Am I alone in this thought?


 
T

T Bounds

TVWBB Super Fan
I continue to read posts, not all of them of course but plenty of them, that suggest there is a desire to cook home food to a competition standard. I just don't get it. When I go to a steak house, although I rarely go anymore since I've mastered our preference on the Weber Performer, but when I do I don't say, "Give me what other people like." I say, "Medium rare, erring on the high side, and I'm not afraid of red, I just want a good char with hot in the middle." I don't care if anybody else in the world likes what I like, and that applies to any food I eat or grill or smoke.

For another example, we in this house like our ribs falling off the bone, baby backs, dry rubbed, never foiled. That's just the way we love them and I can do that 9 out of 10 times. So what if it's not competition worthy? It would be if we were the judges! To each his or her own, I say. Find out what your flavor profile is and what excites your taste buds and chase that as your standard. Unless you are competing the only tastes that matter are those of the people eating the food.

Am I alone here? I'm not ranting or angry or anything negative, just bewildered.
 
I agree. When I took the CBJ class that's basically what the instructor said: cook to your audience. In a comp that's to the local palet of the judges but at home that's to momma, the kids, and grandkids. When I cook my goal is to have a quiet table and the grandkids asking for seconds or the comment about how good it was, or the best ever, etc.
 
Neighbor,I totally agree with you. I cook to my wife's tastes. If she doesn't like it,I either won't cook it again or I'll try a different recipe.
 
I do the same , but I always think " what do those judges know that I don't?" Maybe I'll squirt some parkay on a foiled rib one time and see what all the fuss is about... I don't think I could ever cook competitively , but I'm fascinated to read about all the different techniques and tricks they use. And there's always the chance that you'll stumble onto something you really love in the process!
 
I agree as well, cook what and how your audience wants. Besides, what we all turn out on our Webers (even on an off day) is far superior to Famous Dave's and the like, right? :cool:

The only point I'll add is that the audience is always family and usually some friends. Hard to make just a little cue, so we like to share the bounty.
 
I would be concerened if I was competeing but I don't so as it say's in my signature " I cook to eat not compete" make it the way ya like it and if others don't like it they don't have to eat it. I think even Johnny Trigg said he doesn't much care for ribs the way he makes them for compitition .
 
I'm not sure if anyone answered your question.

I think overall the views of the forum would agree with the statements before mine which would be to cook the meat/food to your preference.

Although there may be a few, I don't agree that mosts posts suggest to cook to competition standards, however there are some general standards of cooking that most would agree on. For example although one could cook pork to a level of say 160-170, slice, chop, and serve ... I believe most would agree that pork cooked to a longer stage so that it can be pulled is far more "the standard" of a pulled pork sandwich.

It's those "standards" that I believe we ususlly see suggested in most posts (as opposed to competition standards). Not that anyone should use any specific standards but that some standards have been proven by example to provide a decent finished product.
 
Ethan G said:
Besides, what we all turn out on our Webers (even on an off day) is far superior to Famous Dave's and the like, right?
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Famous Dave was in the same KCBS CBJ class Jim H. and I along with numerous other BBQ teams competing at the JACK were in. He had some good input but bottom line he's tryin to figure out how to please the audience just like all the other cooks.
 
I think you have to remember there is a very wide variety of people with different cooking interests who belong to this site. Many of us muddle through doing our thing but we all have the ability to benefeit from experience of others. There is no pressure to do more than you want to do but if you ask for help it's here in spades from professional to the inexperienced ameteur. Rarely have I ever seen critism. Bottom line...we all love to cook, some of us are just better at it than others. :wsm:
 
I have developed my barbequing to the tastes of my family and myself. Using those techniques, I'd bet I'd fail miserably in a competition cook.
 
I agree with you (and apparently it's not just a Forsyth County thing). Maybe candy-coated ribs will get a good score from the judges, but I'm not interested in cooking, or eating them. The judges I want to impress are the people I cook for.
 
Bob Mann said:
I have developed my barbequing to the tastes of my family and myself. Using those techniques, I'd bet I'd fail miserably in a competition cook.
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You're probably not as far off as you think you are. The hardest parts of cooking a comp is that everyone else is probably doing a great job and your margin of error is very small. Also, getting everything ready for turn in requires tremendous preparation and organization. It is all done at the last minute. Probably everyone that reads this board is a better than average cook, if for no other reason than the great information on here. Takes a lot of the trial and error out of it.

Don't get me wrong, the meats cooked for a comp are all great looking and tasting. They may not be to everyone's taste, but keep in mind the judges are just bbq eaters like the rest of us and hopefully know and recognize great bbq, although some of our scores have caused me to wonder a bit about this last statement. 9's and 8's from all the other judges but one that gives 6's and 7's. Makes you wonder. At least low score is thrown out. Those of you that have taken a KCBS CBJ class will remember the scoring that came from each table and the wide variation.
 
With the recent run on Comp styled BBQ shows on TV, maybe that's why the OP has seen a few posts on trying it that way. Figure if some can win a trophy and impress the judges, maybe they should try it and impress the family?
I dunno, I do what I do and like it, but I'll pretty much try any thing once or twice and take it from there.
Like my sig says..:wsm:

Tim
 
T Bounds said:
I continue to read posts, not all of them of course but plenty of them, that suggest there is a desire to cook home food to a competition standard. I just don't get it...Am I alone here? I'm not ranting or angry or anything negative, just bewildered.
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Well, that was something to chew on, but to just go ahead and get specific, I've never even tried removing a chicken thigh's skin and scraping the fat off, which is what I understand you have to do to win in the KCBS. Heck, I rarely even smoke just the thigh, anymore, and rarely glaze spares, either, for that matter.

But the question posed does remind me of a question I asked a music prof back in college, though. Maybe because of the subjective nature of music and food. Anyhow, I asked my prof why all the part writing rules for four-part chorales. It's surprising that I don't remember his answer verbatim, because it certainly sounded rehearsed, and was to the point, regarding the supposed subjective nature of music and as to the question of whether rules were needed or worse, simply arbitrary. Well, he suggested that a chorale simply wouldn't sound like a chorale if it wasn't for all those rules, and folks had simply become accustomed to what good four part chorales were supposed to sound like. Parallel fifths simply didn't fly.

Now I know that backyard bbq isn't the same as four part chorales from the baroque period, but I guess I am suggesting that there are certain expectations that have developed over time, given the historical nature of BBQ in the US, particularly the South and the midwest. On the other hand though, that certainly doesn't equate to what wins on the bbq contest circuits. Oops. I rambled off on a tangent, didn't I. Well, I guess if it makes you and the folks you cook for happy, don't change a thing if you don't want to. :)
 
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Ditto what Bob said. I cook to the taste what my family and friends like.

Bob Mann said:
I have developed my barbequing to the tastes of my family and myself. Using those techniques, I'd bet I'd fail miserably in a competition cook.
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I have found that cooking is a very personal thing and that i get the best results by getting inspired by what others have done and tweeking it to make it the way my family and I like it. There are no "rules" in cooking!
 
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