Uncle Buds BBQ
is one Smokin' Farker
Well it's official. I took the class, raised my hand, repeated the oath, and now I'm a judge! But wait, I'm a cook...judges are on the other side! Why have I done this? Let me tell ya!
We have been competing for 3 years now and our product has REALLY improved but we don't score high at all. We practice, we read, we try new techniques but to no avail. Others, who are well respected in the BBQ community had suggested that a KCBS judges class would be beneficial and they were right.
I learned some key things at class that were not apparent looking at it through "cooks eyes". Plus, it gave me a better appreciation for some slight scoring differences. Now, I'll need to sign up to judge some comps which will probably be strange at first. I feel more comfortable in front of a cooker rather than inside the judges tent.
Now...about the class.
We have wanted to take the class for a while but just couldn't fit it in when the class was being held close to Atlanta. A few months back I saw one offered in Madison, MS so I called Bud Jr. and asked if he was UP for a road trip!
The Knights of Columbus at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church hold a comp in Oct. called Grillin for Life. http://www.grillinforlife.com/ and decided to host a judges class this Sat. (oh..and for some reason they think the "KC" in KCBS stands for Knights of Columbus)
Bud Jr. and I jumped in the Family Truckster and headed out Friday morning for the 6 hour drive to Madison with a much needed rest stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Birmingham. Got to check out some of their cookers and a few fishing poles.
Now it's on to Jackson, MS. We asked the class organizer for a few recommendations to their local BBQ joints and settled on The Haute Pig for dinner. It's a higher class place then what we are used to but the Q was good.
In the morning we headed over to the church and spotted their cooker in the parking lot.
We took a peek in the kitchen and got to see MOUNDS of meat being preped.
After checking in we and about 60 other folks got a seat in the gym as class started. That's Ron Harwell teaching the class.
We have been competing for 3 years now and our product has REALLY improved but we don't score high at all. We practice, we read, we try new techniques but to no avail. Others, who are well respected in the BBQ community had suggested that a KCBS judges class would be beneficial and they were right.
I learned some key things at class that were not apparent looking at it through "cooks eyes". Plus, it gave me a better appreciation for some slight scoring differences. Now, I'll need to sign up to judge some comps which will probably be strange at first. I feel more comfortable in front of a cooker rather than inside the judges tent.
Now...about the class.
We have wanted to take the class for a while but just couldn't fit it in when the class was being held close to Atlanta. A few months back I saw one offered in Madison, MS so I called Bud Jr. and asked if he was UP for a road trip!
The Knights of Columbus at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church hold a comp in Oct. called Grillin for Life. http://www.grillinforlife.com/ and decided to host a judges class this Sat. (oh..and for some reason they think the "KC" in KCBS stands for Knights of Columbus)
Bud Jr. and I jumped in the Family Truckster and headed out Friday morning for the 6 hour drive to Madison with a much needed rest stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Birmingham. Got to check out some of their cookers and a few fishing poles.
Now it's on to Jackson, MS. We asked the class organizer for a few recommendations to their local BBQ joints and settled on The Haute Pig for dinner. It's a higher class place then what we are used to but the Q was good.
In the morning we headed over to the church and spotted their cooker in the parking lot.
We took a peek in the kitchen and got to see MOUNDS of meat being preped.
After checking in we and about 60 other folks got a seat in the gym as class started. That's Ron Harwell teaching the class.
