Judging questions...

[Q-Stream]

Rookie '48 makes a good point. When I took the class and the question came up about appearance scores, the instructor said "If it looks good enough that you would drive across town and pay to eat it, than that's a really good entry."

Chopped, sliced, or pulled, the only consideration should be does it look good enough so that you really look forward to that first bite.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[SmokinOkie]

I would also suggest that the forum isn't the "official" answer. How we judge is per KCBS, not the internet.

Why do I point this out? Until the forums/judges started making chicken skin "tenderness" an issue, it was never taught by KCBS.

If you really want an answer, I'd suggest you contact the head of the rules/judging committee and ask for a written answer.

Nothing wrong with what we say, but they're just out opinions, not policy.

Ask ten judges and you'll probably get 10 variations of responses.

Russ

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by tmcmaster

As a newly (like in the last 2 hours) minted CBJ, I have a few questions that I didn't think were answered by our instructor... maybe someone form the group can help a newb out...

1 - When judging appearence, how much does.should garnish or lack of weigh in your score? Does it or could it be looked up as a 'marked box' if no garnish is there? Theoretically, garnish is not supposed to be judged because using it is optional(This should have been covered in class). The reality, however, is that a well garnished box usually just looks better than one without garnish. I judge appearance based on two main criteria.
1. How badly do I want to dive into that box
2. Does it look like real care was taken in the presentation.
To your second question, because garnish is optional, the lack of it should NEVER be considered marking.

2 - Does the texture of the brisket change so dramatically if it is pulled/chopped that it could create an illusion of properly cooked beef, if it is overcooked?
Maybe, but it is important to judge it the way it is presented as long as it is within the rules. I consider the KCBS guidlines as to what is or isn't tender(like in ribs and brisket) as an attempt to limit subjectivity as much as possible by incorporating an emperical system by which to measure. Therefore, when presented with brisket that is sliced, the pull test is valid. When presented with meat prepared in a way not specifically adressed by KCBS guidlines(like chopped brisket), but still within the rules, a judge should use their best judgement. If KCBS has an opinion as to what chopped brisket should be like, they need to include that information in their training.

3 - Would there ever be an instance where there were only 5 judges at a table?
No, because as others have mentioned here, it would break the scoring system. You might have the table captain pulling double duty, or each table may get more(really rare) or less(fairly common) than 6 entries, but you should never see less than 6 judges at a table in a sanctioned event.

I will post others if anyone is so kind as to answer these for a newb.

Thanks!

As always, these are just my humble opinions.

[Merl]

[QUOTE=tmcmaster;1245207]As a newly (like in the last 2 hours) minted CBJ, I have a few questions that I didn't think were answered by our instructor... maybe someone form the group can help a newb out...


3 - Would there ever be an instance where there were only 5 judges at a table?

There can NEVER be LESS than nor MORE than SIX judges at a table. A judge can perform duel duty and serve as judge/table captain. The scoring system is based upon six scores per table. This is mandatory in all contests.

Merl Whitebook
KCBS CBJ Instructor

[Stoke&Smoke]

Originally Posted by CivilWarBBQ

For clarification, from the KCBS 2010 Official Rules, Judging Procedures Rule #2
Judging will be done by a team of 6 persons, who are at least 16 years of age. :

I stand humbly corrected. I do remember being at a comp where, because of a judge shortage, our TC had to judge and TC as well. And I also can recall not getting a full 6 samples. However, I've never seen a case where a table got MORE than 6 samples. I'm guessing that, in the event that the number of teams in an event isnt' evenly divisible by 6, the rep tries to get however many judges extra to have en0ough tables of 6?

Sorry, only judged once or twice in the past 2 years

[Gowan]

Often the organizer will cut off the number of teams at a number that is divisible by six. However I've judged at a contest where we had eight entries on the table for a main meat category, and as few as four entries (ancillary dessert).

[2Fat]

Originally Posted by CivilWarBBQ

Often the organizer will cut off the number of teams at a number that is divisible by six. However I've judged at a contest where we had eight entries on the table for a main meat category, and as few as four entries (ancillary dessert).

personally would rather have 4 meats and 8 desserts--of course thats just me