Confusion with Appearance Scores (Or I hope you are as dumbfounded as me)

stlgreg

stlgreg

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I am hoping someone can really explain this to me. I got my sheets back yesterday and I was completely floored by two of my appearance scores. absolutely floored
 

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Now that you have seen teh pics would you believe this?
Chicken - 959887 - 5?
Ribs - 977478 - 4?

I asked the reps about it. Was the judge talked to? Was there a comment card? Turned out they didnt make comment cards available. I was told that the scores could not be changed. They really didnt understand what I was after.

I dont think either box deserved a 4 or 5 - if you do I am sorry to bother you with this rant - but if you arent talking to the judge then doesnt he/she do it again and again?

(Personally I would have given my chicken a 8 or 9 and my ribs a 7)

BTW, my pork was 878888 and my brisket was 888888 so the problem was not in every category
 
Dang worthless judges... :twisted:

Probably was a picky KCBS Judge...
 
I have judged a good handfull of contests so far this year. I have been told at each one if you give a score less than 6 fill out a card.

The reps never talked about cards - i was close enough to hear everything the judges were told - we were really crammed in there.

Then when asked about them at the end they said "they could have asked for one" How about guidence?"
 
i dont know who it was - certified or not.
Brett you were there - how do those compare with what you saw? What would you have given them?
 
stlgreg said:
I have judged a good handfull of contests so far this year. I have been told at each one if you give a score less than 6 fill out a card.

The reps never talked about cards - i was close enough to hear everything the judges were told - we were really crammed in there.

Then when asked about them at the end they said "they could have asked for one" How about guidence?"
Click to expand...


Greg thats what BS about competiton BBQ. The appearence looks good. Not worthy of those lows scores. Thanks for posting this.
 
I think you got robbed by the outliers on both entries and agree with your own assessment. And although you didn't ask for suggestions for improvement, I'll still offer some.

First, your putting greens are too loose. Try building them so the meat sits on top and doesn't sink in. Think "lift and separate" like a push up bra.

On the chicken, turn each piece 90 degrees. I don't know why, but chicken always does better on appearance when placed horizontally. Also, don't place the parsley on the corners of the center piece.

On the ribs, same thing...turn them 90 degrees so each rib is horizontal and put the extra rib on a side. Again, I don't know why but that seems to result in a higher appearance score.
 
The Pickled Pig said:
I think you got robbed by the outliers on both entries and agree with your own assessment. And although you didn't ask for suggestions for improvement, I'll still offer some.

First, your putting greens are too loose. Try building them so the meat sits on top and doesn't sink in. Think "lift and separate" like a push up bra.

On the chicken, turn each piece 90 degrees. I don't know why, but chicken always does better on appearance when placed horizontally. Also, don't place the parsley on the corners of the center piece.

On the ribs, same thing...turn them 90 degrees so each rib is horizontal and put the extra rib on a side. Again, I don't know why but that seems to result in a higher appearance score.
Click to expand...

thanks Paul. critque is always welcome
 
So welcome to judging. That's how it is. You see the same in taste and tendefrness. I just got 589878 for pork tenderness. The judge filled out a card saying they thought it was "overcooked and mushy". Same card said "very good flavor and the bark is particularly flavorful" and gave me a 7 on taste. Seems like a conflict as that description sounds like an 8 to me. But that's judging.

And I notice that you had a 9 on the chicken box and that's just about as out of line as the 5 was based on the other scores.
 
I often think that (some) not all judges look away when it comes to appearance and then just write down the first number that pops into their heads. This is the only explanation that makes sense with the kind of inconsistent scoring that we get:shock:

It is enough to drive you to drink:-?:-?:-?

Clint
 
Greg, Our chicken box must have hit the same table as yours.You have no 5 or 4 there at all, chicken 8, ribs 7.Michele told me late that morning that they had 100 % cbj's.
My chicken appearance ranged from 5 to 9. My last 4 chciken contest places are 8th ,3rd,7th, and pacific.....wait for it....37th..
You could tell the reps were lost just by the awards ceremony alone...sad..
I do think the organizer put on a fun contest though, except for the heat..
 
I could see each box being scored 7 for appearance, but definitely not 5 or 4. On the other hand, I don't see either of them being a 9.
 
I agree, not fives or fours, but not nine's. Good advice on the putting green idea. I also think the ribs with the larger gap at the bottom is not very eye catching. Try going four over four next time, and get the grass in there tight. I looked at the meat first then the grass. I think the chicken looks pretty good. I can't tell, so maybe that's good, did you size them equally across rows? Meaning all of the same size in a row? Good luck. Scott
 
Jeff_in_KC said:
It's called "judge farked". You're no longer a virgin.
Click to expand...

So thats why i feel so violated:-D

On the other side of things, my briskset taste scores were 749677. Its weird I can handle the 4 a lot more on taste than on appearance and taste is worth four times as much. I have just seen judging one piece can be so much different than the next one.

I did change the 5 and the 4 into 9s and refigured the scores and no places would have changed. I am not taking much solice in that.
 
Greg I feel your pain. It happened to me in Pork tenderness. I got 9,5,9,9,9,7. Now the rest of my scoring in the other categories I must say was the most consistent I have ever received. But I wish I would received a comment card on the 5. I'm curious if the rep even questioned it.

I guess I just deal with the fact that it's not a perfect system and keep pressing on.
 
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