I am still learning as a kcbs judge and do not have as much experience as many but thought I would share some of my thoughts and experiences in KCBS sanctioned events with hopes of being helpful and to encourage other judges to add to the topic.
1. Always use garnish. It is legal to not but it is easier to 9's with than without it.
I agree. I also agree that it is a meat contest, when you add the garnish, it not only looks better for the 'Appearance Score' but also makes it more inviting for the tasting score.
2. Never send a box of cold meat. Room temp will not hurt you badly but still cold from the ice box/cooler will kill your score.
While I don't think any of us would intentionally send cold meat, I'm sure it does happen. All it takes is a box full of parsley that has been in a 32* cooler for the last 12-14 hours and meat that was sauced with a cold sauce. Heck, my first year you may have been talking about one of my boxes!
3. If you mix your meat make sure it is all good. Thigh meat with Breast meat is wonderful but they both better be spot on. If not it is best to just send the better of the two.
I agree. The same thing goes for brisket slices and burnt ends. There have been contests I've been tempted to turn in burnt ends only!
4. Watch the salt. Too much salt is a 6 waiting to happen.
As was said before, balance is the key.
5. Watch the heat of your spices. I think most judges like some heat when eating at home but if your heat is going to make it difficult to taste the next entry you will lose points.
Again, balance is the key. I'm not a big fan of heat for heats sake.
6. Make sure you get enough flavor in your chicken. It needs smoker flavor not grilled. If you can the flavor just grillen great but if it taste like grilled chicken it will lose points
While I agree that you can use either a grill or a smoker to produce some mighty fine chicken, I also feel a need to cook to what the judges are expecting. This holds true on all that I turn in. I do not serve the food I would turn into a judge at comps to my friends. Just like I don't serve the food I would serve to my friends to judges at a comp. If you are not trying to hit the flavor profile that is expected, you are not going to get the walks.
7. You do not have to sauce but if you don't it better be a good piece of meat. Sauce can give you some points you would not get without it. But too much sauce will cost you points also.
Personally, I get the feeling that if it's not sauced, many (not all, but many) feel it's not 'real' BBQ.
8. When saucing get a good coverage. By this I mean if brushing it on don't leave a obvious bare spot.
Agreed, but remember, a thin coating is much different than a thick slathering.
9. I think skin on chicken scores better than skin off but this could probably have a lot of debate.
I agree to a point. I would rather get a piece of chicken that has no skin over one that has a thick, rubbery skin that still has a thick layer of fat on it.
10. Get some flavor in your brisket. The ones that I have at table that scored the best had a great deal of attention given to get some extra flavor into the meat through injections or a baste after slicing.
Again the key is balance. You can pump all kinds of flavor into a brisket and have it the worst thing you've ever tasted. Yes get the flavor in but don't loose sight that this is a meat contest and it should taste like a slice of brisket and not a turkey leg.
hope this sparks some thought and is helpful. keith
As you can see, it did...
Thank you again
