This was a warm-up competition for the team, getting accustomed to one another,
divy up tasks, get newby involved, etc. We did all that great, so wasn't a complete
disaster. The leftovers taste GREAT, so the recipes are fine. I'll have pics of turn
in boxes in the next day or so. We got pretty good marks all around there, except
for pork. Honestly, that surprised me as much as getting good marks in ribs...
This was our first cookoff where I cut BEFORE I sauced. Man oh man can that
sauce (only a slight/small coat) hide sins!
The babybacks were absolutely
falling apart (taste great, but sucky for competition) and not nearly as moist as
they should've been. I knew we'd get hammered there, and did. However, apparently
my artists background and steady hand kept them together enough to get just
a little sauce to hide it. Got 8's and 7's on something that was a miracle we didnt
get 4's... Brisket same thing, falling apart, newby team member did great getting a
few pieces to hang together (LOVE this granton slicer). Warmed up some of the
juice. Couldn't put meat in it, as it would've been tiny little pieces at that point. So,
just put it in the box, brushed on a little juice. 8's mostly on presentation there too,
on something they probably couldn't pick up a piece (fell apart).
We'll use same vendor for beef; great product, just adjust cook time down. Same
adjustment for ribs... Pork, more than anything else, turned out fantastic, but
because of the 30 minute turn-in window (first time for me on that one), the need
to pull it, my desire to not burn the HELL outa my fingers pulling it, long story, but
it was just too cold and had dried out a little from it's original beauty... Next comp,
I'll be pulling it hot, and it'll go out hot. I'll just have to suck-it-up.
Chicken did well, but didnt SCORE well. I like a spicy chicken (Cajun heritage I
suppose). It either scores high (consistent 2nd and 3rd in comps) when it places, or
the same thing scores LOW and we're towards the bottom. Wife, who happens to
love the chicken and is our chicken-taster, said it was as good as ever, yet it got
hammered... Oh well, that's the way that goes. I always believe in the "dont adjust
your recipe for judges", because the next time if I un-spice it, someone with a good
spicy chicken will win it...
Come to find out, apparently we had quite a few from
North Carolina. Apparently they're not in to the East Texas / Louisianna spice base...
Oh well.