What are judges looking for now?


 
No worries Jim. I reported you to Chris A. anyway
icon_smile.gif

But you're right. I've written many posts asking about rub and sauce and not much about meat and process. I guess I just assumed I mastered that part once my WSM arrived
icon_smile.gif


Maybe I'll turn them in naked and see where I place.
 
James -

What I said was not directed at you personally.

On other competition forums, there have been many discussions about how comps should be based on meat and cooking skills rather than sauces, rubs and seasonings, and others joke about comps being just a sauce competition. That was what I was trying to make a joke about, that comps have turned into sauce competitions, not cooking competitions. Sorry if that came across wrong to you.
 
Not at all Jim. No offense remotely taken. You actually made me stop concentrating on the sauce and think about the cook. Now I'm stuck on hickory/cherry, cherry/apple or hickory/apple.

Thanks for the responses. Look forward to more.
 
On that note, I've been using hickory/cherry for ribs with great results. I have tried many combinations, including hickory, oak, cherry, apple and pecan, and hickory/cherry is my favorite combination for both ribs and Boston butts.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Extra tender is a must because everyone thinks fall off the bone is where it is at. I hate that but it is true. I find that to be true often in KCBS too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm kind of surprised. I've found the opposite to be true. I normally err on the side of my ribs being over done, because given the choice I'd prefer slightly over done to slightly under done. I've always gotten killed when my ribs are on the side of being over done. It's like under done is a 7, slightly under done is and 8, done is a 9, and slightly over done is a 6. IMO, it tells me the judges have never cooked and are fixated on the FOTB=bad.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> that's disgusting </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've read that money is generally clean and restaurant employees are not required to wash their hands after handling money. A quick googling turned up this:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Also, since cash is usually dry, many microbes can't live very long in the desert of a ten-dollar bill. Many of the tests on cash did grow junk in petri dishes, but in such small quantities that a single bill doesn't contain enough bits to make you sick. All in all, money is funky but generally non-lethal.

The FBI says your cash is much more likely to be full of cocaine than E. coli. Their chemists have tested bills all over the place and claim to have found dope embedded in the paper fibers of most, especially ones. When dope-contaminated bills are sent through banks' counting machines, cocaine gets in the mechanism and spreads the crystals to neighboring bills. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

so maybe there were other reasons why the cash worked
icon_wink.gif
 
Sauce, no sauce ... it really doesn't matter. It has been my experience as a CBJ that as long as the end product tastes good and has a good balance of flavors, you'll do well.

That said, err on the side of sweet and err on the side of overcooked. CBJs want "properly" cooked ribs, but will forgive a bit of overcooked far more readily than undercooked.

I will always rank a great tasting rib that's overcooked higher than a mediocre-tasting rib that's "correctly" cooked.
 
Agreed. Better to be overdone and/or oversweet than tough and/or bland. I did a set of backs last week using a 3-1-1 @ 275 and they were just bite tender. I could see how 30 minutes less would definitely turn people off but 30 minutes more would probably still please the masses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top