More boxes

[Chipper]

Here are four from last week-ends first practice cook. Score, comments, and tips would be greatly appreciated.

[U2CANQUE]

Brisket: Try to get a little thinner on the cuts....even out the pieces in the box...i.e. show the same amount of brisket slices.....

Chicken: may be camera, looks real dark and scorched....try to get pieces that are the same size in the box together....

ribs: work on removing brush strokes in the sauce....usually if you use a glove you can smooth them out...also, not too sure of people have had much luck with separated presentation....put some extra in there, make the box look full.....

Pork: looks nice....good chunks, and bark....looks nice and moist.....maybe straighten up your money muscle in the back......

It takes numerous tries at different presentation options.....when practicing I will usually take a picture, then close the box, work on another presentation and then open up a previous box again.....trying to think to myself, what can make this "pop"....or stand out a little more......the good thing about the pictures is that is shows things like the brush strokes in sauces, color, etc......overall, you are on track....just work on uniformity a little, and you will increase your scores....

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

Regarding the brisket thickness.

Remember that many judges, when they took the judging class, were told to look for brisket cut the thickness of a #2 pencil. Anything thicker might be trying to cover up for overcooked meat and anything thinner might be covering for undercooked. I was told to pull the slice apart with my hands. It is supposed to stretch a bit before snapping to show that it is perfectly done. If it comes apart instantly, it is over cooked.

I like it much better cut the way you have cut it, but you aren't cooking for me.

The ribs look like they have heavy brush marks which may get you counted down.

The chicken skin has shrunk and seems too dark. It is better to have more skin to work with and keep it from shrinking by using toothpicks or even a skewer on the bottom. Some even take the skin off and scrape it carefully to get rid of the fat, then put it back on with the toothpicks/skewer trick.

The pork, although a bit disorganized in the box, looks very good to me. I want some of it and I want it NOW.

[Alexa RnQ]

The things that jump out for me are:

Brisket: Those slices look thick enough to be hiding overcooking, and it makes it awkward for them to lie properly in the box.

All the boxes except the brisket seem to be overfull of parsley. Pack your parsley tight and get it to stay in the bottom of the box, so it's the meat that jumps out and shines.

Chicken is black and not uniform in size, shape and orientation. Work on cloning your pieces, and while some scorch marks are rewarded, that's gone too dark.

Ribs have got thickandsticky brush marks. Either thin your finishing sauce, or run a wetted finger on it to smooth it out. Is there a reason for that gap in the middle? Doesn't that hasten cooling and loss of quality on the exposed sides?

Pork looks disorganized. If you're going to present slices, make sure they're uniform and laid out at even intervals. The chunks look fine and attractive, but the random spaces of emptiness between them detract from the feel of the box. Lay them together all tumbled in lavish abundance, and make that greenery take a backseat.

[Big George's BBQ]

I agree with the comments above. Very little needs to be added to that

[Plowboy]

Originally Posted by DivaHerself

or run a wetted finger on it to smooth it out

Do you just spit on your thumb or what?

[Alexa RnQ]

Originally Posted by Plowboy

Do you just spit on your thumb or what?

No, I lick them.
Non-latex glove and apple juice, silly.

[Chipper]

Thanks again for the help. I'll be trying it again this week-end. My neighbors are starting to avoid me. Maybe they have had enough for awhile.

[smoke showin']

brisket width #2 pencil

[smoke showin']

on the pork try putting the darker side up around the outside and the lighter sturr in the middle for contrast . I don't know if it is a regional thing or what but why do yaw slice the pork ?