I feel I probably need to stick with a flavor profile to be competitive because sometimes it's not good to stand out. I've been playing around with SBR's modified with vinegar / juice and some spices, taste alright and is improved from the stock version but not sure about it being a competition worthy blend.
I'm thinking a lot about simplifying my program this weekend in Cedar Park, and using some of these products the exact way that the manufacturer sends them out. My chicken sauce will be straight out of someone's bottle this weekend, just not sure which. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use straight up Cattleprod for my brisket injection as well.
The predominant profile around here is a sweet type sauce, I'm more of a sweet and spicy vinegar guy myself. Just needing some recommendations that will give me the best odds of being competitive.
The predominant profile everywhere is just sweet. Any variation from that runs a risk of finding a judge that hates it. My brisket suffered from this in the beginning, because as a Texan, I grew up with tons of pepper on my beef, but even when I cut it to about 25% of my normal pepper level I got a note from a judge saying that it was the pepperiest thing that they've ever tasted!
Depends on the comp meat, things like pork I will mix it with some regular bbq sauce, yardbird it goes on straight, the shine is outstanding with this stuff.
That's interesting. I use blues hog blends on all of my meat right now, and am very happy with them on everything but chicken. For whatever reason I've never had good taste scores with blues hog on chicken in Texas. I'm sure plenty of other cooks have, but they are all better than me.
I hear that there is a sauce made in a Swamp by some Boys thats doing pretty good things for some teams.
Funny you say that. My first KCBS comp ever I had the bottle of Swamp Boys that came in my west coast offense bundle from BPS, and I used the Swamp Boys Original with no blending and placed 4th in chicken. Of course, being the dumbass that I am, I've never used it again. Now that you've reminded me of that, if I had a way to get some in my hands before Saturday without paying overnight shipping I would do it again. For now, I think I am stuck using Blues Hog, Head Country, Sucklebusters, or Texas Pepper Jelly. Those are the only brands that I either have on hand, or have access to locally.
Although some judges like to complain about too many entries with Blues Hog, it still wins. Use Smokey Mountain for a little more of a vinegar accent. Blend it with something else to avoid the "Blues Hog again?" problem.
If you don't do well with a Blues Hog blend, it may not be the sauce that's the issue.
True story. Also, I don't think Smokey Mountain gets enough love. Adding it to the mix has been amazing for us.