Rib Coloration Question

Hey Everyone - looking for some insight here.....

I've got my first rib comp coming up in late August, and I'm planning to use an ancho-blueberry bbq sauce. I've been toying with it all Summer, and it's gotten some good independant reviews so far - BUT the sauce is VERY dark in color, and causes the ribs to not have that classic "mahogeny" color to them when I pull them off the smoker (I sauce them about 30 min before taking them off). They're by no means burnt, it's just the coloration of the sauce.

I was wondering what everyone's opinions on this are - and if judges will be open to something a bit outside of the norm.

Thanks for the help.

The sauce we use tends to come out dark like what you are talking about. We have gotten a few walks and wins with our ribs.

I seriously doubt that the darker tint of the sauce is going to cause problems visually. There's a very obvious visual difference between a sauce that is just darker and burnt ribs/sauce.

Besides, if the sauce has a good aroma (yes I know, thats not supposed to be part of the score, but it can't hurt), then it gets even easier for a judge to tell that your ribs aren't burnt. If I get a good whaff of a nicely done product when the box is shown for presentation, I certainly will be far more accepting on visuals.

Russ

Awesome, thanks for your input. And ya, I'm definitely banking on that nice fruity aroma as soon as the box is opened to give me as much as an advantage as possible !

I'm pretty new to smoking and to ribs, so I figured I'd try to go with something a little outside of the norm to try and stand out to the judges.