Question for Judges and Competitors

You know what good BBQ tastes like, you make it everyday. You wouldn't have all the repeat business you have if you didn't make good BBQ. You chose to add a raspberry flavor to your ribs and it didn't work fo those judges thats all it is. Don't let Myron's comments and those other two bozo's get to you Neil.

I thought I had an idea until the show as well. Apparently it needs to have a good sear, had been pound the heck out of for more flavor, and make sure it has lots of sauce.:wink:

Good BBQ means different things to different people. I am not sure that there is an answer beyond perfectly cooked meat. For flavor, not all of our tastes are the same. Some like it sweet, some like it tangy, some like it with alot of sauce and some like it with no sauce at all. Just remember that it is just the opinion of three people on Pitmasters. When we compete, we rarely bring anything home, because at a contest we prepare our Que with the idea that we have just one bite, to capture the judges attention, and thats not the type of cue we would enjoy eating. I watched you on Pitmasters. Just keep your chin up. It's just the opinion of three people. You conducted yourself like a true professional and Ambassador for the Brethren. You should be very proud of yourself. Michele and I were.

To me this is what I found to be BBQ. http://bbqilluminati.blogspot.com/2009/06/lexington-bbq-nc.html

what I like is how I define good BBQ. I don't think my first place ribs are good BBQ but they score well. I do think my comp chicken is good BBQ. I like chopped brisket done to 205. I like pulled pork in chunks with no sauce. And I like dry ribs with a little sauce on the side. That's what I think is good BBQ. Why???? Because I liike it that way.

Nwo there are actually definitions of "good" bbq for competition and they are different for different sanctioning bodies. There's good vending BBQ, good family BBQ, good restaurant BBQ, good catering BBQ. They all vary for me.

Neil - I totally agree with the others comments about the show - spot on!

To me, good BBQ is deep rich flavorful meat that can stand on it's own without sauce. Good BBQ should have a nice balanced blend of spices on top of tender moist meat. The sauce when added should complement the meat and never overpower it...again balance be it a sweet spicy sauce or more savory sauce.

Great job on the show. Keep up the good work!

Smokesman said:

To me, good BBQ is deep rich flavorful meat that can stand on it's own without sauce. Good BBQ should have a nice balanced blend of spices on top of tender moist meat. The sauce when added should complement the meat and never overpower it...again balance be it a sweet spicy sauce or more savory sauce. Great job on the show. Keep up the good work!

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That says it all as far as I am concerned.
Every once in a while some one will turn in what must be farm raised pork. You older folks will remember what I'm talking about, full of flavor, grease running down your chin - not the "healthy" & "low fat" stuff that the factory farms put out today. That pork makes some damn good BBQ, food that can stand on its own and win :thumb:.

Depends on the meat but I'm looking for the 5 tastes, bitterness, sourness, sweetness, saltiness, and umami with the hint of smoke played together like a beautiful composition. Now, individual tastes vary but for comp bbq I'm looking to avoid those "individual" tastes. I'm looking to create something that encompasses what people love about bbq while allowing individual tastes to appreciate what I'm trying to do. Looking at it another way, some like rock n roll, country, classical, funk, jazz, death metal, folk, opera, etc and that's just like all of us and our individual preferences with bbq. Now, there are some bands out there that can trangress that one genre and be appreciated by nearly all music lovers. We may not love that band and every song (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, U2, Metallica, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Garth Brooks, Elvis, Johnny Cash, etc.) but we can listen to it and deeply admire it for what it does musically. My favorite bbq is like a song that makes you take notice, sit or drive a little longer, and appreciate it for what it is.

Now with what you did, you threw in some jazz with the raspberry but it individualized the taste a bit too much. Granted, I didn't taste them but by adding in that raspberry it was like presenting Miles Davis. Great for jazz fans but most people don't appreciate him.

Neil,
Ford hits on very good points. Depends on what kind of BBQ, but, I'll take a stab, considering that my comp BBQ is not "good BBQ" in my honest opinion.

Good bbq is smokey, sweet, spicy and tender. Pulled pork is good with a vinegar sauce, not too tender. Nice bark, never been in foil. Chicken is best with a touch of char, crispy skin and sticky sweet from the grill. Ribs are best smokey through, tender but not fall off the bone and a nice spicy sweet light glaze. Brisket is best not too smokey, spicy rub, and peppery sauce in the side. IMHO.

Hey Bigmista, the judges gave Johnny Trigg a perfect score on his BBQ, but my brothers beat Johnny Trigg in ribs last weekend in Craig Colorado. I don't think our taste in BBQ is any better than Trigg's or your's for that matter ... but to the Judges in Craig, they liked ours better than Triggs -- this time

Don't know that I am qualified to answer that question, but here goes:

Good BBQ tastes like meat that has been carefully and delicately seasoned with a well balanced combination of smoke, salt, spice, and sweet that requires nothing else to make it taste great.

See, now that would be interesting. Salt, pepper, and meat. Now that's my favorite bbq. Unctuous, tender, smoky, crispy bits, and the quality and methods to raise the animal shine through. Different ballgame but delicious.

for comp bbq i think you gotta look at the meat and more importantly the fat of the meat as a blank canvas. everyone says fat = flavor but it is not so. it is the element apon which fat soluable flavors ride.

Bigmista said:

When is the last time that you (or me for that matter) cooked a piece of meat with heat only? No seasoning, no smoke. If you have, what did it taste like?

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The closest that I can think of was tossing a well-marbled chunk of ribeye about 1 1/2" thick on the Platinum. I used only S & P, onion powder and garlic powder. It turned out GREAT :-D.
Now, how that type of cooking would go over at your average judges' table is another question .

Bigmista said:

Rubs, sauces and smoke are supposed to enhance the flavor of the meat but what is the flavor that we are enhancing? Can anyone describe it? And if we can't quantify it, how can we judge it? What is our baseline?

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I guess you're right that we anticipate the pit-masters skills of enhancing what we perceive to be bland flavor (excluding beef for me). Even if we never calibrate back to the true baseline of no enhancement at all, we do know meat that is too far in that direction because we say, not enough smoke, not enough spice etc... Or how about "boring"?

You don't have to eat grapes to appreciate a fine wine because we expect wine to be an enhancement of the baseline.

PS... Just curious, what made you go with raspberry? Was it something you sell at your restaurant or do you make it from time to time for self? Is that your preference of a rib?

Bigmista said:

Even then, you had flavor enhancers (Spices and Smoke). Kinda hard to judge something that's been altered if you don't know what the original tastes like.

Take almonds for example. Roasted, salted almonds are tasty. So are smoked almonds. But until you've had them raw, how do you know what you are eating is better or worse than the original, unadulterated flavor? You're just saying I like the flavor of that salt. or that smoke.

BTW...I'm not advocating that you go out and eat raw meat.

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My wife and I discuss this frequently. I LOVE the most simple, unadulterated meat. I also LOVE corn on the cob, still in the husk that's been cooked over a fire. No salt, no pepper, no butter.

Eating that simple food is like listening to the wind blowing through the trees. It's like listening to the cicadas racket in the night that should be quiet. It's simply what is.

BUT - when I judge BBQ . . . it's the human element that takes that natural simplicity and evolves it into a tone poem of spices.

I think that simply appreciating being alive - the opportunity to have this human experience of existing in this time/space continuum - is enough for me to appreciate the unadulterated flavor of meat and any other thing.

To appreciate the art that the human being cook brings to the already perfection of food . . . well, that's nervana to me. It's like good music - it's not what you hear in nature - but I've never pumped my booty to the sound of waves washing up on the shore. It takes human input (God Bless Eddie Harris!) to get me up off the beach!

Sure, we can all go to McDonald's and get our bellies full. But what's the point in that? But to be able to sample the creation of a master artist . . . now THAT is worth seeking it out!

I suppose that good BBQ is what drives my brain to attempt to create a human rendition of what already exists in natural perfection.

Does that help?