Would you eat your competition que?

[KC_Bobby]

Chicken - yes, now that it's improved over the past year - I actually like it. It's not as sweet as a lot of chicken I've had while judging
Ribs - hell yes, cause Don cooks them and that's about the only time I eat em
Pork - yes, my home recipe is nearly the same as my comp - minus the $$ injection and only injected with apple juice
Brisket - our comp brisket is a bit salty for my taste. I'd prefer a brisket just seasoned with ground pepper and basted with a bit of beer

 

[slowerlowerbbq]

Nice to meet you Mark. Your dad builds some badass little race cars!
Hope to see you at some comps this year!

Nice to meet you too, Jon. And yes, the Stallard Chassis is mighty fine car :wink:. I'll look you up this season.

Back to the topic...I have to say that I always HATED chicken thighs until I was doing my first cook with my WSM and just threw on some thighs to see how they would turn out. I didnt even try! I had brisket and pork butts going that I slaved over and then there were thighs that I simply "phoned in" and everybody LOVED em. And they were darn good, too. Good thing I at least wrote down the recipe. The next time they were even better.

But the last practice my partner and I did, we tried to copy Johnny Trigg's ribs the way we saw them done on BBQ Pitmasters. Well...they were HORRIBLE...tasted like candy. No one liked them, either...except maybe my 11 year old daughter. And I think she just tolerated them (she LOVES BBQ). That seems to be the consensus among some about ribs being too sweet. But, I dont think I could turn in something that tasted like these did.

 

[Jeff_in_KC]

Trigg ribs - Perfect example of why comp meats aren't generally what people would eat at home. You say they were like candy and that's kind of the way they're meant to be to give to judges. Other than some pulled pork and an occasional bit of brisket, competing has almost ruined my love of eating barbecue. At home, I'd rather smoke a beef tenderloin or prime rib to medium rare or cook something else not comp related.

 

[Dale P]

I do eat my comp food but we do not make sweet BBQ unless we are North of the Ohio river.:icon_bugeyed

 

[Chipper]

Other than brisket for chili, all of the rest goes to friends, customers, friends, and neighbors. I'll taste some while practicing and at comps, but that is it.

 

[roksmith]

Like most, I think, I can't stand the site of any of it right after a long cook.
Not a huge fan of chicken that's been reheated, so it all hits the can.
The brisket, butt, and ribs all go home and reheat well. I actually do like the taste of our comp que.

 

[Smokin' Gnome BBQ]

I actually LOVE my brisket, I would rather have it then about any other beef product while out for dinner.

pork, save some give most to my wifes co-workers..

ribs dont reheat well for me and mine arent too sweet.

chicken...we wont even go there.....stupid chicken!!!

Sal

 

[Capn Kev]

i will say that i eat q now less than when i started practicing a lot. I'll eat a little bit of whatever it is i'm practicing on, but after that it's lunch for the neighbors, family or co-workers.

^^^^same here^^^^

 

[Divemaster]

Actually, other than tasting prior to judging, I really don't eat what we turn-in. Once the boxes are done and the guys take what they want, we bag up the rest for me to take into the office on Monday and I usually bring a sandwich. When asked, I just tell them that after cooking all weekend I'm kind of burned out on BBQ. In reality, I just don't like the flavor of my comp food.

Now the stuff I cook for friends and family, those recipes come from a different book... Those I like.

 

[widespread]

chicken...we wont even go there.....stupid chicken!!!

Sal

LOL, thanks for the chuckle.

We only cook 10 pieces of chicken anymore. Turn in 6 or 8 depending on how big they are, have 2 or 4 to taste and they're all done. No leftover chicken. We give the ribs away too.

 

[G$]

how do you feel about the taste of your turn-ins?

They are OK except for a tendency to overcook everything.

Would you eat it at home?

Yes, I would and do eat the same product at home and in competition.

Do you turn in and win with que you wouldn't eat yourself?

No, unlike others, many of them very succesful, I really would not cook and turn in food that I would not eat myself.

 

[The Giggler]

I like the big flavors of comp que, and enjoy the practice cooks. At a contest, we share the leftovers with guests or split what's left.

After the contest, we have a tradition of Italian or Hot Dogs before diving into the Q over the next few days.

I'd love one of those vacuum sealers for both pretrimmed meats and leftovers. Need to get off the wallet and pick one up.

 

[Gowan]

Sure we do.

We split up the leftovers and each takes some home - the married guys share with the wife and/or kids. I like to taste the samples after a couple days to get a true check of flavor without my palette saturated by smoke. (You can't get the same impression the judges when you've been standing in the smoke all night) Of course tenderness is out the door so I just ignore that.

As far as eating comp Que as a meal; it's too rich and highly sugared & spiced to truly enjoy eating a big plate of it. Like most folks I prefer "regular" BBQ for a meal. I don't tend to eat a lot of it, but I sample our products at the restaurant every week.

 

[smoken don]

We also got tired of our food.Now it's friends and family.

 

[Southern Home Boy]

I've only done one comp. but the stuff that I liked the best we did the worst in (except chicken....stupid chicken...:lol and the stuff I almost threw out got us second and sixth place out of an 80 team field.

So, I guess my answer is that the stuff I really like, the judges don't.

Now, I've been practicing a LOT and I think I have a product that we can both agree on.

We'll see in a few weeks.

 

[slowerlowerbbq]

I've only done one comp. but the stuff that I liked the best we did the worst in (except chicken....stupid chicken...:lol and the stuff I almost threw out got us second and sixth place out of an 80 team field.

So, I guess my answer is that the stuff I really like, the judges don't.

Now, I've been practicing a LOT and I think I have a product that we can both agree on.

We'll see in a few weeks.

Our last comp, ribs that were to die for came in almost DAL...almost. But the chicken I turned in that SHOULD have been DAL, came in about 45th out of 80. Wish I had a picture of those to share on the "what not to turn in" thread.

 

[jswordy]

This was one of the three reasons I stopped competing on my own.

I quickly learned that what I enjoyed cooking and serving to family/friends was not going to to please the judges frequently enough to justify spending $1000/weekend. I switched to employing different rubs, sauces, injections and cooking techniques just to win a trophy or cash. Getting the high placings was exciting at first but after a while it began to feel like a bad job.

I like this and Southern Home Boy's somments. As a proudly non-competitive barbecuer who cooks to please friends, I have never figured out why the comp-winning stuff seems to be so far from what would please a crowd of neighbors gathered in the backyard. Now I realize there are different tastes in different areas of the country and all, but it's baffling to me why the goals are so different from one another. But they seem to be, and there has to be a reason. Can anyone explain this?

 

[Coz]

I try to save some of the brisket .Other then that if Ford is there the chix goes home for his kids(dogs) And we try to give away the rest.

 

[Alexa RnQ]

I like this and Southern Home Boy's somments. As a proudly non-competitive barbecuer who cooks to please friends, I have never figured out why the comp-winning stuff seems to be so far from what would please a crowd of neighbors gathered in the backyard. Now I realize there are different tastes in different areas of the country and all, but it's baffling to me why the goals are so different from one another. But they seem to be, and there has to be a reason. Can anyone explain this?

If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that backyard eaters don't give a damn about cookie-cutter bites from chicken skin, how quickly the rib bone turns white (and they're happier if the meat falls off), have never met mushy pork they didn't like, more than likely have never pull-tested a slice of brisket, and usually aren't as critical of out-of-balance flavors.

In short, they are not judging the food by KCBS standards. But that's all good, because whatever BBQ they're eating will always be the best they've ever had.

 

[CMALANGA]

Yes...that's proably why I don't have any trophies though. Purely cooking for the judges liking would create BBQ, in my opinion, that I wouldn't eat, whether because of the salt content, MSG, etc. I'm strill trying to get in there my way...I guess I like pain.