HBMTN
is One Chatty Farker
If you are a competitor who is having great success on the BBQ circuit I must start this off by congratulating you on being able to put all of the invisible pieces of the puzzle together. I am writing this from the perspective of a frustrated 2nd year competitor with some things I have come up with since I started the competition circuit.
A little about what got me to here
My name is Ruben and I had been BBQ'n pulled pork & chicken for about six years but had never done ribs or brisket. In 2007 I decided to build a custom BBQ pit and in October of 08 I told some friend we should go compete in a KCSB Competition when I got the pit done. My brother said why to we go check out a few of them and learn and then start competing. Well if you knew me I am the type that jumps in head first to everything I do, so I decided to sign up for my first competition at Pigs in the Park in Danville, VA. So in May of 08 me and a few friends set out for Danville, I was extremely fortunate to be set up beside one of the best teams there is. Chris Cappell and Brian Junkins from Dizzy Pigs helped us a lot that weekend. The first two pieces of advice they gave us was to make sure we made the turn in times and just have fun. We cooked all night and made the turn in times OK, pretty much our food sucked and even my specialty of pulled pork was the worst I have ever cooked. Then come the awards ceremony and they called us up for 10th place in pork. Wow at our first competition we finished 29th out of 54 teams and even got an award! I was hooked, so I came home and practiced up on my four meats and decided to enter a second contest in July at Que and Cruz in Louisa, Va. I cooked some real good pork and great ribs, brisket and chicken were good but did not think they would win awards. Come awards time we did not get any calls but had I think a 13th and 14th in chicken and ribs. We finished middle of the pack again out of 34 teams.
Taking some more advice we went the next week and took a judging class to learn what the judges were looking for when they judge our product. I then spent the rest of the summer, fall and winter thinking, practicing, learning everything I could about BBQ. The results by spring were some really good ribs, pork and brisket. Chicken had improved but still not there if you know what I mean. So I thought I had put together good enough BBQ to put us closer to getting some top 10 finishes. It is my opinion that we as competitors are trying to get in the top 10 and it is a crap shoot from there depending on the judges. Just like in the Daytona 500 if 5 cars are bumper to bumper when they get the white flag there is no idea who will win the race.
April 2009 we started the season at one of the largest competitions in this half of the USA, Pork in the Park Salisbury, MD. We cooked some decent chicken, ribs were great, pork was good, brisket was great. Again I did not think we were going to win a GC but I did feel we had a shot at a top 15 and one or two meats. No calls at awards, we got our score sheets and were very disappointed finishing 58th out of 94 teams. One month later were back where it all started in Danville, Va. Pigs in the Park 09. There I cooked the best pork in my life, some of the best chicken I have cooked, ribs were crap on appearance and overdone but tasted great. the brisket was awesome. I really felt for the first time I had a chance at winning two meats and placing good with a third meat. Again there was a let down with no call at the awards. The score sheet had us at 32 out of 54 teams, and at this point I am very frustrated.
Friends say well don't get down, it depends on who is judging weather they will like it or not. I pointed out while that may be true but there are teams that finish well no matter where they go. So at that point I am wondering the million dollar question. My foods are tasting great, so if I am middle of the pack what does some of the other teams food taste like? It must be orgasmic. Next step was to judge a competition and try every ones food to see what I am missing. So June 09 I head to the Beltway BBQ Showdown Upper Marlboro, Md to judge for the first time. Along with my wife who is also a judge here is how it goes down. Everyone sets down, then they break up husbands and wife's to separate tables, then equal out the men and women at each table, then equal out the rookie judges to each table, all great and I was impressed. Now there were seven tables with six judges at each table and no teams meat goes to the same table twice. This means my wife and I each judged a meat from 29 different team. So between the two of us we judged probably at least one meat from say two thirds of the teams competing. There were 48 teams I think.
So here is the down and dirty, I had been dying to taste meats from the other teams to see what we were missing and I also got to try a sample after judging of the meats my wife judged from her take home box. The results were for the most part none of it was any better than what I cook. I did taste about three chicken entries that were better than mine, no pork or ribs as good as mine, and about four real good brisket entries not much or any better than mine. So after a year and a half of pouring my heart into Competition BBQ I am more confused than ever. I am frustrated, confused, don't know what to do or what to change. If you made it this far thank you for reading my exhausted BBQ efforts
A little about what got me to here
My name is Ruben and I had been BBQ'n pulled pork & chicken for about six years but had never done ribs or brisket. In 2007 I decided to build a custom BBQ pit and in October of 08 I told some friend we should go compete in a KCSB Competition when I got the pit done. My brother said why to we go check out a few of them and learn and then start competing. Well if you knew me I am the type that jumps in head first to everything I do, so I decided to sign up for my first competition at Pigs in the Park in Danville, VA. So in May of 08 me and a few friends set out for Danville, I was extremely fortunate to be set up beside one of the best teams there is. Chris Cappell and Brian Junkins from Dizzy Pigs helped us a lot that weekend. The first two pieces of advice they gave us was to make sure we made the turn in times and just have fun. We cooked all night and made the turn in times OK, pretty much our food sucked and even my specialty of pulled pork was the worst I have ever cooked. Then come the awards ceremony and they called us up for 10th place in pork. Wow at our first competition we finished 29th out of 54 teams and even got an award! I was hooked, so I came home and practiced up on my four meats and decided to enter a second contest in July at Que and Cruz in Louisa, Va. I cooked some real good pork and great ribs, brisket and chicken were good but did not think they would win awards. Come awards time we did not get any calls but had I think a 13th and 14th in chicken and ribs. We finished middle of the pack again out of 34 teams.
Taking some more advice we went the next week and took a judging class to learn what the judges were looking for when they judge our product. I then spent the rest of the summer, fall and winter thinking, practicing, learning everything I could about BBQ. The results by spring were some really good ribs, pork and brisket. Chicken had improved but still not there if you know what I mean. So I thought I had put together good enough BBQ to put us closer to getting some top 10 finishes. It is my opinion that we as competitors are trying to get in the top 10 and it is a crap shoot from there depending on the judges. Just like in the Daytona 500 if 5 cars are bumper to bumper when they get the white flag there is no idea who will win the race.
April 2009 we started the season at one of the largest competitions in this half of the USA, Pork in the Park Salisbury, MD. We cooked some decent chicken, ribs were great, pork was good, brisket was great. Again I did not think we were going to win a GC but I did feel we had a shot at a top 15 and one or two meats. No calls at awards, we got our score sheets and were very disappointed finishing 58th out of 94 teams. One month later were back where it all started in Danville, Va. Pigs in the Park 09. There I cooked the best pork in my life, some of the best chicken I have cooked, ribs were crap on appearance and overdone but tasted great. the brisket was awesome. I really felt for the first time I had a chance at winning two meats and placing good with a third meat. Again there was a let down with no call at the awards. The score sheet had us at 32 out of 54 teams, and at this point I am very frustrated.
Friends say well don't get down, it depends on who is judging weather they will like it or not. I pointed out while that may be true but there are teams that finish well no matter where they go. So at that point I am wondering the million dollar question. My foods are tasting great, so if I am middle of the pack what does some of the other teams food taste like? It must be orgasmic. Next step was to judge a competition and try every ones food to see what I am missing. So June 09 I head to the Beltway BBQ Showdown Upper Marlboro, Md to judge for the first time. Along with my wife who is also a judge here is how it goes down. Everyone sets down, then they break up husbands and wife's to separate tables, then equal out the men and women at each table, then equal out the rookie judges to each table, all great and I was impressed. Now there were seven tables with six judges at each table and no teams meat goes to the same table twice. This means my wife and I each judged a meat from 29 different team. So between the two of us we judged probably at least one meat from say two thirds of the teams competing. There were 48 teams I think.
So here is the down and dirty, I had been dying to taste meats from the other teams to see what we were missing and I also got to try a sample after judging of the meats my wife judged from her take home box. The results were for the most part none of it was any better than what I cook. I did taste about three chicken entries that were better than mine, no pork or ribs as good as mine, and about four real good brisket entries not much or any better than mine. So after a year and a half of pouring my heart into Competition BBQ I am more confused than ever. I am frustrated, confused, don't know what to do or what to change. If you made it this far thank you for reading my exhausted BBQ efforts
