Judge Report
There were 7 tables of judges. Phillip, our KCBS rep., asked for a show of hands from the 3 brand new judges and made sure they were not sitting at the same table. I think we also had a couple of non-certified judges but not positive.
I was asked to be a table captain which I like because I get to see the scores. The only bad part is if there are not more than 6 pieces in the box I don’t get to sample.
My table had 2 master judges, two that had more than 15 contests, one that had 10 and one that had worked 3.
Chicken
We got 6 entries…1 was a lollypop leg and the other 5 were bone in thighs. The thighs had only 6 pieces per box but the lollypop had 8 so I got to try it. The legs looked good and were great on tenderness. I liked the taste but a few of the judges said it tasted bland. I took another bite without the skin and they were right…. not a lot of taste. They also said that one of the thighs had no taste and they loved 2 others.
Side note – As the clock ticked down indicating that it was close to rib turn in time, we could hear what at first sounded like an angry mob approaching. As they got closer it was a large group of kids marching (or parading) an entry towards the turn in table. A certain team who will remain nameless (The Pig Lebowski) had recruited a bunch of the event volunteer kids to assist in walking their box in cheering and hollering all the way. It was quite funny.
Ribs
Again we got 6 entries…5 boxes of spares and 1 baby backs. Only 2 boxes had more than 6 pieces so I tasted those. They were presented as 4 over 4 bones, 5 bones in a line with one in the front, 3 had 6 bones in a line, and one had 4 in a line with a bone at top and bottom.
The two I tried were just OK on taste and tenderness. I would have given them 7’s…maybe a 6 on one of them. The judges said that none of them was a “wow” and one was tough. The scores pretty much were in line with what they said and I could tell which entry they liked.
Pork
5 entries this time. One had money muscle, chucks from under the bone, and pulled. One was just a money muscle. One was pulled with MM. One was just the tube meat (which we don’t see too often) and one was just pulled. One had no garnish.
The judges liked two entries and 3 they did not. Biggest complaint was no pork taste.
Brisket
5 entries. Two were slices and burnt ends and the other 3 were just slices. One box of just slices were presented vertically. In 18 contests have never seen slices presented this way. One entry was sauced and the others looked dry to me. Judges confirmed that they were tough and tasted dry. One entry was sliced with the grain. Judges scored way down.
Tip – A full box looks better than one with just 6 pieces in it. This goes for ribs also. Chicken is another story if you have big thighs…then 6 is all you can get in.
So, overall scores were on the low side based on the entries that hit our table.
Watch for my end of season post about everything I have discovered this year judging. I think I will call it Secrets from Inside the Judges Tent.
Next week I'll be at Liberty Tree in Dalton, GA. Till then...
