Another Judges note

D

ddog27

Guest
Ok this is one that really bugs me. The note said, “You need to put more sauce on your pork.” WTH?? I work hard to make the pulled pork entry taste good and a judge is upset because I did not smother it in sauce? I do put sauce on my pulled pork turn in but I do not pour it on. I add it sparingly. This kind of thing drives me crazy!
 
You know . . . I wouldn't give those comment cards much weight.

I almost never fill out a comment card - and most of the judges I know never do.

You can let it drive you crazy . . . or you can take it and put it away in the back of your notebook somewhere.

Have you ever judged, D-dog? If you have not, then I would highly recommend it. That's the only reason I got started with judging. I competed a couple of times, my scores were somewhere between OK and poor - and I thought I had turned in some really great stuff! I took the judging class and started judging so that I could know what it was I was shooting for . . . and it helped A LOT!
 
^^^^^What he said....very good advice.

BBQ is very subjective and regional as are personal tastes. Just remember this one persons opinion. Just shrug your shoulders and move on.

This my first year of competing (semi)regularly and I will definitely work on getting my CBJ next year and start judging some contests to get a better feel for whats working in my region. Best of luck D-dog and dont let it get you down.
 
That one I'm going to blame on the Rep. When the Rep reads something like that he should ask that judge "Are you farkin' serious?" and try to explain to him that sauce is optional. Do you remember if the judge was a CBJ?
 
Rookie'48 said:
Do you remember if the judge was a CBJ?
Click to expand...
Now THAT is an excellent question! Any of the judges can fill out a comment card - even "celebrity" judges like mayors and radio personalities.
If the judge doesn't have at least ten events under their belt, then take that comment card with a grain of salt and don't worry about it.
It is very important for judges to take their jobs seriously. However, there are far too many beginning judges who take themselves too seriously.
 
ddog27 said:
Ok this is one that really bugs me. The note said, “You need to put more sauce on your pork.” WTH?? I work hard to make the pulled pork entry taste good and a judge is upset because I did not smother it in sauce? I do put sauce on my pulled pork turn in but I do not pour it on. I add it sparingly. This kind of thing drives me crazy!
Click to expand...

the last time I poured sauce from a pan on top of my pork and said "oooops !!"... I was 1st..
 
We add sauce to our pork (while in a half pan), toss it quickly and box. It's literally a 60 second process and we make sure it is coated enough to add flavor.

I believe it just depends on what the judges are looking for on any given day. Seriously Darin, you just cant beat yourself up on judge's scores. You'll go crazy trying to figure it out.
 
Speaking as a judge who gives quite a few comment cards, that one is just weird.:confused: Maybe what they were trying to say was that it was bland or dry, and they thought more sauce would help. What were the taste and tenderness scores? I think some people have difficulty expressing what they really want to say in that format. Probably best just to chaulk it up to a random oddness and let it go.
 
You never know what a judge is trying to say. Comment cards should address the problem rather than the solution. "You need more sauce" could mean the meat was dry, or it didn't have enough flavor, or I really like that sauce and wanted more on the meat.

When I write comment cards, I stick to describing the problem rather than lecturing on how to fix the problem.

Perhaps, KCBS should start addressing this in CBJ classes.
 
That type of comment should be disregarded because it really isn't helpful. We have been striving for balance in our flavors and consistency in our turn-ins and as a result our scores and placings have been improving.
 
I love those comment cards. One like this (stupid, IMHO) then tell you to disregard
their score and to not read one darned thing into the score, other than simply you
cannot please every one every time. There's a nut in every basket. Also, careful
with region. Apparently there are entire regions (from what I understand) that
pretty much require/expect sauce, and some expect a LOT of sauce to the point
where you could turn in a well seasoned and overly sauced piece of cardboard and
they couldn't tell the difference in flavor... Others the judges are very accustomed
to BBQ without sauce, so in those areas/regions go very light on the sauce. We
happen to be in one of the "light or no" sauce regions. Even then, there's the
occasional rogue judge like the one you mentioned. When we get those, I actually
enjoy those cards. That way I know to just write-it-off. It happens. The ones
to sweat are the good/constructive criticism.
 
Rookie'48 said:
That one I'm going to blame on the Rep. When the Rep reads something like that he should ask that judge "Are you farkin' serious?" and try to explain to him that sauce is optional. Do you remember if the judge was a CBJ?
Click to expand...

Yes the judges were CBJ.
 
QansasjayhawQ said:
You know . . . I wouldn't give those comment cards much weight.

I almost never fill out a comment card - and most of the judges I know never do.

You can let it drive you crazy . . . or you can take it and put it away in the back of your notebook somewhere.

Have you ever judged, D-dog? If you have not, then I would highly recommend it. That's the only reason I got started with judging. I competed a couple of times, my scores were somewhere between OK and poor - and I thought I had turned in some really great stuff! I took the judging class and started judging so that I could know what it was I was shooting for . . . and it helped A LOT!
Click to expand...

Yeah I need to take a CBJ class so I can see what it is the judges are looking at and so I can go eat some Q! ;-)
 
Podge said:
the last time I poured sauce from a pan on top of my pork and said "oooops !!"... I was 1st..
Click to expand...

Really?? Wow. That says a lot about the judging. I have heard some people say that they have messed up and their turn in was so sweet they could not eat it and they won!
 
Crash said:
We add sauce to our pork (while in a half pan), toss it quickly and box. It's literally a 60 second process and we make sure it is coated enough to add flavor.

I believe it just depends on what the judges are looking for on any given day. Seriously Darin, you just cant beat yourself up on judge's scores. You'll go crazy trying to figure it out.
Click to expand...

Go Crazy?? Already there! ;-)
 
Don’t loose any sleep over it. Chalk it up as it was your turn to get the wacko judge. There are lots out there and it is like a roll of the dice.

Ironically, when I attended our judging class, two people provided low scores because they said “we like more sauce”. Go figure.
 
Jacked UP BBQ said:
It is a sauce contest.
Click to expand...

Maybe not, but it is definitely a flavor contest. Perhaps the judge didn't articulate themselves very well, but they did offer a valuable clue. Apparently this judge either felt your pork was bland or perhaps dry.

That's good feedback for a cook to hear, rather than trying to guess at how the entry was prepared or offer suggestions for changing it like you got on that particular comment card.

This game isn't about what you like, it's about what those six people like, so in my book any scrap of feedback you can get from them is useful. Of course the problem with using that info it is you draw six different judges next time!
 
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