it AFTER a 40-to-70 hour workweek (which is why for nearly a year we were trimming meats AT contests rather than before). And this is such a multifactor discipline that any one element can break you -- even after successful prep, there's plenty of room for you to shoot yourself in the foot during the cook or finishing for the box.
And any judge who has eaten the "scary food" (raw chicken, rubber brisket, lots of stories) can tell you that "anyone can cook" is far from universal.

I plan to use my own sauce and rub this year in my first year competing and I don't plan on buying it made for me. I may tweak it to fit the tastes of the judges but I want my work to represent me including my flavor profile. Is comp bbq so sweet you really would not want to eat more than one bite?.

No. Hyperbole abounds, likely fostered by those who don't like sweet at ALL (unbalanced). The truth is that more than a serving of a competition entry would become "too much" as the flavor builds from bite to bite.

Anyone got a recipe they don't mind sharing so I get an idea of how sweet comp bbq really is?

A direct way of finding out what's crossing the judging tables in your area is to become a CBJ and judge a few contests.

 

[BobWaltersBBQ]

I would like to see all competitors use only sauces and rubs that they created, from scratch.....that's not going to happen. It would be nice to have a division or a way to seperate those that spent a lot of time and effort creating a winning sauce from the ground floor. "doctored up" is not creating to me. You can't reproduce it without buying someone else's product. Being a great pitmaster is really hard work, being a creator of great bbq and being a great pitmaster is on a whole new level.

 

[mcbrew13]

I would like to see all competitors use only sauces and rubs that they created, from scratch.....that's not going to happen. It would be nice to have a division or a way to seperate those that spent a lot of time and effort creating a winning sauce from the ground floor. "doctored up" is not creating to me. You can't reproduce it without buying someone else's product. Being a great pitmaster is really hard work, being a creator of great bbq and being a great pitmaster is on a whole new level.

This is a novel idea. I make the majority of my sauce but I still add some pre-made sauce as an ingredient. The problem is how to regulate and where does it stop? Do you expect people to make their own ketchup, Worcestershire, stocks, etc.?

 

[BobWaltersBBQ]

This is a novel idea. I make the majority of my sauce but I still add some pre-made sauce as an ingredient. The problem is how to regulate and where does it stop? Do you expect people to make their own ketchup, Worcestershire, stocks, etc.?

I'm full of novel ideas, but no process to implement or protect.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

I have been thinking about getting certified as a bbq judge. Thanks for answering my questions.

 

[bbq.tom]

I have heard for a few years that Blues Hog is on its way out because it is to sweet, but I feel confident that probably 75% use BH or some sort of sauce that is similar.

Maybe around Iowa and the mid-west BH is dominant, but in the SouthEast it ISN'T, at least not anymore. Not because of BH being too sweet, but because of the distinctive flavor that is in BH that dominates ALL other flavor even when used diluted. Similar sauce that is sweet is used and/or created; however, it is only one element (or layer) of the flavor profile.

 

[bbq.tom]

This is a novel idea. I make the majority of my sauce but I still add some pre-made sauce as an ingredient. The problem is how to regulate and where does it stop? Do you expect people to make their own ketchup, Worcestershire, stocks, etc.?

I love the idea of competiton where the team must create their rubs and sauces on site. One way to allow use of pre-made sauces, but keep within the scope of creation, is to allow no more than 25% of any pre-made sauce to create your own sauce, i.e., you could use 1-cup of ketchup, 1-cup of BH, 1-cup of Worcestershire, and 1-cup of Sweet Baby Ray's to make 4-cups of sauce. (I wouldn't do this, but it is one way to regulate "creation").

 

[Offthehook]

I would like to see all competitors use only sauces and rubs that they created, from scratch.....that's not going to happen. It would be nice to have a division or a way to seperate those that spent a lot of time and effort creating a winning sauce from the ground floor. "doctored up" is not creating to me. You can't reproduce it without buying someone else's product. Being a great pitmaster is really hard work, being a creator of great bbq and being a great pitmaster is on a whole new level.

That would be neat but who has time or money to be messing with rubs and sauces after working full time. I do practice cooks where I have to spend one night prepping, one night cooking. Add in making extra stuff to end up losing... no thanks.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

That would be neat but who has time or money to be messing with rubs and sauces after working full time. I do practice cooks where I have to spend one night prepping, one night cooking. Add in making extra stuff to end up losing... no thanks.

I work full time and make my own sauce and rubs from scratch. Con Yeager has the best spices to make rubs out of no idea if they are nationwide but they are local and have multiple stores and a plant. Google them they are the best there is. Thing is I have worked with one sauce and one rub for everything and just perfected it over time. I also work over time and I do not know what my schedule is until about 8:30am that day not kidding. I make time for making my sauce from scratch.

 

[Podge]

Anything can be accomplished if you make it a priority.

 

[Scottie]

Maybe around Iowa and the mid-west BH is dominant, but in the SouthEast it ISN'T, at least not anymore. Not because of BH being too sweet, but because of the distinctive flavor that is in BH that dominates ALL other flavor even when used diluted. Similar sauce that is sweet is used and/or created; however, it is only one element (or layer) of the flavor profile.

I don't believe that. I won ribs last year in South Carolina with Blues Hog. I've also had some success at other contests with Blues Hog as my base... A perfectly cooked piece of meat will beat out a sauce any day.

 

[Candy Sue]

This past weekend I cooked an IBCA event in Hot Springs. Krunktastic! Had a great time.

Pork was used for peoples choice. I did my pulled pork with a tangy, spicy vinegar sauce with some Head Country tossed in. I know it was served stone cold and I thought that the sauce should cut the greasy mouth feel. I was 3rd in peoples choice, but the turned in box of pork (same stuff) didn't make finals table. Should've added honey! Forgot the BH at home...

 

[bbq.tom]

I don't believe that. I won ribs last year in South Carolina with Blues Hog. I've also had some success at other contests with Blues Hog as my base...

Congratulations! My point is that it isn't as dominant as it used to be in the SE, not that it didn't still win occasionally. I judged 17 contests in the SE last year and tasted BH on only a few entries. Maybe I was just at the lucky table that got most of the non-BH entries, but that seems unlikely.

 

[EMTTLC]

I cooked 11 and judged 8 last year. All in the southeast . Got a first, 2 seconds and a third in pork with blues hog as a base. I think that as many as half of the pork, rib and chicken entries I judged had a blues hog product blend on them. I don't know how much it was used in the past, but I still see a lot of it.