got my feeling hurt

Check out the thread "And God said.....". It happens at every level. There's ups, and
there's downs. Even the ulta-consistent big competitors have bad outings (last time I went against Jack's Old South they were largely middle-of-the-pack or lower in everything).

Sometimes you're the windshield; sometimes you're the bug.

Same thing happened to me this weekend. My brisket was so perfect I didn't even want to turn it in, prolly my best in the past 6 months. And it's been near the top the last 8 contests, in 3 different states: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 4, 4. Knuckle-headed judges panned it this weekend, scoring it 16th out of 31. Gimme a break.

Here are my random thoughts, not particularly related to each other:

A blind box isn't personal; the product is what it is, the scores are what they are. We all get wonky scores, and you can't let it get to you unless a particular product scores poorly over time.

It's possible that you might be better off in a KCBS-sanctioned show, with a good percentage of experienced CBJs. At the very least, you get detailed feedback in the form of your raw scores, showing exactly where improvement could be needed.

And even when you improve, improvement isn't linear. All hot streaks end, you'll fix one meat that was giving you fits and just when it's behaving, another one will go south on you!

I guess that's what keeps us coming back week after week.

> It's possible that you might be better off in a KCBS-sanctioned show, with a good percentage of experienced CBJs. At the very least, you get detailed feedback in the form of your raw scores, showing exactly where improvement could be needed.

I agree. Any sanctioning body with a high percentage of CBJ's is going to have less "willy nilly" scores going on. Unsanctioned, all bets are off. You could very well do much better.

Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's ALL small stuff! :becky: Judges are judges...sometimes they like your stuff...sometimes they don't...just have fun! :thumb: We had 3 first place walks and one 11th place walk and came in 4th overall...go figure! :crazy:

I am no expert at anything, bbq is bbq.
I have turned in stuff that I thought was awesome, got my lunch handed to me.
I have turned in things that I thought were embaresing..sp? and did very well.

Comp's to me are just hanging out with your friends new and old. It is like another backyard practice. View it as another training session. Just have fun.

parrdist said:

...my 4th non sanctioned contest ..... Pork steaks got 3rd.

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This is another problem with a comp like that one - the judges are trying to compare not only one entry to another (not happening in KCBS ray they're comparing different types of meat :shocked:. Does the term "apples & oranges" come to mind? In a sanctioned comp it's ribs vs ribs, butts vs butts, etc - more of a level playing field.

As others have said I wouldnt worry too much if one of your scores were not where you expected. I had one non sanctioned contest where I scored 15th out of 16, and I honestly thought it was one of my best pork turn ins ever. So at the next contest I did, I used the exact same recipe and scored10th out of 66. You just never know what a judge is looking for.

Geez, don't let a bad finish stop you. We all take our lumps occassionally. You have to just suck it up, congratulate the winners and get em next time! Jump in to a KCBS comp.

Keep on going - push through this rough patch and be grateful for everything that you enjoy about competing - and don't worry about competing in KCBS - I've only ever competed in KCBS and I've never considered myself a 'big boy'. I just love cooking and this is one more way that I get to do that . . .

Plus, hey, somebody has to fill in the bottom rungs so that the great teams can win!

QansasjayhawQ said:

- and don't worry about competing in KCBS - I've only ever competed in KCBS and I've never considered myself a 'big boy'. I just love cooking and this is one more way that I get to do that . . .

Plus, hey, somebody has to fill in the bottom rungs so that the great teams can win!

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^^^^^ This.

I've competed in some other organizations but I started with the "big boys" and don't plan on digressing. I like to cook and compete and this checks both those boxes and I can walk or be DAL on any given cook day!

I could try to put a positive spin on the St. Peters Quetopia contest this past weekend but I won't. The weather was marginal at best and with the exception of chicken, the judges thought we sucked. I didn't, but that's not really important. We will be at it again this coming weekend and the 2 following.

Our very first contest was in 2005, a 75 team KCBS event IN Kansas City. Dive in, the water's fine.

parrdist said:

I'm new to competition BBQ and just did my 4th non sanctioned contest. I have been doing pretty well and feeling good about myself, starting to think about jumping in with you big boys and try a KCBS. Yesterday did a a contest and got my Ribs slapped down and I really thought they were right on, but got 6th.

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Was this at Que Topia? I was signed up for the backyard part, but Saturday morning the person who was suppose to haul my grill/smoker said they couldn't make it.
I was wondering because you said ribs and I wasn't told they were part of the comp. Then again, I'm from Franklin county so maybe it was for the best

I feel your pain. We just got our ass handed to us at the sams local in ches.va. This was our 7th contest and we had been struggling somewhat because of limited resources and opportunities to practice beforehand because of work commitments. Overall, I thought we were getting things dialed in. Well, the wheels fell off this past weekend. It was not bad judging that done us in. Quite frankly, I just did not cook at the level I normally do and my scores were justly deserved. To score well consistently like you see the top teams do, requires serious attention to detail and really staying focused. The teams that continue to shine have done their homework, they don't rest on their laurels, they continue to improve and tweak. Even these teams have a 'bad day' sometimes. Trust me, it hurt my eyes to look at my scores. I was embarassed. But the scores we got were pretty much what we earned. Product was average at best. I will learn from this and study my scores, practice and refine my technique, learn my new cooker better, amp up the flavors and get back in the hunt again come early next year. I feel I have a clearer understanding of what the judges expect and also realize we can vastly improve our product for future contests. Yes I was deeply discouraged over our results, but it was our fault. I will learn, improve and come back stronger next time out.

If we all thought like that, we would have no contests..........

Like any home cooked meal, some are great & some turn out not so great. But ya keep on cookin, dont ya. Otherwise we'de all starve :-D

so chin up, back to the drawin board & move on