Putting Green
 

As a certified judge, some of the turn-in boxes look wonderful. Do you place a layer of shredded lettuce below the parsley or just a layer of parsley to form the putting green? Just wondering how everyone makes a wonderful turn-in boxes. :-P

Nope
 

No Shredded Lettuce, but a ton of parsley packed tightly....

I use shredded lerruce as a bed and then stick the parsly legs in the lettuce.

Correct me if I am wrong. You can use shredded green leaf correct as a bed right?

yes, you can also use all shredded green leaf lettuce if you choose

I may have to try that

http://www.thepickledpig.com/ppforum...rsleybed/4.jpg

http://www.thepickledpig.com/ppforum...rsleybed/5.jpg

http://www.thepickledpig.com/ppforum...rsleybed/6.jpg

http://www.thepickledpig.com/ppforum...rsleybed/8.jpg

Paul first off thanks for posting that. Is that green leaf on the bottom?

Now I see how you guys make things look perfect. Do you use the shredded iceberg lettuce that is already shredded (you buy at the store)? This looks like it is very time consuming and a lot of work - we are blessed as judges. :lol:

That looks great, thanks for posting.

I'd say it looks fresh cut.....

Thats great except for the fact that as a certified judge you are not supposed to be judging the garnish.

Yes, it is green leaf lettuce.

I'm slow and don't make a lot of them. It's wouldn't be unusual for me to spend 60+ minutes making a single box.

I'm getting better. If the parsley is good quality I can do 4 boxes in under 2 hours. One contest it was over 3 hours. So while others party Friday night I'm doing boxes. But it does make a nice box.

I tear up about 1 large leaf of green lettuce for the bottom of each box.

TPP, thanks for that info and especially the pictures! Gotta be one of the most useful bits of info I've found here in a while!

First, thanks a bunch for the information.

How do you keep the parsley fresh and unwilted until turn-ins start? I suppose laying a couple damp paper towels on top would help, but is there a specific method?

Thanks again,
John

If you make the boxes the morning of, place the boxes in a cooler until turn-in. If made the night before, lay a damp paper towel on top of the parsley and then place in a cooler.

The box I pictured lasted for 6 days in my fridge without any wilting using a damp paper towel.

Priceless knowlege there Paul.:-D

Major thanks!:eusa_clap

Mods, I'm thinking this should be put in the Road Map section.

Great stuff...thanks for sharing :)

We have put parsley boxes together as early 9 or 10pm the night before turn-in. Unless you have really bad parsley, it won't noticably wilt.

Just to put it in perspective...A buddy of ours gets his parsley direct from a wholesaler (not the grocery store). He got a whole case and used 1/4 to 1/3 of it for one contest and put the rest in his fridge. He used the parsley from the same case 2 weeks later and said that it actually looked better the second time around. Now I think he said he picks up his cases a week early and let's them sit in the fridge. Just think how long it has been sitting in the cooler at the grocery store before it comes out to the front of the store.

So letting it sit in a cool box over night isn't going to hurt much.

Paul, thanks. We use that technique this weekend on our boxes and received 171 of the 180 appearance points possible, only one 7!

way to go on your reserve this weekend, I see Rob (munchin hogs) finally got that grand for the year too.

Woo hoo! That is very impressive, my friend. Nice work.

John

Congrats! I'm surprised you even got a 7.....I know there are those that are not in favor of these types of presentations, and I myself wonder if the greenery is necessary, it should be a meat contest.
Now, with that said......in 2 contests this year, and 2 GCs, we have not received a presentation score below an 8, with an average of four 9's and two 8's per catagory. Part of those appearance scores is the product itself, I understand that, but the greenery sure isn't hurting the scores at all......

Are you planning to use this idea somewhere? Like Kettering maybe? Still haven't received your entry and don't want to see you miss this big show :wink:

I've been practicing on this method for a couple of months now. I used it in Pine Bluff and got great appearance scores. Here is my chicken box that got my best overall score and appearance scores were 9 8 9 9 9 8:-D

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6...luffkl7.th.jpg

I also discovered in my practice cooks that you can see a lot of things in a picture that you don't notice with the naked eye. I took pics of all my boxes before I closed them and uploaded them to my laptop. On this pic I straightend the crooked breast slice and cleaned off some of the little black thingy's that were stuck on the meat before I turned it in.

Last season I had judged and noticed a couple boxes that had beds of Parsley and overly sauced thighs and the greenery stuck so much that it had to wiped off with napkin-I brought it to the attention of the table captain and was told not to judge it down.

But I too tried the "putting green" this weekend on my Chicken and got 165 and a Second Place prize, I'd like to think the judges that gave me a 6 & 7 for Appearance knew what they were looking at because they did score it high for T & T.

I snipped up 6 or 7 bunches of Parsley the day before and did a practice box so the next day it went real smooth.

Thanks for the tutorial Paul!

I'm glad the Florida Barbeque Association doesn't allow garnish. It's saves time & money. But I need to practice since my first KCBS comp is coming up next month.

Best looking box I didn't see.

Yep, Brian is real good at making his boxes now...

http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/...g/DSC_0073.jpg

http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/...Q/DSC_0072.jpg

Do you know approximately how much parsley you need per box? Just need help estimating

EDIT: I somehow missed the 2nd page and saw a comment that "He got a whole case and used 1/4 to 1/3 of it for one contest" so I guess I figured out my answer

I usually figure on 2 bunches per box.. than pick up a few extra. But it depends on how fresh the bunches look.

I usually get 6 - 8 bunches depending on the quality with 2 heads of green leaf lettuce.

I don't think anywill will argue the point that parsley boxes do look wonderful. And like most I can attest that my average appearance scores went up once I started doing them. However if I could give two pieces of advice for those just converting.....
1. Depending on how you place your entry on the bed of parsley, the middle may not even be visible (this is the case with my ribs, brisket and pork) So I don't kill myself making the whole box look perfect for those entries, I just focus on the edges.

2. Boxes are usually the last thing I do prior to getting a little sleep. So, I'm already tired and in a hurry to be finished with doing them. Have an extra head of parsley for touchups in the morning. You may find yourself wondering what you were thinking when you thought the box was good enough the night before.

^^^good advice^^^

Since we put a refrigerator in our comp trailer, we've started doing boxes on Friday. They look better than when we would rush through them on Saturday. It gives us plenty of time to relax a little before things start getting hectic.

Better yet, make your boxes up before the contest using your own clamshells and transfer the greens to the contest box once you get them.

Yeah Paul, I was amazed at the way you can "build" a box in less than 30 seconds :thumb:.

Clamshell
 

Where can you find the proper size/shape Clamshell:confused:? I have been having trouble locating. Thanks:-P Don

Sam's usually has some. You just can't always count on getting the same size and shape when the contest Rep gives you your boxes. 9x9 is pretty standard, but there are exceptions to that rule.

Transfering
 

Is there a trick in transfer the greens into the contest box. Looks like that would be very tricky.

Put a liner of parchment paper in your box, leaving excess in the front and back. Cut the corners of your parchment liner so it lies flat in the box. Build your putting green. Place a damp paper towel over the putting green and secure for travel with a damper made from cutting down a clamshell top or bottom. When ready to transfer, remove the damper and paper towel and grab the parchment liner by the corners. Lift out of your box and place into the contest box. Use one hand/arm to hold the parsley in place while you slowly pull the parchment liner out. The whole transfer process takes less than a minute.

Now, who can explain to me why the parchment paper always has pink streaks on it when you pull it out?

Outstanding
 

Wooooo, now that is incredible. :clap2: U tha man PAUL:clap2:

How about placing crumpled paper towels on top of the parsely to make a snug fit and hold the parsley in place, close the box, invert it, remove the parchment from the bottom, close again, turn back over, then remove the paper towels? Has anyone tried that method yet?

Chlorophyll reacting with the silicone on the parchment.:bow: