My turn to get lambasted...

[cmcadams]

Here are some photos to tear apart from my side, since I've been hacking away at others'

This is a bad pic, but it's the only one I have of this entry:

[BBQchef33]

1st chx looks messy/unorganized. 6
2nd chx.. pooling on the lower right?? if so, DQ'ed or 1. Much to heavily sauced. if no pooling, 5-6.

Rib, need 6 pieces. ? setting that aside, they look nice. I would have evened them out on the far side. I'd go with 6-7, as presented... if you evened them out, it be an 8.

Pork, messy. Ya cant have stuff hanging out of the box, or those little remnants on the edge.. set that aside, it still looks thrown together somewhat.. 6-7.

first brisket pic looks nice.. 8.. second one(i know its the same), looks like the slice could have been lined up/organized better.. i may be inclined to be generous with a 7-8 on those.

Hey u asked.. and I'm rough.... attention to the really fine details is what gets the high grades.



<slithering away now... , ducking slices of brisket curt is throwing at me.>

[cmcadams]

There were actually 8 ribs... 4 on 4...

I'll let out the first secret... first box of chicken... bad pic, but all 9's for appearance (taste/texture were a different story!)

No pooling on the 2nd.

And the brisket pics are 2 different entries.

None of the lettuce was hanging out of the box, though I'm trying to convince my wife to trim it with shears once it's in the box.

[Greendriver]

Dem ribs and that first brisket box are no doubt 9's, but 9's on that first chicken box is amazing...did you thank all da judges CM?

[Bigmista]

On the ribs, if you have that much space leftover doing 4 on 4, Why not do 5 on 5 and fill up the box?

[Ron_L]

The first chicken really scored all 9's? I never would have guessed. Go figure. It must be a horrible picture cuz the thighs look to be different sizes and not placed very carefully and the legs look almost tossed in. I won't give it a number since the pic is not so good.

The second chicken looks like it has 1/4 inch of sauce on it. That may just be the picture. The thighs look to be all different sizes. - 7

Ribs... From the pic it is hard to see the lower four ribs. I'm sure that wasn't the case in person. The garnish is hiding the meat. - 7

Pork - A little sloppy. The bark pieces should be centered better and they look dry. The pork piece on the edge of the box should have been removed. - 7

Brisket 1 - The slices could have been arranged more evenly and the slices look to be thicker on the right end in the picture. Really pretty nice overall. - 8

Brisket 2 - Same thing on the slices. They look thicker on one end than the other. Arrangement could have been neater. The mea looks dry, but that could be the picture. - 8

These threads are interesting to me since I can make my judgment and then see what others think. The problem with them is that I can go back and look again and again. In a real judging situation I would have one look and that's it.

[YankeeBBQ]

Originally Posted by Bigmista

On the ribs, if you have that much space leftover doing 4 on 4, Why not do 5 on 5 and fill up the box?

That would be a big mistake in my opinion. Taste and tenderness count way more than appearance so why would you risk putting inferior ribs in the box for an extra apperance point ? Now if you have ten great ribs why not. But only put your best stuff in the box.

[cmcadams]

Originally Posted by Bigmista

On the ribs, if you have that much space leftover doing 4 on 4, Why not do 5 on 5 and fill up the box?

Neil, I could only get 4 ribs in a row that I really thought looked good, and I decided that I preferred that look to trying to force a 5th in. It was just an on the spot call.

[cmcadams]

Originally Posted by Greendriver

Dem ribs and that first brisket box are no doubt 9's, but 9's on that first chicken box is amazing...did you thank all da judges CM?

they actually looked better than the photo... I threw it in as a trick. The photo was my sister's cell phone camera.

[Bentley]

1st Ck-7 What can I say, crowded and lite on the garnish.

2nd Ck-9 Nuff said, another presentation I will tell my mom and sis to steal!

Ribs-8 Thought there were only 4 at first.

Pork-8 To me all pics of pork and brisket look dry so forget that.

1st Brisket-8 Well done!

2nd Brisket-6 Just looks avarage, so I can't really define why, just does.

[cmcadams]

On the brisket looking thicker on one side than the other... it's kind of curved, to show off the bark on one end a bit... they're even thickness, but hard to tell in a photo.

Thanks for the input so far.

[Greendriver]

Providing the brisket is cooked properly and not too dry or undercooked - what is the ideal thickness to slice em?

[cmcadams]

The basic guideline is the thickness of a regular pencil (#2)... but it's just a guideline, not a requirement.

[River City Smokehouse]

Chicken #1- Skin is pulled back on most pieces, messy arrangment, dry looking(might just be the pic) I give it a 6, maybe a 7
Chicken #2- Too heavy on the sauce. I give it a 7. (No pooling there)

Ribs- I see 8 individual ribs, clean cut. I give them an 8 and maybe a 9.

Pork- Lots of nice bark. Looks a bit dry to me. I'd like to see some effort in arrangement other than just a pile, but that's me. I'd give it a 7.

Brisket #1- I gotta say I really like this box. The color is fantastic. Nice smoke ring and looks very mosit to me. The nic in the 2nd slice from the rear is evident but I like this box. This box would definitely warrant a 9 but with the torn piece on that one slice it could get an 8 if I wanted to nitpick(I won't nitpick). I want to eat that brisket NOW!!

Brisket #2- Looks very dry, Why the burnt ends on the left corner? Doesn't look as nice as the other one. Just doesn't have the color like the other one. Doesn't look as appealing to the eye. I'm gonna have to say a 6, 7 at best from me.

[cmcadams]

The first brisket was our first walk at all, with a 5th... the ribs were our second walk.

I don't remember why the extra burnt ends.... Other than we realized we liked it best, so why not give more to the judges?