First Comp last weekend - Thoughts on turn-in boxes


 
Rusty Breaux

Rusty Breaux

TVWBB Fan
Was in what i would call my first competitions. Actually was in the same one last year, but had ZERO knowledge of what i was doing and was pretty much just out there for support. Over the last 12 months i have dedicated myself to learning how to actually smoke a good brisket. Well along with that comes alot of other information, so i had ALLOT of input on how the boxes came out (except the ribs, i left that up to one of the other guys).

Brisket was smoked on my 18.5 WSM, Ribs on a BGE, Pork BGE. The Pork butt was cooked by a teammate that REALLY relied too much on a time schedule and we BARELY got it done by turn-in time. The last hour was cooked close to 400* to get it up to IT. The pulled part was the MOST i could get out of it (undercooked in places)

Here are the boxes, any comments and criticisms welcome.

IMG_2680_zpszv42x6gj.jpg

IMG_2682_zpsxzxhmzld.jpg

IMG_2681_zpspdaagv7t.jpg

IMG_2679_zpsua2z3ond.jpg

IMG_2676-2_zpskokdx6di.jpg


thanks
rb
 
I know absolutely nothing about competition, but from what I've seen your brisket turn in isn't typical. What you've got is exactly what I'd want to eat, but what I've seen is mostly fat cap cut off and a more symmetrical trim on the brisket. You'd never see that place where the point overlaps the flat for instance. The videos I've seen (which break my heart) of competition trimming, they typically try to maximize the amount of usable flat by cutting a lot of the fat out between the point and flat. They also trim with the box in mind. The pork needs better knife work probably. The ribs in particular aren't cut that well, so that something to work on.

Keep in mind I'm not a competitor. What I've seen of turn in boxes as far as brisket don't look that good to me. I want to see fat cap and I don't want to see a brisket I can tell is injected full of phosphates.
 
I recommend you take a look at boxes on http://www.bbqcritic.com/judgemybox and even post yours there to get feedback. It will give you an idea of what judges are looking for because judges rate the boxes and provide comments. Pay particular attention on how uniform everything is. Each rib the same length, each slide of pork or brisket the same, etc.
 
Last edited:
Dustin Dorsey said:
I know absolutely nothing about competition, but from what I've seen your brisket turn in isn't typical. What you've got is exactly what I'd want to eat, but what I've seen is mostly fat cap cut off and a more symmetrical trim on the brisket. You'd never see that place where the point overlaps the flat for instance. The videos I've seen (which break my heart) of competition trimming, they typically try to maximize the amount of usable flat by cutting a lot of the fat out between the point and flat. They also trim with the box in mind. The pork needs better knife work probably. The ribs in particular aren't cut that well, so that something to work on.

Keep in mind I'm not a competitor. What I've seen of turn in boxes as far as brisket don't look that good to me. I want to see fat cap and I don't want to see a brisket I can tell is injected full of phosphates.
Click to expand...

Reading over ur comments and you are right.. looking around and there is NO fatcap on competition boxes. HHMMMM.. all of the learning i have been doing has been for personal eating and enjoyment, not for competition. I may have to start working on that comp style trimming.

as far as the ribs go, i liked nothing but the flavor of them. Didnt like the thickness of the seasoning, the mustard he used first, nor the cutting or the doneness of the meat. We placed 3rd with the taste im pretty sure, but i was disappointed with them all together.

THANKS for the info.
rb
 
Rusty…

Dustin and Dwain have presented very valuable information. I totally agree with what they both wrote.

It is said we eat with our eyes. This is also true for judges. We will issue a score based on the Appearance of the meat. During those couple of seconds in which the turn-in box is passed before us for our scoring, we must decide if everything is legal (meat and garnish, if used) and how the meat appears to us. Does it appear overcooked / undercooked ? Does it appear moist / dry ? Does it look appealing ? In KCBS, we will give it a score from 2 to 9, with 9 being Excellent and 6 being Average. We score based on our own life long BBQ experiences. In other words, no two judges will have exactly the same response to a turn in box. May be very close in the short term, but not exact in the long term.

Take a good look at that BBQ Critic site. Read each and every comment left by the reviewing judges. (You might even find a few of mine when I was actively doing on-line judging) While that site only deals with the appearance score, remember that appearance receives the smallest multiplier towards your overall score. I have had both turn-in samples that looked truly Excellent to my eyes but fell short in the taste and texture. Also had samples the exact opposite… Not that good looking but WOW… Excellent taste and texture.

One area that we judges must tread lightly is garnish. It is not required. In fact, some sanctioning bodies outlaw it. But if used, remember that the meat is the star of the show. Let the meat be the prominent item(s) in the box.

Bob
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top