Okie Sawbones
Banned
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2013
- Location
- Edgewood...
Worst part -- Watching the team cook on a J3 Jambo. Holy crap, what a cooking machine. Why worst? Because I want one!
Best part -- Watching the team walk in all 4 categories, and win GC.
Meats -- I use Costco butts, ribs, and prime brisket. They use Duroc pork and Wagyu brisket. Do these taste better? Unfortunately they do to me, but I can't justify the cost for home cooking.
Meat preparation -- Did I learn much? Not really. I already do what they do, with one exception. They are more meticulous and selective.
Injections -- What did I learn here? Not much. They use top quality injections. So do I. I did benefit from watching them use a Spitjack. I have one that has been laying in a drawer for two years. Time to dust it off.
Rubs -- They use top quality rubs. So do I. But they take it to another level. They layer with 2, 3, or more rubs, based on taste. I won't reveal secrets, but I did learn about layering.
Au jus -- I learned quite a bit here on how they go about making their magic. This helped me with future home cooks.
Cooking -- Not a lot picked up here. They go by color, temperature, feel, and probing, much as I do. However they're keeping track of four meats, whereas I do two at most. But I learned better techniques for managing the final resulting color of the meats, as well as the use of au jus and sauces.
Sauces -- I learned a bit about blending sauces, to come up with a complex sauce with layers of flavor. I was also pleased to see they use sauces judiciously.
Box building -- I learned kale is your friend.
Cost to cook an event -- Already had an idea. However, KCBS tells judges not to pay any attention to their costs.
Finally, scoring --The beta program was used in this contest. After awards, I got to discuss the scores with the team. I got to see first hand some unexpected results. The team asked me to score each entry honestly, and to later compare to the table scores. I had chicken and brisket as their best entries (and the team thought this as well), and true 9-9-9 scores. The chicken got a 172 table score, and the brisket got a 170. Ribs I hedged on, 9-8-9 or 9-9-9, because they were pushing the sweet limits for me. The table went with a 179. Pork was the same as ribs, pushing that sweet limit for me, another 9-8-9 or 9-9-9. The table gave a 175. I noticed on the scores that there was always one judge out of synch with the rest, BUT it was not the same judge on the different meats. So no low ball judge. I hope people will give this program some time - it seems to be working.
A big thanks to Fat Boys BBQ out of Temple, Texas, for letting me tag along and pick their brains. I was the first judge to ask to tag along. Corey and Danny Mikes are good people. After tasting their food, I can see why they walked in all four categories, with a first in ribs and a GC. Hopefully they got to see not all judges have horns on their head.
Best part -- Watching the team walk in all 4 categories, and win GC.
Meats -- I use Costco butts, ribs, and prime brisket. They use Duroc pork and Wagyu brisket. Do these taste better? Unfortunately they do to me, but I can't justify the cost for home cooking.
Meat preparation -- Did I learn much? Not really. I already do what they do, with one exception. They are more meticulous and selective.
Injections -- What did I learn here? Not much. They use top quality injections. So do I. I did benefit from watching them use a Spitjack. I have one that has been laying in a drawer for two years. Time to dust it off.
Rubs -- They use top quality rubs. So do I. But they take it to another level. They layer with 2, 3, or more rubs, based on taste. I won't reveal secrets, but I did learn about layering.
Au jus -- I learned quite a bit here on how they go about making their magic. This helped me with future home cooks.
Cooking -- Not a lot picked up here. They go by color, temperature, feel, and probing, much as I do. However they're keeping track of four meats, whereas I do two at most. But I learned better techniques for managing the final resulting color of the meats, as well as the use of au jus and sauces.
Sauces -- I learned a bit about blending sauces, to come up with a complex sauce with layers of flavor. I was also pleased to see they use sauces judiciously.
Box building -- I learned kale is your friend.
Cost to cook an event -- Already had an idea. However, KCBS tells judges not to pay any attention to their costs.
Finally, scoring --The beta program was used in this contest. After awards, I got to discuss the scores with the team. I got to see first hand some unexpected results. The team asked me to score each entry honestly, and to later compare to the table scores. I had chicken and brisket as their best entries (and the team thought this as well), and true 9-9-9 scores. The chicken got a 172 table score, and the brisket got a 170. Ribs I hedged on, 9-8-9 or 9-9-9, because they were pushing the sweet limits for me. The table went with a 179. Pork was the same as ribs, pushing that sweet limit for me, another 9-8-9 or 9-9-9. The table gave a 175. I noticed on the scores that there was always one judge out of synch with the rest, BUT it was not the same judge on the different meats. So no low ball judge. I hope people will give this program some time - it seems to be working.
A big thanks to Fat Boys BBQ out of Temple, Texas, for letting me tag along and pick their brains. I was the first judge to ask to tag along. Corey and Danny Mikes are good people. After tasting their food, I can see why they walked in all four categories, with a first in ribs and a GC. Hopefully they got to see not all judges have horns on their head.
