musicmanryann
is Blowin Smoke!
Okay, so at our first competition the KCBS rep sat us down and gave us some pointers to help. One of the things the said was to make sure you make your Q sweet, as this is what the judges prefer. This concept was not something new to me, as I had done my homework prior to entering my first competition. What I did not understand, I believe, is how important this would be to our final scores, at least for pork, ribs and chicken, as sweetness is probably less important for brisket.
Anyway, our flavor scores for chicken, ribs, and pork were consistently low, although some judges love it (9's) and others did not (6's). In my opinion an abundance of flavor is something that is never missing in my cooking, especially in my Q. This led me to thinking that perhaps we weren't missing flavor, but rather the "correct" flavor.
Both our rub, and the sauce we used in the comp had plenty of sugar, but we attmpeted to balance the sweetness with tartness and spice. I do not believe for a second the Q was too spicy as I have read on here several times that judges overwhelmingly score low for spicy Q. I guess what I am wondering is if, instead of a balanced mix of ingredients, we shouldn't tip the scale over to the sweet side of things? Do your rubs contain a majority of sugars, or like our a majority of paprika (non-sharp)?
Even though this was my first comp, I expected (and did) lose points on tenderness, but I did not expect such relatively low scores on flavor, and am just wondering what went awry. Any thoughts? Should I just shut up until I have had a chance to try stuff out again at another competition? I guess I am also looking for a discussion of sweetness versus spicy/savory and what judges are looking for. While I have read other discussions, I feel I underestimated the importance of it, and am just wondering what others think. Thanks! :-D
Anyway, our flavor scores for chicken, ribs, and pork were consistently low, although some judges love it (9's) and others did not (6's). In my opinion an abundance of flavor is something that is never missing in my cooking, especially in my Q. This led me to thinking that perhaps we weren't missing flavor, but rather the "correct" flavor.
Both our rub, and the sauce we used in the comp had plenty of sugar, but we attmpeted to balance the sweetness with tartness and spice. I do not believe for a second the Q was too spicy as I have read on here several times that judges overwhelmingly score low for spicy Q. I guess what I am wondering is if, instead of a balanced mix of ingredients, we shouldn't tip the scale over to the sweet side of things? Do your rubs contain a majority of sugars, or like our a majority of paprika (non-sharp)?
Even though this was my first comp, I expected (and did) lose points on tenderness, but I did not expect such relatively low scores on flavor, and am just wondering what went awry. Any thoughts? Should I just shut up until I have had a chance to try stuff out again at another competition? I guess I am also looking for a discussion of sweetness versus spicy/savory and what judges are looking for. While I have read other discussions, I feel I underestimated the importance of it, and am just wondering what others think. Thanks! :-D
