1st competition and I dont get the judging

[Smokin' Hicks]

Wow! Maybe the judge who gave you the high marks was the bad judge. Cook a few more comps and see how it trends.

you will only get an answer like that from a pakers fan...

 

[Sawdustguy]

I just competed in my very first competition - The LI KOSHER BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP. The judging is very subjective and it doesnt makes sense to me. One judge gave our team the highest marks possible on our brisket. In fact, this judge gave my brisket higher marks than any other team. However, other judges didnt see it the same way and we were given lower marks by other judges. The cuts of brisket were very consistent and each of the 6 judges should have given similar scores - or so I thought. Same thing happened on the ribs. Very high and very low - no middle ground. Can anyone help me possibly understand why and what we can do to even it out for next time?

Oi vey! Welcome to competitive BBQ.

 

[pigmaker23]

The event was not a KCBS event. It was a private kosher contest consisting of Kosher Chicken, Brisket, 3 plate Beef Rib, and Beans. The contest used Brethren Reps and Brethren Scoring System. The judges were a mix of KCBS and Long Island personalities. All items including the lighting of the fires were provided by the Temple, you could bring your wood or charcoal however. It was to say the least a challenge cooking on a Weber 22 grill. The scoring that I looked at for our team was typical of what we see cooking all over the country. There also was best booth and team name factored into the overall rankings.

It's not listed on the KCBS site and the competition web site doesn't say that it is sanctioned. It looks like they follow the KCBS scoring system, but the rules differ in some areas, like garnish.

 

[motoeric]

that wasn't a sanctioned comp. no baseline judging criteria.

That is not correct. The LI Kosher BBQ Championship was a sanctioned BBQ Brethren contest.

As others stated, they used BBQ Brethren rules and almost all judges (maybe all) were certified and trained.

Eric

 

[wmrrock]

The event was not a KCBS event. It was a private kosher contest consisting of Kosher Chicken, Brisket, 3 plate Beef Rib, and Beans. The contest used Brethren Reps and Brethren Scoring System. The judges were a mix of KCBS and Long Island personalities. All items including the lighting of the fires were provided by the Temple, you could bring your wood or charcoal however. It was to say the least a challenge cooking on a Weber 22 grill. The scoring that I looked at for our team was typical of what we see cooking all over the country. There also was best booth and team name factored into the overall rankings.

What team were you with and how did you finish?

 

[boogiesnap]

That is not correct. The LI Kosher BBQ Championship was a sanctioned BBQ Brethren contest.

As others stated, they used BBQ Brethren rules and almost all judges (maybe all) were certified and trained.

Eric

:icon_blush: sorry eric. thanks for the clarification.

 

[Pelkster]

Speaking of frustrating judges scores...my team and I just finished up the Cross Border Blues, Brews and BBQ comp in Wilson, NY. My chicken which has ALWAYS been consistent and good was all over the place. Our scores were 676 989 899 988 767 778. We have NEVER EVER received scores in the 7's or 6's before. While I admit our presentation may not have been the absolute best given what we've turned in before, there is no way that it warranted 6's and 7's. The taste and tenderness were also spot on. I make sure to sample at least three pieces from all over the rack and they were all bite through, nice color and moist. And with previous scores of 170.2856 and 171.4286 this year, this came as a real shock to us. Our pork entry was the same way with all over scoring...777 999 968 888 999 968. It's absolutely amazing how 6 different people can come up with such a wide variety of scores based on one entry. The ribs and brisket they just simply didn't like at all, but a score of 654 in brisket was specially painful. Never had a score that low period, even when I didn't know what I was doing with my brisket and it was severly overcooked.