5am
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- May 16, 2010
- Location
- Manhattan, KS
My first year of competition BBQ, and I'm having difficulties figuring out what judges are looking for in brisket. The last 3 competitions my brisket scores have been almost identical(mediocre), mid 160's. First thought was to look at what I'm getting scored down on, and this is where I'm getting confused. My Judging sheets all look something similar to this.
J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6
889 989 989 988 988 888
I'm not getting any scores that are "low", but I'm not blowing any judges away either. I kind of feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and I don't want to just start changing everything.
As I understand tenderness, the brisket should pull apart very easily but still hold up under its own weight. What separates an 8 from a 9? I'm hearing from mulitple cooks that judges are wanting it a little more firm than that, and that some judges are testing tenderness by seeing if they can fold it in half, or roll it up without the slice breaking(this seems weird to me)?
My taste is pretty standard commercial injection/commercial rub/beef based wrap. I usually dip the slices in au jus and then sauce/au jus over the slices. I did think it was a little salty, so I've knocked that down some. I also really like sauce on brisket, but have heard some judges dislike it, or will score down for sauce on slices, so maybe that's hurting me a bit?
I've talked to some cooks I respect a great deal, so I feel more confident about the direction I'm headed. I've also signed up for a class. I just wanted to open up the discussion here to see if anyone else had some advice...good or bad.
J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6
889 989 989 988 988 888
I'm not getting any scores that are "low", but I'm not blowing any judges away either. I kind of feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and I don't want to just start changing everything.
As I understand tenderness, the brisket should pull apart very easily but still hold up under its own weight. What separates an 8 from a 9? I'm hearing from mulitple cooks that judges are wanting it a little more firm than that, and that some judges are testing tenderness by seeing if they can fold it in half, or roll it up without the slice breaking(this seems weird to me)?
My taste is pretty standard commercial injection/commercial rub/beef based wrap. I usually dip the slices in au jus and then sauce/au jus over the slices. I did think it was a little salty, so I've knocked that down some. I also really like sauce on brisket, but have heard some judges dislike it, or will score down for sauce on slices, so maybe that's hurting me a bit?
I've talked to some cooks I respect a great deal, so I feel more confident about the direction I'm headed. I've also signed up for a class. I just wanted to open up the discussion here to see if anyone else had some advice...good or bad.