Lets Talk Flavor Profiles - First Comp questions.

Hey guys what's up?

This is my first time posting to the comp forum, so I just want to say hi and introduce my self a bit. I'm 36 and have been bbqing/grilling since I was 15 years old. I've always been experimental, making my own rubs, sauces and all that. TVWBB is an awesome resource and since joining I have really kicked my bbq game up a couple notches. That being said I have never wanted to try comp bbq, really having my food judge by a bunch of judges never really appealed to me. But after years of nudging by friends and family I have finally decided to give it a shot. My first comp is in a couple of weeks and it is a rib only competition. I figured it's a good way of getting my feet wet and seeing if It's something I really enjoy.

Anyhow, since signing up my competitive juices have taken over, I have started reading and researching comp bbq online because I know it's a different beast than just your ordinary chillin with your family in the back yard type of thing. I'm looking to find that "one bite" kick in the pants. My typical style of bbq has a mostly spicy profile with some sweet. I would say something like 80% spicy 20% sweet. Everywhere I read I hear that sweet is the way to go. And i've been tweaking my rubs and sauces to put more sweetness into it but keep the heat. But always my end result has been overly sweet with little or no heat at all and really not that "one bite" wow factor.

So my question is this. What flavor profile are judges looking for? Is it that sweet or heat or both?

If it's both can you provide some tips or tricks in obtaining both? Should I add more spice to the rub? Or the sauce? or Both?

Or since this is my first competition, should I abandon any changes to what I've been doing for years, turn in my spicy BBQ and let the cards fall where they may? Or is that just committing comp suicide?

Thanks for your time and thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi Andres,

Wishing you Excellence in BBQ ! First and foremost... Enjoy the comp and the BBQ community !

As a judge, what flavor profile am I looking for ??? I'm looking for a pitmaster's flavor profile that showcases the particular meat. Any sauce, rub, injection, etc must not overpower the primary star of the show.

When you view competition ribs, you'll 'normally' see them sauced, although they do not need to be. It is strictly what the pitmaster wishes to present. FYI... I have judged some meats, including ribs, that were not sauced or glazed AND they were Excellent !

Bob

Welcome to the addiction, Andres. For your first comp, I'd recommend sticking to your already-existing rub/sauce/glaze recipes. For my first comp, I didn't have a clue and didn't do overly well, but at least I had a base method to tweak from (i.e. sweeter, more tender, redder). It's been my experience that your fellow competitors are very friendly and helpful (at least after turn-in!). I'm sure you'll be able to taste a few bites and can compare and contrast, so that you can alter your recipes for the future comps (once you're addicted, you won't miss another one). Furthermore, you may already have the winner in hand...beginner's luck.

Lastly, I'll pass along one tip that continues to cause me grief: presentation. Cutting straight lines, with approx. even ribs is a surprisingly tough effort. You'll need a sharp carving or electric knife. Also, you'll mess up, so smoke a few extra racks. Enjoy; its a blast.

Andres,

I take it this is for the Sparta-Q. Speaking of a 'few' extra racks... Looks like you will be turning in 2 boxes for judging from the 5 racks that are being initially provided, with additional racks available for PC. And live judging while still maintaining the double blind !

With the gate open time as it is, get there as early as possible. The 1:00 pm turn-in time will likely be your greatest challenge.

Bob

ps... looking at the judges list, they are all very well qualified and will be an excellent source of feedback as half of them are also cooks !

Try not to offend anyone. By that, I mean you have to cook for the middle ground. Some people like spicy, some like sweet, etc. Any spice, sauce, rub, or heat should be a compliment to the meat, not the primary flavor.

I really truly gratefully appreciate the feedback. B. Stone, how do you make a sauce redder? I've been reading about red sauce, I mean my sauce is kinda red kinda getting more to the brown side. Is there a trick to that?

Yes Bob the time line is really tight for this event. I'm planning on arriving at 6am. I have a few friends helping out so hopefully we can bang though the prep pretty quick. i plan on cooking at 275 and wrapping so 1pm should be pretty doable. Thanks for the info regarding the judges. I appreciate it.

B Stone. I have been practicing cutting ribs. Somehow I always end up with one skinny one. I want my presentation to be pretty simple 6 straight consecutive bones. Gotta keep practicing that.

J Hoke. i am not experienced. But in a way I think I want to offend..

^ the "redder" suggestion isn't precisely the sauce, rather the appearance of the rib itself. The generally accepted "ideal" look on a rib is shiny almost fire engine red as opposed to a darker color (brown, dark red). In my opinion, the darker colors usually occur if you cook them too long and have too much sugar in your rub. A good fix is simple: simply wrap your ribs with tin foil when the color is right. Most (if not all) competitors wrap ribs in foil anyway; you just have to time it when the color is a nice bright red color. Wait too long and they'll be brown and will hurt your chances at winning.

Thanks B Stone. I'll keep that in mind. Again I appreciate the feedback.

Andres,

B Stone's info is very correct. If you take a look at Steve Aguilar's entry for last month's Throwdown, post #66, you will see the sauce is semi-translucent. Most, if not all, of the color comes from the ribs and rub, not the sauce. In fact, if you were to turn-in ribs that look like his, you would do very well indeed in the Appearance score. You will also notice there are no brush marks nor are there any large spice pieces in the sauce. If your sauce profile has some spices that you just need to include, and they are of a chunky nature, grind them down to a smaller size. The judges at your comp will be following the KCBS rules.

Bob

Hey guys,

First comp is over. Thanks for all the advice. Ended up finishing 13th out of 22. Not bad for the first time I guess. I seem to really have missed the mark in terms of tenderness. Well all needs to improve, but tenderness the most. The biggest mistake I think I made was I didn't taste ribs from each of the 4 racks i was running short on time so I just kinda cut, looked for the best looking ribs and put them in the box. Also I didn't retouch the sauce after I boxed. That may have also hurt appearance scores.

Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Judge 4 Judge 5 Judge 6 avg
Appearance 8 9 7 8 7 8 7.833333333
Taste 8 7 7 7 7 9 7.5
Texture 9 7 8 6 6 7 7.166666667

Andres,

You did Very Good for your first comp !!! Congratulations !!!
Guess the first question I have is... Did you have Fun ?

Wishing you and your team Excellence in your BBQ journey.

Bob

Did you happen to take a picture of your turn-in boxes? I think that would be a great way for us to give some meaningful feedback.

Andres L. said:

Hey guys,

First comp is over. Thanks for all the advice. Ended up finishing 13th out of 22. Not bad for the first time I guess. I seem to really have missed the mark in terms of tenderness. Well all needs to improve, but tenderness the most. The biggest mistake I think I made was I didn't taste ribs from each of the 4 racks i was running short on time so I just kinda cut, looked for the best looking ribs and put them in the box. Also I didn't retouch the sauce after I boxed. That may have also hurt appearance scores.

Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Judge 4 Judge 5 Judge 6 avg
Appearance 8 9 7 8 7 8 7.833333333
Taste 8 7 7 7 7 9 7.5
Texture 9 7 8 6 6 7 7.166666667

Click to expand...

Congrats on your first comp Andres...