What should I do with these scores?

Stacks · May 9, 2011

Did my first contest this past weekend in Belton. The goal was "no DQ" and "no last place." Well I succeeded on both counts! 4th in brisket and 10th in chicken with 15th overall! My pork came in 24th and ribs were 25th out of 32 teams. I'm sure I overcooked the pork, it was kind of mushy. One of the shoulders was done 4 hours early and the other came off right when it was supposed to. I thought the ribs were good. Firm and tender with a good flavor.
I find all sorts of flaws in my presentations. Of all of the turn in's, I disliked the brisket and pork the most. (the drip on the brisket box and the sauce on the front brisket slice I cleaned up before I closed it. time was close, so no final pic). Here are the scores:
CK 979 899 989 887 979 899
RI 877 789 777 878 889 988
PK 897 888 876 888 866 779
BR 889 889 787 888 899 989
Except for adjusting my cook times for the pork, I'm not sure what is the best course of action based on these numbers? They seem all over the place to me.
Any advice you all have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike

Bunny · May 9, 2011

I don't think I'd change much on your brisket. They liked it enough. And your presentation scores aren't too bad on all of them. It must have been the taste and texture you need to tweek on your pork and ribs. That looks weaker in the scores.

Bunny

redneck cooker · May 9, 2011

They all look good, i think i would have ran a silicon brush over the brisket slices to get the sauce even on all slices, looks kinda un-uniform to me...just a thought..

ammoore · May 9, 2011

I can tell you what not to do with those scores.....
That would be over analyze them based on the results of one contest.

If you see something obvious you want to address I think Bunny has given you some good direction.

mobow · May 9, 2011

Push the ribs together for appearance. Work on tenderness for the pork and ribs. Leave everything else alone for another contest or two. keith

DawgPhan · May 9, 2011

CK 979 899 989 887 979 899
App 9-8-9-8-9-8
Taste 7-9-8-8-7-9
Texture 9-9-9-7-9-9
Chicken should have been a call and was. Nothing to change.

RI 877 789 777 878 889 988
App 8-7-7-8-8-9
Taste 7-8-7-7-8-8
Texture 7-9-7-8-9-8
They didnt like the way they tasted or looked. Pushing the ribs together to start with and then looking at your taste. They were cooked well, not great, but not bad either.

PK 897 888 876 888 866 779
APP 8-8-8-8-8-7
Taste 9-8-7-8-6-7
Texture 7-8-6-8-6-9
Easily the worst of the bunch. I doubt that you actually tasted anything that you put in the box. It looks like you cooked 2 butts, cut the ends off and sliced it and put it all in the box. Did you try a piece of your sliced from each butt? The 9 that you got in texture was a gift. These butts had issues with cooking and taste. They look really dark, the 2 pieces are vastly different sizes and if you didnt taste a piece of what you actually put in the box you make a rookie mistake.

BR 889 889 787 888 899 989
APP 8-8-7-8-8-9
Taste 8-8-8-8-9-8
Texture 9-9-7-8-9-9
You deserved a call and got one, probably not much to change. you left points on the table with a sloppy box, but you can clean that up. the taste and texture were there so good job cooking it.

Stacks · May 9, 2011

Thanks everyone for the great advice and critiques. DawgPhan you're exactly right, I didn't taste the pieces I put in the box. Until you said it, I didn't realize that.

I tasted each shoulder but not what I sent to the judges.
This contest was a great experience. I met some very nice folks and everyone was willing to offer tips and advice... and beer:becky:. I'm looking forward to trying this again next month.
Thank you all:thumb:

What should I do with these scores?

Stacks

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Bunny

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redneck cooker

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ammoore

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mobow

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DawgPhan

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Stacks

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