My First Comp - Riverside Blues Brews and BBQ Festival

[DanW]

So I had my first competition last weekend, and the results were less than stellar, though we did get our name called for 3rd place people's choice (pulled pork). There were 33 teams I think. Below are my turn in boxes with pics and scores.

Chicken: 12th - 165.1544
Pork Ribs: 33rd - 137.6 572
Pork: 32nd - 139.3 6
Brisket: 25th - 148.00

Chicken we did better than I thought. Ribs got a little darker than I would have liked but I tasted them going out and the taste and texture was fantastic IMO... Teeth mark bites good flavor. Definitely don't think they deserved a 137. Pork we didn't end up getting cooked enough but had to make do with what we had. Brisket was a total disaster other than burnt ends, we could barely get six slices in the box and I'm shocked there were 8 teams that scored lower. We struggled with rain and cold weather all night with two backyard smokers. All in all it was a great experience for our first time and I think we will do.much better next time now that I know what to expect and after I take a judging class! Please comment and make suggestions!

 

[DanW]

Also, forgot to mention the town the comp was in has a ban on styrofoam so we had these horrible cardboard boxes which stained easily and sauce could not be cleaned once it hit the box!

 

[Qbert60]

For your first comp, don't look too much into it just yet.

Chicken - Sauce is blotchy, mostly uniform, the color to me is not too appealing
Quick tips: Dunk in sauce and either put it back on the cooker to set or right into the box
Ribs - I personally like the color of them.
Quick tips: Look at the score sheets and see how it was judged. I don't think the appearance was bad at all so it would have to be taste/tenderness
Pork - Uneven and sloppy looking
Quick tips: If you are going to put pulled in the box, I personally try to make the strands all go the same way.
Brisket - Not sure what you were trying to do here
Quick tips: Keep the layout, but turn it. When a judge displays the box, it looks better to go left to right versus top to bottom. Make sure all the sliced are showing the same edge and that is the bark edge. Instead of pulled brisket, chop it next time.

Keep on smokin and good luck in the future.

 

[DanW]

Thanks so much for the tips...I think I also need to drink less or not at all until after turn in! Like I said brisket was a mess other than burnt ends... Was a struggle even filling the box. I don't have the scorecard yet but when I get it I will post more details and have a clearer picture of where I need to go from here. Thanks again!

 

[porkingINpublic]

There is a town that bans styrofoam? :crazy:

focus on the good stuff.... if you got a 12th in chicken for your first comp you are starting off better than most !

 

[bfreeland38]

Like everyone has already stated, you accomplished the first step, turning everything in on time. Getting 12th in chicken on first comp is something to definitely build on. I personally learn something each and every cook, be it mistakes I know I made or learning from other competitors. Good luck on future cooks and keep posting your results.

 

[Elancer]

I was at that contest and it was a tough field of teams that weekend. Turning all 4 meats on time was a good start! You can try working on placing the parsley in the box, so it has a more neat appearance.

That's a good chicken score for your first contest. I'm sure your taste scores were good to get a 165. I would try to even out the sizes of each piece to give them a more uniform appearance.

The ribs looked pretty good. You must have received mostly 6's & 7's in both taste and tenderness to get a score like that, so they may have been undercooked, or possible overcooked. A little improvement in tenderness will help increase your taste scores.

You can try making the sizes of the pulled meat in your pork box more even. Your pork not being cooked enough was probably why you received a lower score on your pork as well.

I probably would have given the judges only 2 choices for brisket. Since you said your burnt ends were best, I would have went with them and either the slices you were able to come up with or just went with pulled to fill the rest of the box with. Turning it in 3 ways just gives you an extra chance to have one of them to get dinged and bring the entire score for that entry down.

Glad you had a good time and hopefully you'll be back at it next season!

 

[DanW]

I was at that contest and it was a tough field of teams that weekend. Turning all 4 meats on time was a good start! You can try working on placing the parsley in the box, so it has a more neat appearance.

That's a good chicken score for your first contest. I'm sure your taste scores were good to get a 165. I would try to even out the sizes of each piece to give them a more uniform appearance.

The ribs looked pretty good. You must have received mostly 6's & 7's in both taste and tenderness to get a score like that, so they may have been undercooked, or possible overcooked. A little improvement in tenderness will help increase your taste scores.

You can try making the sizes of the pulled meat in your pork box more even. Your pork not being cooked enough was probably why you received a lower score on your pork as well.

I probably would have given the judges only 2 choices for brisket. Since you said your burnt ends were best, I would have went with them and either the slices you were able to come up with or just went with pulled to fill the rest of the box with. Turning it in 3 ways just gives you an extra chance to have one of them to get dinged and bring the entire score for that entry down.

Glad you had a good time and hopefully you'll be back at it next season!

Thanks! We will definitely be back and improved next year... Hopefully with our new custom cooker. It's funny.. so fresh off a comp I'm already itching to do another. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait until the CT state championship in May.

 

[thesemicullen]

Some general tips:

Go with a garnish that sits below the meat instead of around it. It's tidier.

Try and get your chicken pieces closer to a uniform size.

If you're going to turn in slices of anything, make sure they're a uniform thickness.

Work on applying even coats of sauce.

 

[newtwoq]

Fantastic job on your first comp! 12th in Chicken is something to be proud of!

Thanks so much for the tips...I think I also need to drink less or not at all until after turn in! Like I said brisket was a mess other than burnt ends... Was a struggle even filling the box. I don't have the scorecard yet but when I get it I will post more details and have a clearer picture of where I need to go from here. Thanks again!

The drinking less is crucial, it's really hard when it's such a fun and relaxed atmosphere, but I know I certainly turn out a better product when I'm able to focus on the task at hand a bit better.

Thanks! We will definitely be back and improved next year... Hopefully with our new custom cooker. It's funny.. so fresh off a comp I'm already itching to do another. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait until the CT state championship in May.

We were the same way after our first contest, it was SO much fun that it was a really long winter to get to the next one. Keep practicing and make the May contest all that much better!

 

[DanW]

Got my score card... As I suspected ribs were probably a bit overcooked and got too much smoke. Pork was undercooked and brisket flat was overcooked. Luckily I can fix those problems fairly easily. Thank you all again for your tips, I will be putting them into practice every weekend between now and my next comp!

 

[Smokin' Pigs Q]

Hey guys, i'm on Dan's team and was with him for that competition. Thanks for all the good advice. We will definitely apply it for our next competition. Lots of practice this winter!

 

[Bob in Corona]

Congratulations on an Excellent first competition !

Although I'm just a cbj, may I suggest this tidbit (in addition to the already given garnish suggestions)...

Keep all garnish far away from the box's outer seal. Following the appearance phase of judging, we Table Captains try our best to reseal the box so as to keep as much heat inside as possible. Garnish that is in the way, will hinder us from properly sealing the box cover.

 

[ModelMaker]

Your idea of taking the CBJ class is a good start, but if you don't judge as many contests as you can you will not see and taste what the winning entrys are.
Ed

 

[DanW]

Okay so took some of the tips from you guys and spent the day practicing... Here's m results from today's cook. I'm very satisfied with the results and will be practicing pretty much every weekend weather permitting.

 

[hedge]

Huge improvement on presentation

 

[Cook'n with Wood]

Much better. Get yourself a good knife. They are not cheap but will get rid of the saw marks. Sauce your pork lightly. Spritz with apple juice to give it a shine. Practice, practice, practice. Good luck.

 

[erichasaces]

Even more important than a good knife might be a good sharpener. Even the best knives get dull, but if you learn to sharpen yourself, you'll always have a good edge.

 

[PatAttack]

Much better looking boxes.

I would fill that pork box with as much meat as I could so not as much green is showing.

 

[NoNotTheDuo]

Agree with Pat. Put more chunks into that pork box. I'd also probably try to hide the 2nd from the bottom piece of money muscle. Move it to the very top. From the angle it looks smaller and makes the pieces of MM seem unevenly cooked.

Ribs look good! Just try to center them up in the box. Otherwise, very clean and nice presentation. Much improved!