Professional judging, or lack thereof

[CTSmokehouse]

I don't know how you'd know that the judges were the same... but it doesn't really matter. Let's say they were.

Actually lets use the apple category... since we know those are the exact same judges. The apples could very well have been a NEBS grilling category. Judges are looking for creativity, a huge variety of tastes, textures... and are really looking for people to think outside the box on this one. This applies to all NEBS grilling events... do a search on here and you'll find some really incredible looking things.

KCBS contests are looking for BBQ... Memphis/Kansas City/North Carolina/Texas/alabama or a version of these American BBQ staples... KCBS contest isn't looking for Japanese inspired fusion food, or italian breaded chicken... or even buffalo wing sauce...

The grilling event is the time for that interesting twist... regardless of your personal tastes and thoughts on what these should really be about... you're going to go broke and need blood pressure medication if you can't sort of accept KCBS contests for what they are.

Well said...

Yours in BBQ and Grilling,

Cliff

 

[CTSmokehouse]

Funny... I though the judging was pretty good at HV Ribfest !! :biggrin:


Congrats on RGC...way to go BBQ Brethren!


Yours in BBQ,

Cliff

 

[Cue's Your Daddy]

I have a few questions.. If u say your team has so many metals, why did u compete in a backyard event.. also, this is your rib turn in box, it looks horrible...Not trying to come at you, but the way you make it sound is that your bbq is the best there ever is, was and will ever be. My brother and i came in 3rd in chicken, we did use sweet baby rays as a base but added stuff to it, but according to u its not real bbq. If u want our trophy, u can have it, its not why we compete. In chicken we had 2 judges give us all 9's and one judge give us 4,5,5.. WHATEVER. get over it.. BBQ is ahobby for us, a love, once u make it more then that it is a job and you lose the love. Your BBQ probably kicks A@# and i would love to try it, hopefully at the next contest over a beer.. CHEERS BRO

 

[Bbq Bubba]

it is totally subjective and the same teams do win over and over and show good in most events.. but why? is their food that good? I dont know if i believe that.. i think they might just know what the judges want..

Bingo!!

And trust me, this isin't it!!
You could have saved a lot cyberspace by showing this pic with your original complaint.....:icon_sleepy

 

[Muzzlebrake]

anyone get 3's? one for taste one for tenderness
I did. sandwiched between an 8 and a 7 and I think a 7 and a 6
now I knew it wasn't that good, but come on man, a 3? that farker better have spit that all over the person across from him to be that bad

and how can you make rare tuna any more tender?

 

[BBQ Grail]

And to think I didn't want to give my impressions on my first time judging because I didn't want a fire storm to start.

I'm feeling pretty crappy about myself right now. I'd never judged a competition before, but can Que with the best of them. Here I thought I'd done a good job, but after reading this thread I find out I'm really just an old, geritol eating, non-professional with no taste buds who doesn't know he difference between sauce types.

I guess I'll go back to using my gasser and boiling ribs.

Anyone seen my KC Masterpiece?

 

[StLouQue]

judgeing at these competitions has become and joke and unless the KCBS changes their judging and gets professionals and some standardized judging into these comps i am done!!!!!

Professional judges? What, like chefs? Right. There's a group that has nothing better to do on Saturday morning. Where do you suppose you're going to find 36 food professionals to judge 'que? Do you have any idea how many competitions occur every weekend? Me neither, but it's a LOT. Oh, and aren't professionals typically, y'know... paid? Who do you imagine is going to foot the bill to compensate these so-called professional judges? Yep, competitors.

Look, I'm a first year judge, and I've never competed. I judge because I love barbecue, I crave the smell of the smoke and I enjoy the company of my fellow CBJs – people who often drive across state lines, at their own expense. I'm learning. In fact, I'm learning that I may be too generous with 7s, 8s, and 9s. Am I a better judge today than I was at the beginning of the season? Absolutely. And I'll be even better next year.

Dude, you've taken a sucker punch at good people who deserve better. You owe them an apology for your blanket insinuations. While I agree with a couple points you've stated in this thread, I feel sorry for you that you chose a very ugly way to express yourself.

Consider this for improving both barbecue and life: Stop injecting or glazing your product with sour grapes. Doing so is neither appealing or appetizing.

 

[ique]

LOL, Who are those I Smell Smoke guys again? :lol::lol::lol:

I'm glad I'm not cooking New Holland this weekend, payback is a bitch and I'd bet Steve puts in a hell of a cook.

but that is the problem with the judges.. they think bbq should be ribs slopped with bbq sauce..

How do you know this? Have you cooked many KCBS events? Have you ever tasted entries that have won a KCBS event?

In my opinion winning a KCBS contest has little to do with what rubs or sauces you use (with the exception of wasabi glazes). Its all about cooking the meat properly so its tender and juicy... Its a meat contest, not a rub/sauce/glaze contest.

No sauce or glaze is going to help a dry brisket or a tough rib... FWIW, our pork and brisket entries had very little sauce on them.

 

[BBQ Grail]

Sounds like:

 

[CTSmokehouse]

In my opinion winning a KCBS contest has little to do with what rubs or sauces you use (with the exception of wasabi glazes). Its all about cooking the meat properly so its tender and juicy... Its a meat contest, not a rub/sauce/glaze contest.

No sauce or glaze is going to help a dry brisket or a tough rib... FWIW, our pork and brisket entries had very little sauce on them.

I truly agree... it is not what you put on your meat it is how you cook it... if you cook it right the judges will know...and you will be rewarded accordingly... unless you do the wasabi glaze thing...

Listen to Chris... he is a champ...great advice!!!

Thanks Chris,

Yours in BBQ,

Cliff

 

[Rookie'48]

As a judge I would prefer to get away from honey ribs and get a rib with no sauce so I can taste only meat....Last week I tasted a chicken turn in with a spicier sauce. Got 9's from me. The woman next to me gave it a 6

I've got the same tastes. But when judging, I try to grade each entry on its own merits. Although when I think that there's just a bit of heat another judge might be on fire.

like poobah said...perfect it.. and then make it consistent and that wins.. but since when has someone come and made a standard on bbq??? i am going to take a judging class and find out!!!! ON MY WAY!!

Take the class by all means, but listen to the instructor when he tells you what the rules are.

Maybe you should take a judging class. Everyone thinks their BBQ is good and so do their friends and families. They are the worse ones to listen to.

As my friend Smokin Clone once said...."Did the team with the most points win?" if so it was judged correctly.

The last two posts are self explanitory.

 

[Gowan]

You just need to find your niche.
If you want to experiment with bold, unique flavors, do a local "Iron Chef" comp.
If you want to compete sauceless, do an IBCA comp.

But you simply cannot go to a KCBS comp, claim your purity of ethics don't allow you to cook to the standard, and then stamp your feet and shout that "the system" is farked.

We've learned to cook KCBS successfully, and while we find flaws in its system, it's better than some others out there. We work proactively within that system to improve it when warranted.

Amen.

The bottom line is that if the system were really totally broken and judging so random you wouldn't see the same teams winning consistently over the course of each season.

There are rules to the game, both written and unwritten, and that is what is necessary in order to have a barbecue contest. If you don't like the KCBS rules then don't play, but claiming KCBS is a "bad game" makes as much sense as trying to play baseball at a football game and complaining that nobody likes what you are doing.

 

[Scottie]

LOL, Who are those I Smell Smoke guys again? :lol::lol::lol:

I'm glad I'm not cooking New Holland this weekend, payback is a bitch and I'd bet Steve puts in a hell of a cook.

Why do you think I can do it... He'll forget about it the next time he see's me. Unless I get lucky and get my bung pulled, then I would see him in October. I'm just getting him all riled up for you guys out East... :twisted:

 

[BBQSMYBFF]

SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF CRY BABY WOMEN TO ME... WAH WAH WAH.. LOL

This has turned into a typical forumn site.. bunch of people with nothing better to do than when someone makes a normal unhappy post the jump all over his **** because you have nothing better to do.. there is no such thing as standard bbq and no one can tell me there is..

the judges are regular people and like i said bring in their likes and their dis likes into judging which should not be...

that was a backyard bbq contest i did a while ago and you can say all you want but this is not a farking presentation event.. it is a cooking event..

so just like muzzlebrake said.. how the fark do you get a 3 sandwiched in with 7s??? i dont give a **** what you use or what kind of stuff you cook... you got a problem with wasabi glaze?? thats because you all good bbq with sauce... and for you guys to say you use baby rays... well that is just farking rediculous.. make your own chit..

you want to jump on my **** and ridicule me that is fine... i dont care because i made a statement and thats that..

if you got the time to sit and play with parsley for four house and play with your meat go rigth ahead.. the food is what matters...

 

[Podge]

We can all b$tch about judging all day long.. but at the end of most contests, and at the end of the year, the cream still rises to the top. Check out the pickled pig web site, all those great teams in the top 25 and the ones with all those grands are damn good cooks... Great cooks !!.. The law of averages prevails.

Inconsistent judging can make mediocre cooks lucky and great cooks unlucky.

It is what it is.

 

[goodsmokebbq]

If you don't like the program, turn the channel...

 

[SmokeInDaEye]

Why do you think I can do it... He'll forget about it the next time he see's me. Unless I get lucky and get my bung pulled, then I would see him in October. I'm just getting him all riled up for you guys out East... :twisted:

I really appreciate your generosity, Scottie. Looking forward to getting my butt wooped this weekend.

 

[Alexa RnQ]

SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF CRY BABY WOMEN TO ME

The difference between you and me is that I'm a crybaby woman THAT WINS.

 

[Jorge]

Before this goes any further, or gets out of hand I'll remind you of a very simple rule I laid out earlier.

KEEP IT CIVIL, OR KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.

That's the last time you will hear it.

 

[Scottie]

I am sorry Jorge. I have been very mean and uncivil towards my good friend YankeeBBQ.... It won't ever happen again...:icon_blush: