1st competition and I dont get the judging

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wmrrock

Knows what a fatty is.
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I just competed in my very first competition - The LI KOSHER BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP. The judging is very subjective and it doesnt makes sense to me. One judge gave our team the highest marks possible on our brisket. In fact, this judge gave my brisket higher marks than any other team. However, other judges didnt see it the same way and we were given lower marks by other judges. The cuts of brisket were very consistent and each of the 6 judges should have given similar scores - or so I thought. Same thing happened on the ribs. Very high and very low - no middle ground. Can anyone help me possibly understand why and what we can do to even it out for next time?
 
Wow! :rolleyes: Maybe the judge who gave you the high marks was the bad judge. Cook a few more comps and see how it trends.
 
You cannot judge by one competition, and especially your first one. You need to cook a few more and look for trends, as JP said.
 
JP7794 said:
Wow! :rolleyes: Maybe the judge who gave you the high marks was the bad judge. Cook a few more comps and see how it trends.
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A view from a different point of view. I never thought of it like that.
 
Get 3 or 4 comps completed then start digging in to the scoring. You will have a decent baseline then.
 
Welcome to competition BBQ. That would be called a normal weekend! You'll have to cook a LOT more to start seeing any real trends.
 
Congrats on your first comp. You need to enter a few more comps and don't change a thing to see what scores you get . With judging there is no logic. There are experienced and first time judges at all comps. It comes down to personal preference with judging . Also depends on what other turn ins are at the same table for judging . There are a lot of factors , not science. Keep cooking great BBQ and cook the best BBQ every comp. That is all you can do .
 
Sometimes wide spreads in scores means that you offended some judges with flavors that others loved. Sometimes it is just the judges and the game of chance. If I get more than one low score, I at least admit to myself that I didn't 'wow' them.
 
that wasn't a sanctioned comp. no baseline judging criteria. while all judging boils down to being subjective to a certain degree, non-sanctioned events have a greater possibilty for it being completely.

but i agree strongly with all above as well.

where you at in trumbull? i'm by PJ's garden center.
 
The other thought no one here proposed, is that your flavor is off balance someplace.

what 1 judge loved not everyone else may. that and the question of what is the baseline judging? non sanctioned or sanctioned they are all a crapshoot to some degree.
 
Howdy, newbie here, I am part of Chef's gone grillin team and I too am wondering about the judging as you can see from the stats we are all over the place.

How do you get a baseline? and how can you trend? are these the same judges at every event or do they change? I am also very new to this whole deal so go easy on me.

Thanks! also does anyone have pics of their boxes for ref? so we can get a better idea of how to present?

Thanks again!
 
Blownmope said:
Howdy, newbie here, I am part of Chef's gone grillin team and I too am wondering about the judging as you can see from the stats we are all over the place.

How do you get a baseline? and how can you trend? are these the same judges at every event or do they change? I am also very new to this whole deal so go easy on me.

Thanks! also does anyone have pics of their boxes for ref? so we can get a better idea of how to present?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Judges will be different at every contest. The only way to get a baselines is to cook multiple contests. The biggest mistake we made as rookies was to change everything up when we didn't do well. We were all over the place and it was impossible to tell what was wrong because we would get scores like the one the OP left.

Cook at least 3 contests with the same recipes, looking for trends. Then make a change...no more than one change per category, and see if it helps or hurts. Wait 3 contests again to see the effect of the change. Yes, it takes a lot of contests to perfect things. It's not a coincidence that the better teams cook a lot of contests. You can't excel doing 2 contests a year unless you are really just lucky.

If you want to see boxes, register at bbqcritc.com. You can see real judges giving feedback on real contest turn ins.

Also: take a class from a successful team. We try to take one a year. While we are more established now, I still learn at least one useful new tip from every class.
 
boogiesnap said:
that wasn't a sanctioned comp. no baseline judging criteria. while all judging boils down to being subjective to a certain degree, non-sanctioned events have a greater possibilty for it being completely.

but i agree strongly with all above as well.

where you at in trumbull? i'm by PJ's garden center.
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My understanding is that the LI KOSHER is a sanctioned event by KCBS. All judges are KCBS judges.

I am over near Canoe Brook Lake
 
wmrrock said:
My understanding is that the LI KOSHER is a sanctioned event by KCBS. All judges are KCBS judges.

I am over near Canoe Brook Lake
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It's not listed on the KCBS site and the competition web site doesn't say that it is sanctioned. It looks like they follow the KCBS scoring system, but the rules differ in some areas, like garnish.
 
Ron_L said:
It's not listed on the KCBS site and the competition web site doesn't say that it is sanctioned. It looks like they follow the KCBS scoring system, but the rules differ in some areas, like garnish.
Click to expand...

Got it. This was a NON GARNISH Event. Pretty cool event. Each team comes with knowledge and nothing else. Everything is provided. We all had to use Weber 22.5 inch Silver One-Touch. They were all brand new. All knives, utensils, meats, seasoning, spices, pots, etc. was provided by the organizers. We brought 2 bags of Wicked Good Lump. Other teams used the Kingsford Blue that was provided. BTW - loaded up the Weber with the WGC Lump at midnight and had plenty left over by the time the comp was over at 3 p.m
 
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