What should BBQ taste like?


 
Rich Langer

Rich Langer

TVWBB Guru
I am branching this off the "New Judging Instructions" thread in Competition because I think it is of interest to all who barbecue, not just competition cooks.

Anyway, Jim Minion says "great BBQ should go four places, tang from glaze, some sweet, spice and good meat flavor." GRPfeff says "I consider that taste to include the meat, the smoke, the rub and the sauce." I like "barbecue that tastes of the meat, smoke and spice"

What do you like??
 
Wow, what a question. That is like asking what is good art?

I recently took Ray Lampes class to learn more about competition techniques and expectations to simply improve my skills, and to see if that was something of interest. When he spoke of rubs he suggested "being on center", which I took to mean a balance between salt, sweet, and spice. But, he also mentioned you have to make an impact...... Being on center and catching a judges attention seems like a contradiction. My final conclusion was that competition cooking and home cooking can be a little different because you have to cook to an "expectation" in a comp. What I learned is that the expectation of the governing body of the comp is not necessarily the same as mine.

As the basline, I think the result of low and slow produces what we understand to be Q. For me that is a texture or tenderness of that particular meat, the meat itself is the feature, and smoke. One of my objectives for the class was to learn more about any technique or information that produces the most tender product. There is a texture or a feel in the mouth (my ribs & chicken skin in particular at the time of the class) that regardless of favors, will greatly influence my overall opinion of the end product.


Supplemental flavoring, is a wide open game. I lean toward sweet right now because of the family. I like some back heat though.

My quest for the ultimate Q: The meat is always the feature, tender but not dry, and of course smoke. Always playing with different way to supplement that baseline.

Love the question!

Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n..... too many choices!
Gary
 
This question could have as many different answers as there are regions of the country and dialects or "accents" to the way we speak. I am of the opinion that there is no single firm correct answer to this question. And we have not started with the Q renditions from the rest of the world. I know the type of Q that I have learned to make and after much trial and error it is what Q should taste like for my personal preference. But it is fun to try Q from different regions as we travel and compare it to our own. Q should taste like what you think that it should taste like, and not what someone else tells you that it should taste like!

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440 like in My Old Pig Aint Runnin
 
Originally posted by Bob H.:
Q should taste like what you think that it should taste like, and not what someone else tells you that it should taste like!

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440 like in My Old Pig Aint Runnin
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This is better than the way I was going to express it so all I will say is Ditto!
 
I agree each person here will have a different answer for that. Personally I like to taste the meat and smoke more than anything, I do like a very small hint of spice and sauce flavor but it can be very overpowering real easy for me. This is the way I cook at home.

Now as a competitive cook you better cook to the KCBS standards (or any other governing body) which may be different than what we like personally. That's not a bad thing just different.

Everyone if different, there is no right and wrong. It's all about what you like best.

Randy
 
Agree that it should be what you want it to be. Obviously very subjective.

My preference is to impart good texture and taste in the meat. Sauce is important, but should be an addition to the taste, not the main focus.

No particular preference to certain tastes myself (i.e. sweet or tangy or salty). Whatever tastes good tastes good.
 
The question becomes can you judge a Carolina Pork style turn-in and give it good scores even if it is not your favorite. It could be done to perfection but you like sweet, do you mark it down? I'm not saying it taste bad, just not your favorite.

Jim
 
I'm a big believer in appreciating regional differences. I love traveling in Japan because fast food chain restaurants and big box retail stores have much less of an impact there than they do in the states. You really get more of a feel to the local flavor.

I really like that BBQ has significant regional differences in the Carolinas, Memphis, Texas, KC, etc. All of the regional variants are good if done by the best in their craft. With the regional differences, can you really create a single standard by which to judge all that we include under the rubric of "BBQ"?
 
Originally posted by Randy P.:
Now as a competitive cook you better cook to the KCBS standards (or any other governing body) which may be different than what we like personally. That's not a bad thing just different.

Randy
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Interesting answer Randy - you refer to the mythical KCBS standards. I say mythical because lots of folks refer to them but what are they?

I would be happy to see a statement that excellent KCBS BBQ has a balanced and tasty blend of meat, smoke, tangy and/or spice flavors, with meat predominating - but I can't find even that.

IMHO if you want to limit the "spread" of judge's scores, tell them what they are to look for.
 
Jim,

That is a challenge. Unless the individual is well trained and experienced with evalutaing within governing bodies parameters, there no way around the bias. We are all bias machines.


This is relfecting my lack of knowledge of competition cooking, so please excuse my ingnorance. I have found it curious that the competitions cook to an ideal. Isn't that a little like having an art contest, but everybody has to paint the same picture? It seems counter intuitive. I understand the idea of maintaining the integrity of traditional bbq, but doesn't the psychology of cooking to specific parameters take the wow factor out of the game?

Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n.... too many choices!
Gary
 
In polite company one should not discuss, politics, religion, OR BBQ. I agree the there are a lot of regoinal differences-If I am in the Carolinas I would not expect a Mississippi or Texas style. But if you are in one of these areas what do you do? I think being a BBQ Judge would be the ultimate dream job. Good luck, let me know if you need any help.
 
I'd argue that there is far, far less to 'style' than meets the eye. With the exception of Memphis and KC, there is little to support 'style' as a concept--with the possible exception of 'Carolina', though I know many there that would surely support my contention as the variations in sauces alone make many feel that the regional styles are too distinct to be lumped together. I'm not sure I would go that far: though the sauces are different the cooking approach tends to me the same.

Notwithstanding claims otherwise, I'd certainly dispute Texas as having a Q style. Popularity there it surely has, but the differences in approach--everything from cooking temp, to rub (or lack thereof), and most definitely sauces--belie any notion of homogeneity of statewide 'style'. And what is Mississippi's style? Florida's? California's? There isn't one--in each case.

The OP questions seem to be read differently by all who responded and even by the OP.

I think the questions, if taken personally, certainly allow for individual perspectives--'What do you like?' seems to read "What do you like?' to me, and I think Bob's, 'Q should taste like what you think that it should taste like, and not what someone else tells you that it should taste like!' is apt. I think, if throwing the focus onto comps, Gary's statement about cooking to expectations that might be other than one's own is quite apt. Codified or not, it seems an effort must be made by the comp cook to understand (or figure out) what those expectations are.
 
This is an impossible to answer question. I'm going to leave the whole competition factor out of it, because like it or not, collecting teams and judges together is going to create a homoginization across the country. I'm not saying its right, but the nature of becoming a proficient competition cook mandates that one be able to submit entries to the norm.

Personally (the operative word in this discussion!) I have no use for sauce on my BBQ. I think it tends to cover up the essence of what makes BBQ...well BBQ, smoke and meat. In my brief experience with bbq, what makes it bad more often than not is when one flavor component dominates, might be too much smoke, or too much pure meat flavor, might be too much cumin, or maybe too much pepper.

I often wonder what I would think of that first pork butt I smoked years ago. I followed Mr. Brown completely. It was the best meat my family and I has ever experienced. That was good BBQ. Would we feel the same way today about that same approach...I'd venture to say not. It might be passible, but it certainly wouldn't elicit the same reaction it did on that day.

Strangely enough, I also feel pretty strongly that the best BBQ comes when people gather. It takes on the energy of the crowd. It might be 6 people or 60 people. The flavors become contagious, the attitude that the food imparts on people affect its taste. If you make some outstanding tasting Q, but its only you eating it, how outstanding is it? No the proof of good BBQ is crowd reaction. Keri C has a fantastic description of peoples eyes rolling, and how they inhale as they're taking a bite, their eyes closes and they simply say mmmmmm. Not the polite "this is good", but an unmistakable, unfeigned realization on their part that they are experiencing that rare combination of meat, smoke, spice, and maybe sauce.

I haven't really answered the question, because I simply can't. Its more than just the combination of flavors, its attitude towards the food at that given moment.

Joey Mac
 
Very well said, Joe.

I'm with you on the sauce issue. But I love sauces and I love making them. To me, the Q needs to stand on its own--it should not need sauce at all--and then the sauce (served on the side) should be strictly complementary. The sauce, tasted alone, should be balanced as well--no one thing dominating, nothing skewing it one way or the other--and, when added to the Q, the original test of nothing dominating should still stand; it should only add complementary flavors/texture and not detract from the original unsauced taste/texture of the Q in any way. Of course, this can be difficult to pull off especially if one tries to do this each time and each time makes a different rub and a different sauce, as I do. Since I do not compete I am not constricted by cooking to expectations (other than my own) nor, more importantly, do I need to come up with one set of variables that I am able to repeat over and over again. Each cook is a new one for me. And that is what makes it so enjoyable for me. It stays fresh.

Not the polite "this is good", but an unmistakable, unfeigned realization on their part that they are experiencing that rare combination of meat, smoke, spice, and maybe sauce.
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Excellently written. This reminds me of your blog where you wrote of the essence of barbecue being sharing it with others. I think this applies to cooking in general; it does for me anyway. I think this captures it (from Joey Mac's blog at BBQblog.com, specifically this post:

"So the next time you’re toiling on a Saturday morning over proper arrangement of chicken thighs or parsley, pause just a moment (which honestly, at a competition is all you have), and remember that the real essence of BBQ is not in the perfect rib, or 180 brisket, or in the Grand Champion trophy. No, the real essence of BBQ is sharing: sharing food, sharing drink, and sharing conversation and camaraderie with your friends…and family. That is the award each and every one of us takes away from this pastime…the ability to share our craft, our talents, our passion, with all those close to us.

As I sat waiting to go to the funeral of my uncle, my wife spoke to me about plans for the weekend. “Maybe you should cook up some pork? It’d be nice to share with…” I replied, “Yes, yes we should, I’d like that.” Somehow the thought of helping a friend through some troubling times comforted me tremendously. And the thought of being able to do it while playing in the smoke was the therapy I craved."

No one has said it better than that.
 
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