You should be required to cook yourself to be a judge, period. What tastes good to a rookie judge may not be what SHOULD taste good. If you're raised on big name chain restaurant bake 'n grill ribs, and then you think competition wood-cooked ribs are too smokey...then there's an experience issue. Judges should know what they're tasting. They give you actual samples at the CBJ class, but I was never impressed by what I ate, I didn't give anything over a 7. Most things got a 6 since it was "meh". The instructor didn't like my ratings. Sorry but it wasn't excellent I told him, it tastes average to me. I'd like to see award winners cook for judge class attendees, and judges cook themselves to prove they know what's going on.
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 18986
- Clare, Michigan area
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Follow me on Instagram, huskeesbarbecue
Smokers / Grills- Yoder loaded Wichita offset smoker
- PBC
- Grilla Silverbac pellet grill
- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (SnSK)
- Masterbuilt Gravity 560
- Masterbuilt Digital Charcoal Cabinet
- Weber 22" Original Kettle Premium (copper)
- Weber 26" Original Kettle Premium (light blue)
- Weber Jumbo Joe Gold (18.5")
- Weber Smokey Joe Silver (14.5")
- Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker (repurposed)
Thermometers- SnS 500 4-probe wireless
- (3) Maverick XR-50 4-probe Wireless Thermometers
- A few straggler Maverick ET-732s
- Maverick ET-735 Bluetooth (in box)
- Smoke X4 by ThermoWorks
- Thermapen MkII, orange & purple
- ThermoPop, yellow, plus a few more in a drawer for gifts
- ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (wife's)
- Morpilot 6-probe wireless
- ThermoWorks Infrared IRK2
- ThermoWorks fridge & freezer therms as well
Accessories- Instant Pot 6qt
- Anova Bluetooth SV
- Kitchen Aide mixer & meat grinder attachment
- Kindling Cracker King (XL)
- a couple BBQ Dragons
- Weber full & half chimneys, Char-Broil Half Time chimney
- Weber grill topper
- Slow 'N Sear Original, XL, and SnS Charcoal Basket (for Jumbo Joe)
- Drip 'N Griddle Pans, 22' Easy Spin Grate, and Elevated Cooking grate, by SnSGrills
- Pittsburgh Digital Moisture Meter
Beverages- Favorite summer beers: Leinenkugels Summer & Grapefruit Shandy, Hamm's, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold
- Fav other beers: Zombie Dust (an IPA by 3 Floyd's Brewing), Austin Bros IPA, DAB, Sam Adams regular, Third Shift amber or Coors Batch 19, Stella Artois
- Fav cheap beers: Pabst, High Life, Hamm's & Stroh's
- Most favorite beer: The one in your fridge
- Wine: Red- big, bold, tannic & peppery- Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc
- Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Blanton's, Old Forester 1870, Elijah Craig Toasted, Basil Hayden's. Neat please.
- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
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Problem is they are scrounging for judges. Not enough to go around!
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Food at CBJ classes generally sucks. That's because one cook is preparing every entry on the table in every category. It ain't contest food. I could argue that samples (particularly bad samples) aren't necessary to train a judge...
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The instructor at my class said he'd rate everything he tasted there (and we tasted) as a 9. I specifically remember looking around thinking "this guy's a nut case" and others in the class were nodding in agreement with him. It was sad. Either my standards of what stellar BBQ is is way too high, or there's a vast need of improvement in how these classes are conducted and judges are trained.
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 1595
- Lake Charles, LA
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Started Low-N-Slow BBQ in 2012. Obviously, it's taken hold (in chronological order:
1.) A pair of Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5's
2.) #LilTex, a 22" Expensive Offset Smoker (looks like a Yoder Witicha)
3.) #WhoDat1, a HUGE Gravity Fed Insulated Cabinet Smoker (cooking chamber 3'x2'x6')
4.) A Full Size Commercial Dryer/converted to Vertical Smoker.
5.) Jambo Backyard stickburner (my FAVORITE Pit so far)
6.) GrillMeister, a huge 24"x48" Adjustable, Charcoal Grill from Pitmaker.com
7.) 22" Weber Kettle with Slow-N-Sear
8.) Vault insulated reverse-flow cabinet smoker from Pitmaker
9.) BarbecueFiretruck...under development
10.) 26 foot BBQ Vending Trailer equipped with HUGE Myron Mixon 72xc smoker is HERE, Oct 2016!
11.) Opened www.PaulsRibShackBarbecue.com Food Trailer officially in March 2017
12.) Austin Smoke Works 500 Gallon Propane Tank Offset Smoker, named "Lucille" as travel pit for PaulsRibShack, Oct 2018.
12.) Opening Brick & Mortar location at 4800 Nelson Rd, Spring 2019. Had a pair of 1,000 Gallon Austin Smoke Works pits, both in RibShackRed for our new place!
Fabulous Backlit Thermapens, several Maverick Remote Thermometers (don't use any remotes anymore), Thermoworks Smoke, Other Thermoworks toys, Vacuum sealer, lots and lots of equipment...
I'm loving using BBQ to make friends and build connections.
I have #theRibList where I keep a list of new and old friends and whenever I'm cooking, I make 1 to 20 extra and share the joy.
I'm new to this whole BBQ competition idea. But the idea of segmenting your scores seems like it elevates the picky ahead of the total package.
NASCAR figured out that having the guy who hardly ever wins a race, buy consistently finishes decent, win the Cup is boring. So, they changed and gave more emphasis on winning races than they used to. Fans like that more!
If your taste is great, but your skin didn't pull perfect (like it does on the cupcake pan chicken, barely cooked over flame at the end), and you loose, then that's silly.
#TasteTasteTaste
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 9698
- Smiths Grove, Ky
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Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
I think they all should use a stick burner. No charcoal, no pellets, just old fashion natural wood logs. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
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Originally posted by DWCowles View PostI think they all should use a stick burner. No charcoal, no pellets, just old fashion natural wood logs. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
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Whole-heartedly agree! I might allow lump charcoal since that is what our sticks turn into in the course of the cook, but that would be it. None of those new-fangled briquette things. And how the devil do you get smoke from gas or electricity?!? If you gotta put wood chips on it you might as well use wood to begin with and do it right.
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There is no doubt that KCBS judges are taught that all cue should taste the same. To compete there, you must understand and produce the desired 'cue. In contrast, non-sanctioned contests where the judges include the reigning Dairy Princess, a city councilman, the Elks lodge president and three of the promoter's in-laws will really leave you scratching your head.
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I only get to do one KCBS event a year. There's not too many of those in East Texas. I do cook thighs, because that's what I've seen winning while I was studying the KCBS style of cooking. Mostly we do IBCA and TGCBCA. Half chickens, fully jointed, are a real test of your patience. It takes a while to learn how to get the dark meat done, without drying the breast out. At comps I cook on an offset, a UDS (with a Guru), and a 22.5 OTG.
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Competition Pitmaster & Moderator
- Jul 2014
- 2031
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Backyard Jambo, T1000 Woodmaster, MAK 2 star, 14" & 22" WSM, 2x 22" Weber Kettle, Stoven, Hot Box Grill, Hasty Bake Ranger, RecTeq Bullseye, GMG Davy Crockett; Original Grilla and others I'm not remembering!
Originally posted by 7pigfeathers7 View PostThere is no doubt that KCBS judges are taught that all cue should taste the same. To compete there, you must understand and produce the desired 'cue. In contrast, non-sanctioned contests where the judges include the reigning Dairy Princess, a city councilman, the Elks lodge president and three of the promoter's in-laws will really leave you scratching your head.
Also, in the 11 years I've been competing, it's been my experience that judges' tastes change. But a balanced flavor profile with perfectly cooked texture always gives a cook an advantage.
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Okay, this started out as a competition "Chicken" post, so I'll bring it back around to that instead of starting a new thread. I'm new to competition this year - and sifting through hordes of data. Question I have is:
Everyone seems to poach in margarine instead of butter because of what they are calling the "smoke point" (which I think isn't really a traditional smoke point for the oil, but where the milk solids burn). What if one were to use clarified butter (Ghee) instead? I haven't tried it (I will this weekend) but has anyone else? I just can't bring myself to poach in margarine.
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Competition Pitmaster & Moderator
- Jul 2014
- 2031
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Backyard Jambo, T1000 Woodmaster, MAK 2 star, 14" & 22" WSM, 2x 22" Weber Kettle, Stoven, Hot Box Grill, Hasty Bake Ranger, RecTeq Bullseye, GMG Davy Crockett; Original Grilla and others I'm not remembering!
I don't poach at all! I smoke my chicken. Used to use butter years ago and I like the taste. Big Problem -- sauce kinda slides off and doesn't cover real well! So, I smoke my chicken without using any kind of oily product. Sauce looks much prettier.
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Started competing last year. Our scores have increased, but we are still around the middle of the pack. At the last competiton our ribs were spot on in taste and tenderness. However the bones were not at all straight and there were some knuckles on the top. (the trimmer and skinner may have had a few too many libations whilst prepping friday night) Any ways I knew presentation was going to be a liability. Out of 6 judges I think 4 gave us 9s in both taste and tenderness. and 7s in presentation. Another judge gave us 8s for for taste and tenderness. The last judge gave us a 9 in appearance but 7 in taste and a 6 in tenderness. What am I getting at? Judging can be such a crapshoot.
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