Number of contest sauces?

NazBQ · Mar 4, 2013

Hey All,

I'm looking to cook in my first contest next month (after 3 years of judging). I had a quick question as I prepare..

How many different sauces do you take to KCBS competitions? Do most of you have one universal sauce for all 4 categories?

- Shane

Smokin' D · Mar 4, 2013

No. I use a different sauce for each meat. Brisket gets a reduced version of the drippings with a few minor additions. The sauces for the other meats are all home made.

DawgPhan · Mar 4, 2013

One sauce to rule them all. One sauce to find them. One sauce to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

hint the sauce is head country.

Lake Dogs · Mar 4, 2013

4 meats; 4 sauces.

Alexa RnQ · Mar 4, 2013

I prepare two base sauces, then doctor them differently for the individual meats.

Wager · Mar 4, 2013

if you are talking about just the final sauce that goes on the meat 4. if you are also talking about injections, spritz, brine, etc... then 8.

DawgPhan · Mar 4, 2013

We hand make a series of sauces to build on our flavor profile. Each sauce is used at a different point in the process. We also build a custom finishing sauce for each box that is applied as a thin mist just before closing the box. This is a highly aromatic "sauce" that helps pull in the "nose" of our product.

We also dip all of our parsley in a handmade small batch sauce made with local and organic ingredients including honey from bees that I raise myself. I have a deep and personal relationship with every ingredient that I use in each of the 23 different sauces that we use to build our flavor profile in our finished product.

I also age several of my sauces in barrels that were used to formerly age Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon. Sauces age anywhere from 1 week to 5 years and then our master blender mixes each sauce to taste right before our boxes are put together. That is why we are always the last team to get our boxes turned in.

mobow · Mar 4, 2013

five sauces blended to form three final product sauces. Keith

JD McGee · Mar 4, 2013

One...

Lake Dogs · Mar 4, 2013

Snarky... It's Monday.... <sigh>

It's almost impossible to find any 1 sauce that works great on Chicken, Beef, and Pork. That's why most use multiple (at least variations) sauces. Or, if I were to interpret the snarky responses above, I'd say they were trying to say something like "if you aren't prepared for this, you aren't ready to compete".

Much like Diva above, I have 3 base sauces that I mix and match. 1 goes straight up on Chicken, then all 3 mixed together in different amounts for ribs and pork, and we thin the pork one down quite a bit and mix in some drippings from the beef for the beef...

4 very different variations.

Good luck with your adventure. I do suggest that you work closely with "marrying" your sauce(s) to your rub(s) and/or injection(s), because sauce (IMHO) that tastes great all by itself may or may not taste worth a flip with/on your BBQ.

Pigs on Fire · Mar 4, 2013

I need to go get me some taller boots...

DawgPhan · Mar 4, 2013

Lake Dogs said:
Snarky... It's Monday.... <sigh>

It's almost impossible to find any 1 sauce that works great on Chicken, Beef, and Pork. That's why most use multiple (at least variations) sauces. Or, if I were to interpret the snarky responses above, I'd say they were trying to say something like "if you aren't prepared for this, you aren't ready to compete".

not even close.

IMHO, sauces and rubs arent the secret to winning. Cooking a perfect piece if meat and getting that meat to still be perfect when it gets judges is the secret.

My advice for a first time competitor, order Smoking guns hot and Blues Hog. Just use that on everything. Inject with Butchers as directed. Maybe no sauce on brisket, depending on where you live.

Dont go crazy doctoring. If you want to get some of the Smoking guns finishing powder. Put that on everything right before you close the box.

If you do that you will know where your cooking stands because your taste scores are going to be pretty good. I am not saying you will win with that flavor, but your arent going to kill yourself either.

MattCom · Mar 4, 2013

4 meats, 1 rub, 1 sauce :thumb:

NazBQ · Mar 4, 2013

Thanks for the responses! There's a lot to chew on here. I like the idea of a couple of base sauces modified for each meat.

HawgNationBBQ · Mar 4, 2013

Lake Dogs said:
4 meats; 4 sauces.

^ +1 for us.

sweetheatbbq · Mar 4, 2013

4 variations of a base sauce. Basically a specific sauce per meat.

Shady · Mar 4, 2013

One for Brisket, Ribs, and Chicken two for Pork.

JerryA · Mar 4, 2013

2

1 for ribs and pork, 1 for chicken

boogiesnap · Mar 4, 2013

DawgPhan said:
not even close.

IMHO, sauces and rubs arent the secret to winning. Cooking a perfect piece if meat and getting that meat to still be perfect when it gets judges is the secret.

My advice for a first time competitor, order Smoking guns hot and Blues Hog. Just use that on everything. Inject with Butchers as directed. Maybe no sauce on brisket, depending on where you live.

Dont go crazy doctoring. If you want to get some of the Smoking guns finishing powder. Put that on everything right before you close the box.

If you do that you will know where your cooking stands because your taste scores are going to be pretty good. I am not saying you will win with that flavor, but your arent going to kill yourself either.

this is probably the best advice i've ever heard for the first time competitor.

MattG · Mar 4, 2013

4 meats
4 rubs
1 sauce (But we dr it up for different meats)

Number of contest sauces?

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