A little help to get by.....

Pork - The pulled looks very dry. Are there chunks around the pulled? Hard to tell in the pic. - 6

Brisket - You should try trimming the flat to the width of the box before cooking so all slices are the same length. I know the smoke ring is to be ignored, but that one looks like a TQ ring. Brush the sauce onto the back of each slice. Spritz with warm water before closing the lid. - 6 or 7

Chicken - The pic makes them look too dark. I think they could have been arranged better with a little more thought. The natural chicken thigh shape does not bother me at all, but you could probably do a little more trimming on each piece to make them look better. - 7 or 8

Ribs - solid 8

I think Rob hit the high points. Also, on the pulled pork, I'd fill the box a bit more. On
ours we barely even see the green "background" at all. The chicken; I dont see 6's
there, but then I dont see 9's either... an 8, give or take... Ribs and/or Brisket, for
me it's a little tough to tell from the pics, but I'm thinking 7's... However, what
happens sometimes is that if a box gets bumped/tossed around in transit, the picture
that you have at your table and the box that's received by judges isn't the same.
For that reason we really try hard to fill the box as much as possible, and of course
treat it very gingerly in transit.

More on the pork - Use bigger chunks. Sauce and season on the cutting board before putting them, and the pulled, in the box.

For me, the sauce color is too brown (could be the camera). The pork and brisket look dry. On the brisket, you might want to try to get your slices from the other end of the flat (the part that is under the point).

As I've said before, scoring off pictures gives more chance to see flaws, in a 10 second look at the scoring table I think the more the meat kind of jumps out of the box the better.

Pork 7 I didn't care for the way the framing was done, it is kind of like an infinity box---white frame, green frame, bark frame, meat in the middle.

Brisket 7 Usually I like the look of the fanned slices, but I think you may have started too close to the end, the first slice being so much smaller than the back slice. (Note: As a skilled CBJ I would take the next to last slice for my sample :grin: )

Chicken 7-8 All the pieces seem to have an irregular shape, and I looks like there are some white spots in the glaze---could just be the picture. I also think with a tighter arrangement and not so much green in the middle would help.

Ribs 7-8 The ribs look really good, but when I look at the picture all I think of is it looks like an two handled jug in the box. I think layering 4 bottom then 3 on top would still give the judge a chance to actually see the side of the rib if that is what you are trying to show.

But with a 10 second look at the table I may have scored a little different, when I have time to study I seem to be more critical.

Clark said:

For the brisket it is TQ. The only reason we tried it was because the last two comps we were middle of the road in brisket and received four comment cards (1 from one comp and three from the other) stating our smoke ring wasn't large enough.

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What the what?

What show / sanctioning body was this?

yup, just like in another thread a CBJ was mentioned as thinking the garnish needed work.

maybe the judges SHOULD talk at the table.

parsley stuck marked???

that aint good EITHER!!!!

really???

man alive, we spend alot of time, energy, thought, love, and money, on this stuff. i expect the criteria of judging to be enforced OR change the damn criteria, so we are all working with WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS AT THE JUDGING TABLE! and approach it as such.

geez, this is good food, presented as perfectly as possible. not nucleur fission. can't it be gotten right?

Clark said:

Diva - It is PNWBA and I know........figured what the heck might as well try and give it a goif that's what they wanted even though they aren't supposed to mark on them. Also got one comment card that we were marked down because a piece of parsley stuck to the chicken, finished second in chicken......damn.

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Wow.

nice observation ron.

bignburlyman said:

As I've said before, scoring off pictures gives more chance to see flaws, in a 10 second look at the scoring table I think the more the meat kind of jumps out of the box the better.

Pork 7 I didn't care for the way the framing was done, it is kind of like an infinity box---white frame, green frame, bark frame, meat in the middle.

Brisket 7 Usually I like the look of the fanned slices, but I think you may have started too close to the end, the first slice being so much smaller than the back slice. (Note: As a skilled CBJ I would take the next to last slice for my sample :grin: )

Chicken 7-8 All the pieces seem to have an irregular shape, and I looks like there are some white spots in the glaze---could just be the picture. I also think with a tighter arrangement and not so much green in the middle would help.

Ribs 7-8 The ribs look really good, but when I look at the picture all I think of is it looks like an two handled jug in the box. I think layering 4 bottom then 3 on top would still give the judge a chance to actually see the side of the rib if that is what you are trying to show.

But with a 10 second look at the table I may have scored a little different, when I have time to study I seem to be more critical.

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All the previous advice is excellent.

With that said....To me, as bignburly said, the white specs on chicken and brisket were distracting. Was this seasoning? or is it just the camera? If seasoning, I probably would have marked down if I was judging(appearance)Not too appealing to see big chucks of seasoning (Again assuming that is what it was)

Also, for what it is worth, I love the fan of the brisket, but would hate to be the judge to get one of those bottom two pieces. Could you perhaps run a fan but use larger pieces? or put more pieces so that all the judges get larger pieces, and the smaller pieces are for the TC or others? From what I have seen, most judges like larger portions, and may have judged down if they got the small pieces.

Good luck on future comps.
Dan D.

Were these boxes from Birch Bay? Because there were no comment cards from the judges at that event. I'm a PNWBA Board Member and won't comment on the judging, but will say that all the recently trained CBJ's in the area had been contacted and turns out that most were competing! There were a few first time judges/cooks along with Markets staff and a good mix of seasoned CBJ's at Birch Bay.

I figured the specks on the chicken was K-salt, and I was hoping that you had wiped off the water/AJ misting before turning your boxes in?
You may want to try to trim the thighs a little better, the sauce looks dry and overall not very appealing to the eye.

The fanned out Brisket box may have P/O'd the judges the got the short end of the beef! I did a couple Tri-Tip boxes like that and took my lumps and will never again turn the flying V! ( Hint - fill up the box if you can )

The Ribs look OK- a little dry, and the jagged edges need work. Sharper knife and no sawing.

The parsley boxes look great, but I've learned that you have to have tight putting greens and I make a point of not saucing the bottom of my chicken. Its common knowledge that I make my putting greens beforehand and transfer them after the cooks meeting into the provided boxes and have had conversations with several Head Judges concerning "sticking parsley" and they are reminded at the Judges Meetings not to score down because of it. But on the other hand I've also sat and judged and had to literally scrape off parsley from meats that looked like Chia thighs, and it makes you wonder if it was part of the seasoning?

Clark-post those pics on the PNWBA forum and get some local feedback, talk to the Head Judges after the contest and tell them your process, and get their opinions, it will help. If you have comment card issues, bring them up at the cooks meeting and it will be brought to their attention.
I can't stress how important it is if you want to play this game, take a Cooking or Judging class offered by the PNWBA, it will help.

I cook for the judges at a comp and cook for myself, friends and family at home.

See ya at Whistler!