First (and probably last) time judging

Sir Smoke A Lot said:

Seriously, is a 2" by 2" chunk of meat is a burnt end? I always thought burnt ends were diced chunks of meat from the point - they are NOT fatty, they are well done and very flavorful. The box that was turned in had 6 2" by 2" chunks of meat that were full of fat.

I have cooked in at least a half dozen contests, so I know what it takes to compete. I was one of 2 judges at my table that has cooked. I usually compete by myself so I am doing all the work. I have taken walks, so I can't be completely clueless.

Do you turn in ribs with a membrane?

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Sir Smoke A Lot said:

Ribs - Here is where I ran into some trouble. It was brought to my attention that my scores were lower than everyone else at my table. I know what a well cooked rib is supposed to be. Does that automatically make it a 9 on tenderness? I guess I don't believe it does. If it is well cooked, we are looking at above average at least.

So what would it take to make it a 9?
Or do you think that a 9 doesn't exist?


If your rib is well cooked, but you left the membrane on, that is going to hurt you. I don't leave it on - I expect everyone else to remove it as well. Removing the membrane does not make a rib above average - it is what everyone SHOULD do.

I must have missed that in the judging class. Can you show me where
removing the membrane is a requirement or even suggested?

Yes, I remove it, but I would NEVER score down soley for that reason.


From what I remember from the class, taste is rather subjective. I DO NOT like sickly sweet sauce. I am probably the exception around here. If your rib tastes like it was dipped in sugar, I am not going to score it high, because that is not what I like.

I know that taste is difficult but if you think that all ribs that have a
sweet sauce on them are crap, aren't you doing a disservice by interjecting your personal tastes since sweet sauces are commonplace? What you are saying is, no matter how well a rib is cooked, if you put a sweet sauce on it, you will score it down. I would hate to have you for a judge.

Brisket - I think they figured I was a lost cause at this time. I got a "square" of brisket. It looked burnt on the top and it was full of fat. While the meat was tasty, it was overcooked and the fat inside detracted from it.

This sounds an awful lot like a burt end, part of the point.
Many judges like these.

So, tell me, am I too hard? I guess I am very hard on myself as a cook and that translates toward other cooks as well.

Maybe judging just isn't your cup of tea..........just my $.02.....nothing more.

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Sir Smoke A Lot said:

No - the lowest score I gave out was a 4 for some pulled pork that I really wanted to spit out as soon as I put it in my mouth. It was completely mushy.

For chicken, the lowest was probably a 6.

For ribs, it was a 5.

The pulled pork was 4 and the brisket was 6.

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Double D's BBQ said:

Sorry to be harsh here but many of us invest as much as $1000 per contest and expect those that are judging the cooks to have a minimal knowledge of what they are judging.
.

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Sir Smoke A Lot said:

I was really looking forward to my first judging experience this past weekend. As the moments before the first turn in approach, I was eager with anticipation.

Chicken - I am thinking to myself "Those are some pretty good presentations. Remember - garnish is optional, so you are judging how appetizing the chicken itself looks." I gave the chicken some fairly high scores all the way around. For the most part, it was cooked very well, and even though some of the sauces used were not exactly my cup of tea - it did not detract from the overall effort.


This is how it should be, personal taste should not factor into the score.

Ribs - Here is where I ran into some trouble. It was brought to my attention that my scores were lower than everyone else at my table. I know what a well cooked rib is supposed to be. Does that automatically make it a 9 on tenderness? I guess I don't believe it does. If it is well cooked, we are looking at above average at least. If it is not well cooked, does that make it average or below average? I tend to believe it does. If it falls off the bone when I take a bite, if I score that as average or better, is that not a dis service to the other cooks that nailed it? If your rib is well cooked, but you left the membrane on, that is going to hurt you. I don't leave it on - I expect everyone else to remove it as well. Removing the membrane does not make a rib above average - it is what everyone SHOULD do. From what I remember from the class, taste is rather subjective. I DO NOT like sickly sweet sauce. I am probably the exception around here. If your rib tastes like it was dipped in sugar, I am not going to score it high, because that is not what I like.


I believe a fall of the bone rib could not be considered better than average on tenderness. It has been over cooked. As for the sauce, again, your personal opinion should not matter. Is the rib tasty? Even if you don't like sweet Q, is it good sweet Q if you did like sweet Q? I think not scoring something low that you know should be higherbut yet you don't like...is a major disservice.

Pork - again, here is where I got in trouble. Once again, I was told my scores were lower than everyone else at my table. I believe I am good pulled pork cook. If I look at an entry and it looks like it is mush, I am not going to rank it high on appearance even though the box may look nice. I am judging it based on how much I am looking forward to trying it. Is this wrong? If you serve me mush, am I seriously supposed to score it high because it is "tender"? And if all I can taste is salt, even though it may be cooked well, I am going to knock you down.

Tenderness is where you can knock people for mushy pork. You say if the box looks nice you will not score it good if the pork looks mushy..at this time..how do you know it is mushy? You say the box looks nice and that is appearance.

Brisket - I think they figured I was a lost cause at this time. I got a "square" of brisket. It looked burnt on the top and it was full of fat. While the meat was tasty, it was overcooked and the fat inside detracted from it. Some of the entries were decent and they were cooked pretty well, but there was just not alot of flavor.

So, tell me, am I too hard? I judged things how I truly felt. It may have gone against everyone else at the table, but I was honest with myself. I understand the reps were only doing their job, letting me know my scores were low. I have no ill will toward them. I guess I am very hard on myself as a cook and that translates toward other cooks as well.


This is just my opinion and I hope you as well as others become more consistent in judging. I know that we are all human and we tend to put our opinion into everything we do but judging needs to be consistent and not based off of what you do in a comp or what you like the best in the way of flavor.

Good luck to you in the future.

Has this happened to anyone else?

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Sir Smoke A Lot said:

Again, I do appreciate the feedback. I realize I am not good judge material. I will not, however, apologize for scoring mushy pork low. At least to me, mushy pork is not average.

I think it boils down to this - just because I turn something in, I do not expect at least a 6. If I turn in crap (and I know that on a couple of occasions I have) I don't expect "average" scores.

Again, I appreciate the honesty and I respect your opinions. That is why I posted this thread.

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Dale P said:

This past weekend I recieved these numbers for tenderness on my chicken.
8-9-7-9-8-5

Im thinking judge #6 had dull teeth.:mrgreen:

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