calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
What sauce is everyone using in competitions now days! I know Blues Hog was very popular a little while back, but am wondering if it still is and if not what's hot right now?
Sauce
- Thread starter calmdowneight
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- competition sauce
smokeacholic
Full Fledged Farker
It still is.
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Thanks
erichasaces
Take a breath!
Anyone here use the sucklebusters honey glaze? I've heard it's doing really well in Texas, and my chicken sauce has been falling flat out here so I'm looking for something new to test out.
GreenDrake
is Blowin Smoke!
Yep, I buy it by the gallon, still does very well.
erichasaces
Take a breath!
Doing anything to doctor it up or straight out of the bottle?
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Which one is sweeter, Sucklebusters or Blues Hog? Same for spiciness? I make all my sauces and have some good ones, but don't think they are competition worthy because they're an everyday type sauce. 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. 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.
GreenDrake
is Blowin Smoke!
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.
Blythewood BBQ'er
Babbling Farker
I hear that there is a sauce made in a Swamp by some Boys thats doing pretty good things for some teams.
CBQ
is One Chatty Farker
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.
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
(If you don't do well with a Blues Hog blend, it may not be the sauce that's the issue.)
That's what I want to hear. Since I'm new at competition BBQ and there's no one in my area to get tips from, I just don't want to fall flat on my face because I'm not using the best rubs / sauces available to me. I expect to fall flat the first few times out, but at least then I will know to focus on my cooks / presentation to improve.
That's what I want to hear. Since I'm new at competition BBQ and there's no one in my area to get tips from, I just don't want to fall flat on my face because I'm not using the best rubs / sauces available to me. I expect to fall flat the first few times out, but at least then I will know to focus on my cooks / presentation to improve.
GreenDrake
is Blowin Smoke!
Try mixing a little TN Red with your sauce on swine, they like each other, judges do too. The fun part is playing around with the blend and mix you feel gives that umami result, then give it a go, just don't change up the game plan on turn in day.
CBQ
is One Chatty Farker
Even good teams take classes. It might be worth looking into, given the cost of competing. Lots of good teams in the mid-Atlantic offer them. Aporkalypse Now, 3 Eyez, Dizzy Pig, and Cool Smoke come to mind, but I'm sure I'm missing some. Old Virginia Smoke has one coming up in April that's very reasonably priced and geared for beginners.
http://www.oldvirginiasmoke.com/sign-up-today-for-the-ovs-weekend-warrior-bbq-school/
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Thanks for the info on the classes. That's something I might be interested in. As far as mixing the sauces, I will give it a whirl and see what we come up with. Like I said I'm very pleased with the sauces I make and I think about 80% of America would be as well, but competition food is a whole different animal.
tduffy
is Blowin Smoke!
People usually have to pay for classes to get that knowledge when they don't know it.
Most use Kraft sauce from Walmart
Most use Kraft sauce from Walmart
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
That's true, nothing in this world comes free! As far as Kraft and Walmart goes you can keep em both! I'd highly doubt that anyone with tastebuds or common sense would be willing to ruin a good piece of meat with it, although I know it's very popular in homes and at backyard functions all over due to the extremely cheap price.
tduffy
is Blowin Smoke!
How would you know? you are asking the forum what sauce "everyone" is using and is hot right now. What if it actually is kraft?
I was simply just making a point. Do some searching and you'll find several threads on the sauce topic. Take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Unless sponsorship requires a team to say so, most aren't going to freely tell you what they are winning with if they feel they have an advantage with said product. Also, what works for one team doesn't mean it will work for you. There are several other variables in the equation.
calmdowneight
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Hey, I wasn't meaning to offend you. Wasn't being negative at all just in agreement with you. I thought that's what forums are for, to share information and help one another. I'm not asking for "secrets" and am not naive enough to think people are about to divulge them. I was simply asking experienced people like yourself what their take on particular sauces are. I'm a helpful kind of person by nature and sometimes just assume that most others are. Getting started into this as a hobby is expensive and I do want to get the most bang for my buck so to speak. I was just thinking I'd try to learn from others mistakes / successes. I will have plenty of both on my own, likely more of the former.
erichasaces
Take a breath!
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 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!
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.
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.
True story. Also, I don't think Smokey Mountain gets enough love. Adding it to the mix has been amazing for us.
tduffy
is Blowin Smoke!
you didn't offend me, i was just giving you **** for asking a question that is asked a lot without people searching. Blues hog is obviously by far the most popular sauce used by KCBS teams. It wins every week no matter how many complain about how much it's used. Some use it straight out of the bottle and many mix it with other sauces. Swamp boys, head country and A fine swine are other popular sauces people use too.
