Champion BBQ Pitmasters won't eat their own competition food - now I get it

[harrybbq]

I was watching BBQ Pitmasters season 1, and all of the sudden, it all made so much sense!
I never understood sugar and meat. I tried. To be honest, I even enjoyed some sweet pork ribs one time or another, but mostly due to the desert aspect of it more than the meat flavor, which I could barely taste.
The other day I ran into Harry Soo's Cola Brown Sugar beef ribs video (yuck), which won him some super dupper championship somewhere. As the video rolls, in the sugary moments, he had disclaimers popping saying "This is for competition".
Videos like this make me wonder why don't we just forget about the meat and just feed the judges a bowl of honey? I'm sure they wouldn't notice How are these guys so good at BBQ and yet, they have to sugar the bejesus out of their meats to make it taste "good" so they can win?

Then, as I watching BBQ PitMasters Season 1, it happened. On Episode 1, about half way through, watch Johnny Trigger, 2 Times World Champion, as he was preparing his candied sugary ribs, as he looks at the camera and says "I would never eat these myself! I would just put some salt, pepper and paprika or something...But the judges want sugar, they like sweet." Boom! I watched it 2 or 3 times. Did he just say that?

Then on Episode 5, Harry Soo is steering a bowl of some super sugary sweet god knows what sauce, and again, he too looks at the camera and says "I would not eat this, this is too sweet, like candy, but the this is what the judges want".

What gives? Why is BBQ competition dominated by sugar to such an extent that bbq chefs who win it openly admit they don't even like that food?

I'm sure there are competitors on this board, let us know your thoughts.

PS: I know to each his own, and many people genuinely like sweet on their meats. I'm just questioning the wide spread dominance of sugar as an essential ingredient to even be competitive, to the extent that some champion bbq chefs won't eat their own winning food and be open about it. How can this be?

 

[mytmouz]

Because losing sux...

 

[Free Mr. Tony]

Alot of the judges would eat just about anything. I'll leave it at that.

Much of what you are referring to I'm sure is to make watching someone make bbq for the 1000th time somehow seem interesting. They may have even been told to say it to make people talk about it like this.

While competition bbq is sweeter than you may find sometimes elsewhere, it's typically pretty well balanced. Moreso than the shows would have you believe.

Most of those guys probably wouldn't eat much bbq meat in general whether it was sweet or not. I do comps here an there but not often at all, and I barely eat bbq anymore. Love cooking it. Don't much eat the standards anymore. I can't imagine how sick of tasting it the people that do it week in and week out are.

 

[sudsandswine]

Because “eating barbecue” is not “competition barbecue” and you have one bite to impress the judges. Standing out and being different is usually not a good thing.

I prefer cooking and eating “eating barbecue”, but even if you reset everything and competition started back out as basic salt and pepper eating barbecue, I am pretty sure it will just wind back up right where it is eventually as everyone tries to gain an “edge” over the competition.

 

[WilliamKY]

We do live in a high fructose corn syrup world.

 

[sudsandswine]

Most of those guys probably wouldn't eat much bbq meat in general whether it was sweet or not. I do comps here an there but not often at all, and I barely eat bbq anymore. Love cooking it. Don't much eat the standards anymore. I can't imagine how sick of tasting it the people that do it week in and week out are.

Agree....they’re probably doing 30+ comps a year and doing test cooks in between. I too like cooking barbecue more than eating it. It’s about the hunt for me, and I enjoy that it makes the people that I serve it to happy. Also agree on it being generally well balanced, but everything does have some sauce and that’s probably unusual to parts of the country that typically do not sauce meat much.

 

[Anatoly]

Because “eating barbecue” is not “competition barbecue” and you have one bite to impress the judges. Standing out and being different is usually not a good thing.

I prefer cooking and eating “eating barbecue”, but even if you reset everything and competition started back out as basic salt and pepper eating barbecue, I am pretty sure it will just wind back up right where it is eventually as everyone tries to gain an “edge” over the competition.

Totally agree with you. Meal for a heartwarming amusement with some beer differs from one I'm trying to impress my guests.

 

[harrybbq]

What you guys are saying does make sense I guess. Competitive Pit Masters are around bbq food so much that they probably don't want to eat it. Yeah, I can see that.

About the judges....I'm hearing the way people try to stand out with that one bite is to pack a memorable punch, and sugar accomplishes that.

I'm assuming that judges are not pit masters themselves, but just regular people who took some course on judging, is this right?

 

[harrybbq]

Totally agree with you. Meal for a heartwarming amusement with some beer differs from one I'm trying to impress my guests.

I guess that's where I get stuck. If I were your guest, I would probably not be impressed. If my bro in law who loves some sweet ribs and sauce was your guest, he would be all over you

But then we are entering the realm of subjectivity, and what is tasty for me might not be tasty for you, which is totally understandable.

My original post was mostly questioning the bias towards the sugar crowd. Hey, we salty people matter too!

 

[sudsandswine]

That’s just it though...it’s not “only” sweet, it’s about balancing the sweet and savory flavors to compliment the meat. Also, the sauce is probably just as much about enhancing flavor as it is about appearance.

 

[Free Mr. Tony]

What you guys are saying does make sense I guess. Competitive Pit Masters are around bbq food so much that they probably don't want to eat it. Yeah, I can see that.

About the judges....I'm hearing the way people try to stand out with that one bite is to pack a memorable punch, and sugar accomplishes that.

I'm assuming that judges are not pit masters themselves, but just regular people who took some course on judging, is this right?

Judges are a mixture of pretty much everyone. Some call certain judges "eaters" meaning they're pretty much there more for the meal than anything else. Some are comp guys looking at it from the perspective of seeing what other judges are looking for, and then there are the serious guys who try to look at it as a job/duty.

I've never done the judging thing as I don't have any interest in the process, or that much/kind of food. I do think it's probably one of the easiest ways to get an edge of you compete seriously. I do it when I feel like getting away for a couple days, and having some drinks. The smell in the air is worth doing it just for that.

 

[WilliamKY]

Solution. Bonafide pit masters should be judges. Get rid of celebrity chefs and columnist and part time taste testers. Have people who do Q for a living be the judge.

 

[jkief]

:noidea: So I’m obviously not a comp guy. I’m just an All American (Ode to you 82nd Airborne) Army Parachute Rigger obsessed with turning out the best bbq my family and friends can eat. With that said, I’m from Louisiana where everything has seasoning on it. Even the seasoning is seasoned. Personally, I like the balance of savory and a hint of sweetness on pork. Beef and poultry is all savory and spice for my liking. Each their own, that’s why I back yard cook what we like and leave the pleasing complete strangers to the professionals!!

 

[JWACKS]

I know a number of BBQ competitors that don't eat their own Q. It's not because it's not good. Some are top notch competitors. It's because, as others have said, they're burned out on eating BBQ but still love the competition. I hope I never get there.
Competition BBQ flavors are what they are because that is what wins. The judges are real people and they judge competitors based on what they prefer. It's true that competitive BBQ may be a bit more intense flavors, but it's definitely good BBQ.

 

[halfcocked]

Franklin wrote that he hardly eats BBQ anymore. He is mostly outside tending the fires. There is only so much of BBQ that you can (or should) eat, in my opinion. When I do a brisket, it lasts for a month or more after the first meal. Its not something I want every night.

 

[Jason TQ]

Some people do like the sweeter stuff, some don't. This isn't anything new and hasn't been discussed a ton on this forum. Some regular folks love sweet stuff, including comp guys.

Also you are quoting Season 1 of pitmasters which just about aired 10, yes 10yrs ago. Comp bbq is a little different since then. Sweet is still a thing, but this feels like someone just now realizing the Bigfoot video is fake and being the town cryer and spreading the news.........

Comp brisket isn't sweet. Pork isn't overly sweet. Most of the time they reference ribs. So keep watching the shows to bone up on the last 9 years of "sound bites" and maybe check out the comp forum for real feedback from the guys that do it a bunch :becky:.

Nothing gives. I think your view is skewed by believing everything you see on television that was shot to "produce ratings" and give people things to talk about.........which.......is exactly........what has happened........:crazy:

 

[excaluber]

What you guys are saying does make sense I guess. Competitive Pit Masters are around bbq food so much that they probably don't want to eat it. Yeah, I can see that.

About the judges....I'm hearing the way people try to stand out with that one bite is to pack a memorable punch, and sugar accomplishes that.

I'm assuming that judges are not pit masters themselves, but just regular people who took some course on judging, is this right?

I judge KCBS, I’m doing my first competition in a few years (kids...) this weekend actually. I love cooking BBQ, I try to BBQ at least once a week in the summers. I also love judging, hell I love everything about BBQ and really try to be around it as much as possible. Judging is something I take pretty seriously because I know how much effort (and money) everyone is putting into the food. I would encourage anyone into BBQ to try judging...honestly even just to get some new ideas. I’ve tried so many different flavor profiles that inspired me to go try something new or tweak my own sauce recipe. Overall, as long as it’s a well run competition it’s a really fun environment. It’s awesome to be around the teams...and to just hang out and talk with other people who are really into BBQ.

As far as the sugar goes, I do like a little sweet on pork. But mostly what I look for the is depth of flavor... the best sauces I’ve had at competitions (and have spent years trying to replicate) have a balance of Sweet and Heat. I like when the bite (on pork) has a range of things going on rather then being just sweet, or just spicy, or salty. I personally like that heat to be a slow build up rather then something that smacks you immediately. And i find having some sweetness helps balance it. Just for overall reference, while I like sweet, I consider something like sweet baby ray’s to be far to sweet for my liking.


Just as an aside, for Beef i much prefer the salt and spice profile...rendered beef fat and salt... man....that is the stuff (is there a drool smiley??). I don’t mind a sauce on beef, but it’s not my preference, and I prefer it to be not very sweet.

 

[pharp]

A lot of of this is nonsense and hyperbole..you take the top scoring meat at a kcbs contest and match it against the best in town...see what happens.

 

[sudsandswine]

Also you are quoting Season 1 of pitmasters which just about aired 10, yes 10yrs ago. Comp bbq is a little different since then. Sweet is still a thing, but this feels like someone just now realizing the Bigfoot video is fake and being the town cryer and spreading the news

I was getting into barbecue more heavily when this show first started. I had cable and somehow managed to have no idea it existed until a few years ago. I didn’t even watch it until last year and then I watched pretty much every episode. I took a class from one of the winners of the show and also got my judge cert and judged a class before watching the show. So I had a fairly good idea of what “now” barbecue is/was. That being said, there’s a big difference in knowing what you need to do and executing on it :becky:

It was really surprising to see how the style and methods changed from the first season to the last. It was easy to see how quickly things evolved when you could watch 10 years of comp-ish style cooking over the course of a few months. That’s why I stated my hypothesis that even if everyone went back to square one with “eating” barbecue we would still wind up right back where things are now.

As an aside...”eating” style barbecue can be quite a shock to the palette when all other samples are comp style. I judged a comp that probably had more backyard cooks than most and getting a salt and pepper rib mixed in with all the others was....interesting, relative to the other 5 entries.

 

[ronbrad62]

I do backyard comps and a few years ago I had a lot of family and neighbors coming by to take care of the leftovers after turn-ins were over. Knowing how they liked their BBQ, I cooked everything to their tastes. I reasoned that maybe the judges were tired of sweet BBQ and wanted the real home-style stuff. I was wrong! My scores were hammered because of it and I was in the lower half in every category. Lesson learned.