Firefighter Rib Rally...

[JD McGee]

Yesterday SouthPaw BBQ participated in a local rib / thank you competition for some local Firefighters in Tacoma, WA...with a bit of a twist in the judging format...

This was first and foremost a "Thank You" pot luck rib-fest for the men and women that keep us safe...and secondly a friendly and very informative competition...

Let me preface the following scenario a bit by letting you know that 5 out of six of the judges are seasoned vets who have been judging PNWBA and KCBS events for years...only one judge was a newbie...but a very well trained newbie as his scores were comparable to the other five...

All the teams turned in their ribs @ 1:00 pm per standard PNWBA rules...once all the teams had submitted their entries we went in to the firehouse receive our scores "face to face".

It went like this...the head judge presented each entry to the judges AND to us (the teams in audience) one at a time so WE could see what all the turn-ins looked like.

The judges then took one rib each and did their thing...after they were finished with their scoring the head judge called for the results.

The team being judged was called up front and center to sit before the judging panel and receive their scores. Each judge held up a number based on their scoring of the three criteria...appearance...texture...taste.

After each score the team being judged had the opportunity to ask any questions about how their entry was judged.

This went on for ALL the teams...it was amazing. To see the difference in the judges opinions from one entry to the next was a wonderful experience...more so for some than others as you can imagine...

After all the teams were evaluated the top three teams received trophies and then WE had the opportunity to vote for our favorite judge according to how we felt he/she provided the feedback to us. The winner was presented with a "Best Judge" trophy.

Here are the results...and a few pics...

1st place...SouthPaw BBQ (195 out of 200 points!) :thumb:
2nd place...Gator Done BBQ
3rd place...Bush Kitchen

"Best Judge"...Carolyn Adams

My thanks to Pat "Maddog BBQ" for organizing this event and to Stacia Norris (head judge) for putting together an awesome panel of judges...simply amazing! :-P

The Firehouse...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally006.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally024.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally026.jpg

Kids love fire engines...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally027.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally028.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally018.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally019.jpg

10:00 am shot of Gentleman Jack...a PNWBA tradition...:-P

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally033.jpg

Rhana preppin' ribs...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally001.jpg

Me cookin' them...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally005.jpg

The judges...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally039.jpg

A bit blurry...but you get the general idea...we cooked a LOT of ribs! :-P

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally045.jpg

Hungry Firefighters...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally044.jpg

Our 1st place ribs...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally037.jpg

Rhana with our 1st place rib trophy and a few of the Firefighters...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu311/SouthPawBBQ/RibRally049.jpg

[swamprb]

Congrats on the First Place trophy, looks like I'll have to start practicing Ribs for awhile!

[dgassaway]

Nice job...congrats. Those are some nice looking ribs my friend. We did that type of "up front in your face" judging at the PNWBA cooking class last spring. I really like being able to get scores and ask questions that I can use to help improve my product for next time.

[Dale P]

Congrats. Ribs look great.

[Ron_L]

Congrats! Sounds like an interesting event.

[Dr_KY]

Fantastic!!!!!!!! Great job on the win.

[getyourrubonbbq]

Congratulations!! Looks like a good time.

[NorthwestBBQ]

Way to go, John!

[bigdogphin]

Nice job, JD.... Did anyone turn in spares or did everyone turn in baby backs?

[JD McGee]

Nice job, JD.... Did anyone turn in spares or did everyone turn in baby backs?

Thanks Jesse...a lot of folks did spares...not sure how many total...Rick Moy did a combo box of spares and bb's that were pretty tasty! :becky:

[big brother smoke]

Rhana and you are an unbeatble duo!