IBCA Judging Criteria

Gig'em99 said:

So, I'll be competing in my 1st IBCA event soon, and I'm curious, are there any certified judges out there who can tell me or show me what it is that would separate a brisket that earns an 8 on appearance versus one thy gets a 10???

I found images of what judges are looking for when I started doing LSBS comps a while back. Anything like that available for IBCS?

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You only have one option. 7 slices, parallel to the hinge of the turn in box. There is no seperate category for apperance in IBCA.

I'll tell you what I saw turned in. The boxes were no where near full and the slices looked pretty thin to me.

What competition will you be doing?

IBCA does not certify judges. They use anyone off the street who is interested in judging and with that being said, RangerJ nailed it. 50 or Less teams will usually require 7 slices, generally about the width of a #2 pencil here in Louisiana IBCA comps. They will be parallel to the hinge of the box and the ends cannot be cutoff after cooking. If the slices are too long they have to be wrapped around the sides but still parallel to the hinge of the box. If more than 50 teams the head judges will normally increase the number of brisket slices, number of ribs and require two fully jointed 1/2 chickens.

Do a search for "Pictures of IBCA Brisket Turn In Boxes" and you will surely find some good examples.

You can find the IBCA rules here:
http://www.ibcabbq.org/rules.html

Make it tender and give it some punch...the judges will be getting their samples with those flimsy plastic forks and knives.

Hawg Father of Seoul said:

I'll tell you what I saw turned in. The boxes were no where near full and the slices looked pretty thin to me.

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Hard to fill up a box with 7 slices, so you just cascade them out the best you can.

As for thin, well, there is a criteria and I've been sent back more than once because the #2 pencil being used was smaller than my slice.

Not sure where this was or if it hit or not and this could have been Texas Gulf Coast which requires 9 slices. OR I was drinking and just added too many.

So.. you are agreeing with me, but don't want to. Lol it's okay to agree.

Hawg Father of Seoul said:

So.. you are agreeing with me, but don't want to. Lol it's okay to agree.

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Huh? Weird you came up with that. I did not realize that the OT was about agreeing with what you said or not.

RangerJ said:

Huh? Weird you came up with that. I did not realize that the OT was about agreeing with what you said or not.

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I was just teasing brother. Some times the written word does not come across right.

The not filling up the box part was intending to point him in the right direction with his trimming. Your pic shows a very good example of what the finished product should look like + a couple slices.

This a judging sheet for Tx Gulf Coast BBQ which is very similar to IBCA.

Wow, cook teams spend money to compete and be judged by people off the streets with that page of critera as training?
Dang.....
Ed

ModelMaker said:

Wow, cook teams spend money to compete and be judged by people off the streets with that page of critera as training?
Dang.....
Ed

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100's of teams, if not more, every weekend. Many times with no power or water provided.

The alternative is to A. not compete, B. drive many hours in any cardinal direction to get to a KCBS event.

Which is why the whole, "I had to cart water at a Sam's event" stuff cracks me up.

But good Que is good Que and those that produce it do quite well. The 3 main organizations in my area, IBCA, Texas Gulf Coast and Lonstar BBQ do a good job and I'm just appreciative that someone is putting on events.

Gig'em99 said:

I appreciate the feedback.
So what are the judges judging on, if not taste, appearance and tenderness? Or is it simply those things, rated arbitrarily all combined in a 1-10 score?

I am a member, and I have the rules. The reason I ask, is because the rules don't really define how turn-ins are scored...

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The sheet JS posted from Texas Gulf Coast pretty much sums it up and you guessed it correctly.

Hawg Father of Seoul said:

I was just teasing brother. Some times the written word does not come across right.

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No worries at all. Thanks for the input.

So you are telling me that spending $50-80 for a one-time class makes a person a "real" BBQ judge? I think not. BBQ is for everyone! I've been a KCBS certified judge for 97 contests. Likewise, I've also been an IBCA "head judge" (similar to a KCBS contest Rep) 79 times while managing to cook 23 times. Basically, in all those experiences, the differences between IBCA and KCBS are basically style. Both do a good job with consistent results. They just do it in different ways. I could write you a tome on the specific style differences, but this is not the time nor the place for that. Both IBCA and KCBS styles grew up out of the regions in which they started. Good BBQ wins contests, regardless of sanctioning. Now you could argue that KCBS values appearance more than IBCA, but this might have more to do with the way the product is judged, than anything else. Try an IBCA contest some time. I think you will like it. I will end this comment with the words I usually tell cooks who are used to KCBS contests that decide to try an IBCA contest, "If it was me, I'd make the product slightly more tender and well done than in a KCBS event, since the judges taste it with a knife and fork". I also add that "good BBQ is good BBQ and the cream will rise to the top".

Good Q is Good Q, whether your being judged by a CBJ or Joe Schmo. A CBJ knows what 'KCBS' is looking for, Joe Schmo knows what 'he' likes, along with some help with what he's looking for from the head judge at an IBCA or TGCBCA comp. I am still an opponent of the 1 score for each entry, the belief that Joe Schmo can't determine if the food looks good enough to eat (appearance), tastes good enough to eat (taste) and is tender enough by either personal preference or by the organizations standards (tenderness) to give each entry a score for each category is bull. No more 'final tables', just tabulate the scores, give me a scoresheet and hopefully some money and I'll be on my way. Other than that, I have no problem with the judging in Texas (or IBCA, TGCBCA, etc.) comps.

ModelMaker said:

Wow, cook teams spend money to compete and be judged by people off the streets with that page of critera as training?
Dang.....
Ed

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Based on what I've seen they tend to get it right about as often as certified judges.

Thanks X 10