Practice sca steak
- Thread starter Dalden46
- Start date
Hoss
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Looks Tastee to me.I do not know much about comps other than what I have read.Just a little advice (free) , you get what you pay for.Ha! Work on those grate/ grill marks. I am speaking of right of center in the second pic.You may even place a bacon press on top of the steak for a bit to make sure it gets consistent grill marks all over.Not critizing at all,just an observation if I were a judge.Good Luck.
I don’t know anything about competition steaks. Looks pretty good to me. May be a little bit more red at least for me good luck
Dalden46
Well-known member
I had thought about getting some kind of press to help out with that, next Friday if I get to do this again I'll get one and try it out.
I cooked it to a bit higher internal temp as they say they want the steak medium, maybe I went a hair to far. Once again next Friday I thinking about making 4 steaks and I'll try going just a hair lower on temp.
I cooked it to a bit higher internal temp as they say they want the steak medium, maybe I went a hair to far. Once again next Friday I thinking about making 4 steaks and I'll try going just a hair lower on temp.
Hoss
Quintessential Chatty Farker
From what I have read about SCA cook comps, they want you to cook the steak to "medium" .I,like you, prefer the rare side of medium rare for personal consumption.I think it is kinda like the ribs in comp.The bite will pull away while the other meat stays attached to the bone.A very small window to hit that mark.Same with medium steak,a few seconds can make a big difference either way when trying to hit a small target window.A lot of things that happen during and after the cook can influence what the final product is that judges are presented.
SmokerKing
is One Chatty Farker
I have judged a few SCA events and so far I've only had a few steaks worth sampling.
Most all are waaay over salted.
Cooks use three or so different rubs, layering salt on top of salt.
Some are almost inedible.
Most all are waaay over salted.
Cooks use three or so different rubs, layering salt on top of salt.
Some are almost inedible.
sudsandswine
Quintessential Chatty Farker
It appears to me that SCA steaks are to steak what “competition bbq” is to bbq.
Your steak does look good though viewed through an SCA lens. :thumb:
Your steak does look good though viewed through an SCA lens. :thumb:
Mod Note:
I moved this to the Competition section of the forum
I moved this to the Competition section of the forum
ewatts2003
Full Fledged Farker
Looks decent to m, but more experienced will chime in for sure. I've only done one steak comp and I seasoned it how I normally would...finished towards the bottom of the pack and the tenderness was good. Everyone that sampled the extra steak said that's what they would want to eat...apparently not the judges lol. Check out Kosmos Q YouTube page...lots of good info on SCA stuff on there.
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First things first :-D
When you put the steak in the box turn it so that the largest part of the spinalis is facing the judges (away from the hinge). You want the judges to sample the spinalis since that is the best part of the steak.
After you turn in your box it will go to the cutting table and they will cut it in half parallel to the hinge. They will no longer turn it. They will then separate the halves and the judges will judge appearance and doneness on the top half.
Unfortunately, the gaps in your grill marks are on what would be the top half so your appearance scores will suffer. It is hard to actually score it since it looks like you cut it in half opposite of the way it would be done at the cook off.
Also, it is hard to judge doneness the way it is cut, but looking at the area of the eye portion, which is where they will judge doneness, I’d say that you are at medium well, so your doneness score would also suffer.
So... for the next practice get a box. Cook the steak as you plan at the cookoff, put it in the box with the spank is toward the front and close the box. 3 or 4 minutes later open the box and cut the steak in half parallel to the hinge and then look at the top half for appearance and doneness. Then, take a plastic knife and fork and cut a 1/2 inch slice out of the spinalis and judge that for taste and tenderness.
As far as the grill marks, it looks like the steak bubbled as it cooked. Did you tie the steak? If you did the string may have been too tight. A press will help with that, but it will change your cook time a little, so take that into account.
When and where is the cook off? Let me know if you have any questions!
When you put the steak in the box turn it so that the largest part of the spinalis is facing the judges (away from the hinge). You want the judges to sample the spinalis since that is the best part of the steak.
After you turn in your box it will go to the cutting table and they will cut it in half parallel to the hinge. They will no longer turn it. They will then separate the halves and the judges will judge appearance and doneness on the top half.
Unfortunately, the gaps in your grill marks are on what would be the top half so your appearance scores will suffer. It is hard to actually score it since it looks like you cut it in half opposite of the way it would be done at the cook off.
Also, it is hard to judge doneness the way it is cut, but looking at the area of the eye portion, which is where they will judge doneness, I’d say that you are at medium well, so your doneness score would also suffer.
So... for the next practice get a box. Cook the steak as you plan at the cookoff, put it in the box with the spank is toward the front and close the box. 3 or 4 minutes later open the box and cut the steak in half parallel to the hinge and then look at the top half for appearance and doneness. Then, take a plastic knife and fork and cut a 1/2 inch slice out of the spinalis and judge that for taste and tenderness.
As far as the grill marks, it looks like the steak bubbled as it cooked. Did you tie the steak? If you did the string may have been too tight. A press will help with that, but it will change your cook time a little, so take that into account.
When and where is the cook off? Let me know if you have any questions!
Dalden46
Well-known member
The cookoff is February 8th in van dyne wisconsin. I'll get some restaurant containers and try what u said about cutting it.
Yes I did wrap it so maybe I did go a little tight with it.
All good points I'll try addressing this week.
Yes I did wrap it so maybe I did go a little tight with it.
All good points I'll try addressing this week.
I thought that was the one! We may be there. I need to sort out a family thing.
Don’t be afraid to talk to your fellow competitors! The SCA Family is great and willing to help! Also, the number one and number 3 in the points chase, Sandy and Tim Brown will be there, along with other good friends, Dan Dicke, Manny Maas, Paul Perpich and more, so take the time and meet them and pick their brains :-D
Are you on Facebook? There is an SCA group on Facebook and an SCA Turn In Box group and both are very helpful!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760331524258224/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088042064710917/
Dalden46
Well-known member
I guess when I first was talking to the guy putting it on he made it sound like a little comp, maybe not so hey.
The comps sound like a good time and it's only 45 minutes from my house so that's y I figured I'd check it out. I have a facebook account but honestly have not used it in probably 10 years, don't even know my password.
A few things I forgot to mention is this was my first cook ever with grill grates and I see a lot of youtube guys using a temp gun which I don't have and also I believe these steaks were a bit on the small side, roughly 3/4-7/8 thick. According to sca they get steaks around 1-1/8 inch
The comps sound like a good time and it's only 45 minutes from my house so that's y I figured I'd check it out. I have a facebook account but honestly have not used it in probably 10 years, don't even know my password.
A few things I forgot to mention is this was my first cook ever with grill grates and I see a lot of youtube guys using a temp gun which I don't have and also I believe these steaks were a bit on the small side, roughly 3/4-7/8 thick. According to sca they get steaks around 1-1/8 inch
Hoss
Quintessential Chatty Farker
I have heard the same thing.I have a friend that won one of the contests and he said his steak was inedible to he and his wife.He cooked multiple steaks and prepared them all the same.He chose what he thought was the BEST one and they sampled the other.He said his wife spit it out.Sounds like Q comp.:laugh:: :heh:
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Just my .02 but you need better cuts O beef.
More marbling.
Good Luck!
More marbling.
Good Luck!
Don’t listen to Tim :-D There are 18 cooks signed up now and they will probably get to 25-30. But, it will be fun and a good learning experience!
You don’t need and IR gun, but it will help with consistency. You can get one on Amazon for around $20, just make sure that it can read to at least 700 F. I prefer the rail temp on my Grill Grates to be between 600-650 F.
As for the steaks, yes, get them at least 1 1/8” think, but be prepared for anything :-D One of my steaks at the world championship last year was about 3/4” thick (I had number 7 in the draw, and they broke it up into odd and even tables, so I was 3rd pick and then 3rd from last) and at another comp the steaks were at least 2” thick!
Of course we all want more marbling, but you have to be able to deal with what you get at the cook off.
Dalden46
Well-known member
Does a guy need to sign up in advance or at these competitions do they normally have enough extra steaks to just show up.
As far as marbeling I would have liked that but I got choice grade from Walmart, kinda figured that's what to expect at the competition.
I was at menards today and they have a temp gun there that goes up to 713 degrees for 15 bucks so I picked it up. Making a tri tip tonight so I'll play around with it then.
As far as marbeling I would have liked that but I got choice grade from Walmart, kinda figured that's what to expect at the competition.
I was at menards today and they have a temp gun there that goes up to 713 degrees for 15 bucks so I picked it up. Making a tri tip tonight so I'll play around with it then.
ArnieTex
Full Fledged Farker
Good advice from Ron, a warm pink center is what the judges are looking for, the SCA website has pictures of description, pink from top to bottom seems to do well, I pull them at 134-138 most times. The temp gun is cheap at Harbor freight, had mine for four years now. The FEW sca's i have cooked the steaks can be VERY different from one event to another both in quality and thickness so practice on some thinner ones and some thicker ones, I like to cook at about 550 to 600 (some cook at 700) at the top of the grill grate not down in the valley, most pk users use two chimneys but I have always managed wit one topped high before lighting. Doing some test runs will really help things run smooth on the day of the event and less likely to make a costly mistake. Bolners Fajita Fiesta blue or green label as a base and Texas Select seasonings Basic beef is a winning combination with lots of walks in Texas. Some top east US steak cooks use Rustic rub from TSS also but grind it up in a coffee grinder first. Kerry Gold for butter.
Some organizers will order extra, but I wouldn’t count on it. Based on the SCA rules they have to provide 2 steaks per cook plus 10 so that even the last person in the second round has a choice, but I wouldn’t count on the, having more.
For this weekend Tim posted that the steak order is going in at 10am today, and the is pretty typical for most cook offs.
For whatever reason steak cooks tend to sign up later than KCBS cooks, and that drive the promoters nuts :-D it makes it harder for them to plan their resources, and in most cases they need a minimum number of cooks just to break even for the cook off
