I judged my 6th KCBS contest on Saturday, a Backyard event in Arab, Alabama. The food was excellent - as good or better than I've had at any judging event yet. And it was run by very excellent KCBS reps.
I'm not normally a big fan of pork butt/shoulder, but it was really good on Saturday. Two of the money muscle entries were excellent, because they were perfectly cooked, and they had great bark on them as well. This was the first time I'd seen money muscle with nice bark. I guess the cooks extracted it before it reached the finish temperature, and then finished it on a hot smoker or grill to form the bark. I have no idea how they did it, but it was very nice and well-received by all us judges.
There was one chicken entry at my table that got 9-9-9 (highest score possible) from all 6 judges. It was the best chicken thigh I've ever had. It was one of two pieces of meat I sampled today that I devoured. I cleaned the bones of that chicken thigh. Its appearance made me anxious to taste it, its bite-thru skin was "easy", its taste was wonderful, and its finish heat was surprisingly pleasant.
My pet peeve in BBQ judging is "too much sauce". If a piece of meat looks like it would drip sauce if turned on its side, then I deduct a full point on the appearance score.
Cooks, remember that we judges are required to eat with our fingers. Although we are allowed to serve ourselves from your turn-in box with a fork, we are actually required to eat with our fingers, because KCBS considers BBQ a "finger food". And they argue that it can be fully assessed for tenderness only if eaten with fingers. So please go easy on the sauce. I and most of the judges I've talked with much prefer this: light, carmelized sauce. If I pick up a piece of chicken and have dripping sauce all over my fingers, I don't like it. It makes for an unpleasant eating experience.
Most of the rib entries had a wonderful flavor, but most were either under-cooked (tough) or over-cooked (fall off the bone). Only one was cooked to KCBS tenderness guidelines.
Cooks, please remove the membrane from pork ribs. Failure to do so results in a bad eating experience for judges, and definitely affects your scores.
Next week I'm judging a contest in Birmingham, AL. At the Barber International Motorcycle Speedway. I'll finally get to eat competition brisket. And there's a somewhat famous motorcycle museum there I'm looking forward to seeing.
I'm not normally a big fan of pork butt/shoulder, but it was really good on Saturday. Two of the money muscle entries were excellent, because they were perfectly cooked, and they had great bark on them as well. This was the first time I'd seen money muscle with nice bark. I guess the cooks extracted it before it reached the finish temperature, and then finished it on a hot smoker or grill to form the bark. I have no idea how they did it, but it was very nice and well-received by all us judges.
There was one chicken entry at my table that got 9-9-9 (highest score possible) from all 6 judges. It was the best chicken thigh I've ever had. It was one of two pieces of meat I sampled today that I devoured. I cleaned the bones of that chicken thigh. Its appearance made me anxious to taste it, its bite-thru skin was "easy", its taste was wonderful, and its finish heat was surprisingly pleasant.
My pet peeve in BBQ judging is "too much sauce". If a piece of meat looks like it would drip sauce if turned on its side, then I deduct a full point on the appearance score.
Cooks, remember that we judges are required to eat with our fingers. Although we are allowed to serve ourselves from your turn-in box with a fork, we are actually required to eat with our fingers, because KCBS considers BBQ a "finger food". And they argue that it can be fully assessed for tenderness only if eaten with fingers. So please go easy on the sauce. I and most of the judges I've talked with much prefer this: light, carmelized sauce. If I pick up a piece of chicken and have dripping sauce all over my fingers, I don't like it. It makes for an unpleasant eating experience.
Most of the rib entries had a wonderful flavor, but most were either under-cooked (tough) or over-cooked (fall off the bone). Only one was cooked to KCBS tenderness guidelines.
Cooks, please remove the membrane from pork ribs. Failure to do so results in a bad eating experience for judges, and definitely affects your scores.
Next week I'm judging a contest in Birmingham, AL. At the Barber International Motorcycle Speedway. I'll finally get to eat competition brisket. And there's a somewhat famous motorcycle museum there I'm looking forward to seeing.
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