Judging Barbecue

Some of you have asked what happened to my competition barbecue stories. Well, I'll tell you. This past summer, money had not been my friend. We've passed each other in the hall without so much as a nod. And to those of you who are in the know, it's expensive to enter a barbecue contest. No money = No contests. No contests = No stories.

The only contest I attended this year was the Sayville Fall Festival back in October. Jerry Mullane, contest rep extraordinaire, roped me into judging the barbecue contest. But instead of judging, I got the chance to perform as a Table Captain for the first time at a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned event.

Table Captains are the folks who bring the food to the judge's table for judging. Actually it's a little more involved. Table captains are also responsible for making sure that the entries are in compliance with the rules, make sure that the judges judge and behave properly. Table Captains also keep the table clean and supplied. Sounds real exciting doesn't it? You'd be surprised.

A quick explanation of what happens when judging barbecue in a KCBS sanctioned event. The judges are seated at tables of six. When judging begins, the Table Captain opens the first box of food, announces the team number and the judges all take a look at the box and score it for appearance. Once the first box is scored by all the judges, the Table Captain opens the next and the process is repeated until all the entries are scored for appearance.

The Table Captain then opens up the first box and gives it to the first judge whom takes a sample and places it on his judging plate. The judge then passes the box to the next who does the same. This happens until every entry is given out to sample. Only then will the judges begin to score the meat on taste and tenderness.

During the appearance portion of the judging, the Table Captain is usually the first to notice if there is a violation on the rules. These are usually the glaring errors, like not enough samples, improper garnish, foreign objects in the box, etc. At Sayville, The Hot Dawg Truck submitted a rubber chicken as their entry. Of course it had to be disqualified, but it was funny. Apart from that one aberration, the rest of my table's entries contained no surprises.

For an explanation of the scoring system, check out this previous post.

One thing that did surprise me however was how much I learned about my own judging at barbecue contests. Watching the judges and seeing how each entry was scored and comparing the judge's scores with my own, it really brought home that I am a tough judge. I always knew that I was tough, never buying into the belief that the teams deserve high scores simply for showing up, but maybe I am perhaps too tough. (Just for clarification, the Table Captain doesn't score at a contest. I was only scoring the entries in my head.)

Would it hurt to give a little higher number? Probably not. I'm not saying that I need to be any less tough on an entry, but maybe I need to rethink what my definition of what 4,5,6,7,8 are to me. Maybe I need to be a bit more generous in my scoring next year. Time will tell.

Photograph of the barbecue being judged comes from the great website Amazing Ribs. Check it out, you'll love it.

Want To Judge?

You've seen those happy folks on the Food Network stuffing their faces allegedly judging food at all the barbecue contests. You've wondered, how do I get in on the free chow? Well, if you're in the NYC tri-state area, here's your chance...

The BBQ Brethren and the Sayville Chamber of Commerce announces..

2009 KCBS BBQ Judging Certification Class

Held at the Sayville Fire House

Saturday April 11, 2009

$55 for KCBS Members $90 for Non KCBS Members. Non member fee includes 1 year membership in KCBS.

Class is limited to about 42 people. First come first serve.

For information send email to: Eric Devlin.

KCBS Judging Procedures

I received an email from a reader of this blog who asked me to explain the judging procedures, so I went right to the source. Here are the judging procedures as posted by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

Judging Procedures

KCBS sanctioning allows for blind judging only. Entries will be submitted in an approved KCBS numbered container provided by the contest organizer. The container may be re-numbered by the KCBS Contest Rep or authorized personnel before being presented to the judges.

1. Judges may not fraternize with teams on turn-in day until conclusion of judging.
2. Judging will be done by a team of 6 persons, who are at least 16 years of age. (Only Judges, Contest Reps and necessary support staff are allowed in judging area during the judging process. No other activities are permitted in the judging area, during judging process. )
3. Each judge will first score all the samples for appearance of the meat. The turn-in containers will then be passed around the table and each judge will place a sample from each of the containers in the appropriate box on the judging mat. The judge will then score each entry for taste and tenderness/texture, before moving on to the next entry.
4. The scoring system is from 9 to 2, all whole numbers between two and nine may be used to score an entry. 9 excellent, 8 very good, 7 above average, 6 average, 5 below average, 4 poor, 3 bad, and 2 inedible
5. A score of one (1) is a disqualification and requires approval by a Contest Rep. Grounds for disqualification: Appearance: Unapproved garnish, sculptured meat,marked turn-in container, foreign object in container, less than 6 samples of meat or pooled sauce. Taste & Tenderness: Sculptured meat, marked turn-in container, foreign object in container, or judges not receiving a sample.
6. The weighting factors for the point system are as follows: Appearance - 0.5714, Taste - 2.2858, Tenderness / Texture - 1.1428
7. The low score will be thrown out. Results will be tallied. If there is a tie in one of the categories, it will be broken by the computer, as follows: The scores will be compared (counting all five judges) for the highest cumulative scores in taste, then tenderness, then appearance. If still tied, then the low score, which was thrown out, will be compared and the higher of the low scores will break the tie. If still tied, then a computer generated coin toss will be used.
8. Total points per entry will determine the champion within each classification of meat.
9. Cumulative points for only the four (4) KCBS classifications will determine the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion (except the Dodge City, KS; BarbeQlossal; Tryon, NC, contests, or at the election of these organizers.)

Scoring Barbecue

About a year ago, KCBS instituted a new system in judging. In an effort to get more consistent scores from the judges, they added a word definition to each number score. There are three criteria that meat entries are judged upon -- appearance, taste, tenderness/texture. Scores can range from nine to one:

• Nine (excellent)
• Eight (very good)
• Seven (above average)
• Six (average)
• Five (below average)
• Four (poor)
• Three (bad)
• Two (inedible)
• One (disqualified)

When I was taught to be a judge, I was in the first year of the "new" system. I was taught that judging begins at 6 and to raise or lower the score as the entry warranted. In the old system, the judges began at 9 and worked their way down. Personally, I think the new system makes more sense as not every turn in would be "excellent," most would be "average."

The old system created a lot of perfect scores and the new system changed all of that. But it caused a real riot amongst many of the cooks who were used to seeing scores of 8 & 9 on a regular basis.

I remember talking with one team at an event about their scores. This may have been the first contest for them where the new rules were in place. They had mostly scores of 7 & 8. A couple of entries had scores of 6 and one category had a 5. They hit the roof. "5? A 5 would mean it's inedible." "A 6? We've never gotten scores so low before." "These new judges don't know shit."

Their reaction to the new scoring system took out all the joy for them of a third place finish. The next time I saw them they were again bitching about their scores, but the still were in the top 5 of the event. The rest of the top 10 finishers were teams whom you would expect to be there. The cream still rose to the top.

After every one of these conversations with the teams I reflect on the scores I gave out. I agonize about the 5 I gave one entry or the 4 I gave another. I spend a lot of time going over it in my head before I write it on the judging card and still more in the drive home. I've never come to the conclusion that I gave a wrong score, but I know how they will be perceived. Let's face it, everyone wants a high score, even if their entry doesn't warrant it.

The new worded definitions have made me think a little more about the scores I gave out this year. 4 out of 9 does not sound as bad as "poor." "Poor" is a slap in the face. "Bad" or "inedible" are even worse. A wordless 4 was much easier to assign than to give a "poor" rating. I can't imagine ever giving an "inedible" score.

Talking with the other judges, the word scores have caused many of them to rethink their scoring as well. Some are raising the scores they assign. Others are taking a little longer before giving the score. Some don't give a shit and will continue to judge it on the old "start at 9" system.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out this season. Will the overall scores rise? Will we be seeing more "perfect" scores again? Time will tell, but like I said, the cream still rises to the top.

Here Come Da Judge

I'm a bit overworked right now, but I want to put up the KCBS judge's oath that is recited before every contest...

"I do solemnly swear to objectively and subjectively evaluate each Barbeque meat that is presented to my eyes, my nose, my hands and my palate. I accept my duty to be an Official KCBS Certified Judge, so that truth, justice, excellence in Barbeque and the American Way of Life may be strengthened and preserved forever."

I already mentioned that I like to review the rules and thought processes before judging contests and I'll be talking more about that later, but on the BBQ Forum, there is a thread about a judge who purposely low balled his scores at a recent event. I find that a little hard to believe as I've never encountered a judge who doesn't take the oath seriously, even if it is a bit corny.

I've heard the complaints from cooks about low scores and inconsistent scores and I don't really share their opinions. Sometimes a low score is justified. Sometimes a low score from one judge when everyone else at the table gives a high score is justified.

At one event where I judged I sampled a rib that was a tough as shoe leather and scored it appropriately. When the judging was complete, the judge next to me pointed to his sample and declared it the best of the bunch. I challenged him and we each then sampled each other's ribs. (Easy now.) His rib was indeed one of the best ribs I ever had, and he agreed with me that my rib sucked. (OK, we're going over the top here.)

When asked how he'd score my rib, he gave an even lower score than I had. So my dear cooks, sometimes a low score from one judge is indeed credible.

Most judges take the oath very seriously and think very hard before putting down a score. I think the KCBS scoring system works and hopefully this "judge" will be stopped before he judges again.

EDIT: I posted this because on the BBQ Forum it stated that this judge was out to hammer the teams, as he is usually a competition cook and was looking to hurt teams he usually goes up against, but I wonder if that was his real goal. On another forum he states that he was judging honestly and as best he could. If that's the case, he did good. If he can justify his low scores they should stand.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as I don't know him and I wasn't there. But if he was out to low ball the competition, IMHO he should be banned not only from judging, but from competing as well.

Photograph courtesy of Pig Daddy's BBQ.

BBQ Judges Needed.....

This just in....

Hey there you crazy barbeque lovin’ folks;

The 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Rib Fest has taken off beyond all imagination and is now in need of more certified judges for their event on the weekend of August 18th & 19th. Currently there are more than 60 teams that have signed up and some are coming from over 1,500 miles away. There will be nationally recognized teams as well as a presence from the Food Network so the samples will be the best ever.

The event takes place at the Ulster County Fairgrounds which is located in beautiful New Paltz, NY and really easy to get to from the New York State Thruway.

If you have been looking to judge and event that hosts some seriously famous barbeque, then you need to sign up now. Here’s the link: judges@hudsonvalleyribfest.org.

Hope to see you all there!

Mike Lee

For more info, please visit: http://www.hudsonvalleyribfest.org

BBQ Contests: Grillin' On The Bay

Here are the complete results for Grillin' On The Bay. I'm exhausted. I think I've slept 3 hours since Thursday. I'll give you a more detailed report in the upcoming days.

Overall
1. The Anchormen
2. Fugheddaboutit
3. Ma's Que Crew
4. Lost Nation
5. Smoke In Da Eye
6. Ribs Within
7. Q Haven
8. Beer Belly Porkers
9. Hill Country
10. iQue
11. Fat Texan BBQ
12. All American BBQ
13. Smokin Bones
14. Burnt Side Down
15. Purple Turtle
16. Smokin Dave's Talkgate Party
17. Front Street Smoke House
18. Better BBQ Bureau
19. Notorious BBQ
20. Duke's
21. Smokin Mike's
22. Richie's Rib Shack
23. The Mutiny Smokers
24. Hot Hogs

Chicken
1. The Anchormen
2. All American BBQ
3. Ma's Que Crew
4. Ribs Within
5. Lost Nation
6. Q Haven
7. Purple Turtle
8. Hill Country
9. Fat Texan BBQ
10. iQue
11. Smoke In Da Eye
12. Burnt Side Down
13. Better BBQ Bureau
14. The Mutiny Smokers
15. Beer Belly Porkers
16. Fuhgeddaboutit
17. Notorious BBQ
18. Smokin Dave's Tailgate
19. Smokin Mike's
20. Duke's
21. Richie's Rib Shack
22. Smokin Bones
23. Front Street Smoke House
24. Hot Hogs

Fish
1. Fuhgeddaboutit
2. Smoke In Da Eye
3. Beer Belly Porkers
4. Smokin Bones
5. Q Haven
6. The Anchormen
7. iQue
8. Smokin Dave's Tailgate
9. Ma's Que Crew
10. Richie's Rib Shack
11. All American BBQ
12. Ribs Within
13. Lost Nation
14. Front Street Smoke House
15. Fat Texan BBQ
16. Hill Country
17. Hot Hogs
18. Smokin Mike's
19. Burnt Side Down
20. Duke's
21. Purple Turtle
22. Notorious BBQ
23. Better BBQ Bureau
24. The Mutiny Smokers

Pork
1. Lost Nation
2. The Anchormen
3. Fugheddaboutit
4. Smoke In Da Eye
5. Front Street Smoke House
6. FatTexanBBQ
7. Smokin Mike's
8. Ma's Que Crew
9. Burnt Side Down
10. Q Haven
11. Better BBQ Bureau
12. Hot Hogs
13. Ribs Within
14. Duke's
15. Beer Belly Porkers
16. Smokin Bones
17. Purple Turtle
18. All American BBQ
19. Hill Country
20. iQue
21. Notorious BBQ
22. Smokin Dave's Tailgate
23. The Mutiny Smokers
24. Richie's Rib Shack

Chef's Choice
1. Notorious BBQ
2. Fugheddaboutit
3. Ma's Que Crew
4. Hill Country
5. Better BBQ Crew
6. Ribs Within
7. Smokin Dave's Tailgate
8. Beer Belly Porkers
9. Smoke In Da Eye
10. Smokin Bones
11. The Mutiny Smokers
12. Purple Turtle
13. iQue
14. Duke's
15. Lost Nation
16. Richie's RibShack
17. Burnt Side Down
18. Q Haven
19. The Anchormen
20. Front Street Smoke House
21. Fat Texan BBQ
22. All American BBQ
23. Hot Hogs
24. Smokin Mike's

BBQ Events: The Snowshoe 2007

Looking for something to do today?

Well, the competition barbecue season begins in earnest in the North East. Take a ride up to the Abington VFW Post 5737, 30 Central Street, Abington MA for The New England Barbecue Society's annual Snowshoe Contest.

This is a great event that attracts some of the best competitive barbecue teams in the country. Here's this year's lineup:

1. Dirty Dick and the Legless Wonders
2. B.S. BBQ
3. Q Ball
4. D&D BBQ
5. Smokin' Bones
6. Purple Turtle Catering Co.
7. Faux Pas BBQ
8. Q Haven
9. I Que
10. Tranformer BBQ
11. Uncle Jed's BBQ
12. Lakeside Smokers
13. Feeding Friendz
14. Boneyard Smokers
15. I Smell Smoke
16. Smokey Steve & the Hickory Boys
17. Big Boned BBQ

Do yourself a favor, go.

Grillin' On The Bay - The Teams

Grilin' On The Bay - 2007. Wow. This is going to be a great event. Look at this line up! There are some of the best barbecue teams and restaurants in the Northeast cooking in Brooklyn on March 31st. (Corner of East 18th Street and Avenue Z)

Barbecue in New York City is alive and kicking. Come on out and check it out, you'll be glad you did. And if you're interested in cooking, we still have one spot left. Grillin' On The Bay rocks!

Hot Hogs
Smokin’ Mikes
Purple Turtle Catering - The Returning Champions
Hill Country - Rob Richter's new barbecue team
Notorious BBQ
Fat Texan BBQ
Richie’s Rib Shack
The Anchormen
IQue
Lost Nation
RUB
Fugheddaboutit BBQ
Front Street Smoke House
Smoke in Da Eye
Q Haven
Burnt Side Down
Duke's
The Mutiny Smokers
Smokin’ Dave’s Tailgate Party
Smokin’ Bones
Ma’s Que Crew
Beer Belly Porkers

Yes, this is a shameless plea for free publicity

"Yes, this is a shameless plea for free publicity" that was the subject line of an email I just received. Normally, I would have dismissed this email as spam, but there was something about the brashness, boldness and balls about it that intrigued me. Maybe it's because I've been known to do a few shameless pleas for free publicity myself. Who knows why, but I didn't delete it and I'm glad I didn't.

This shameless plea for free publicity is an invitation to join American Culinary Tables to mark the Year of the Pig a celebration of – and inquiry into – the West Tennessee region’s spectacular take on sauced swine this fall.

"Tour participants will sample the best barbecue in Memphis; learn how to grade a plate of pork from expert judges at the Memphis Barbecue Association and venture deep into rural Tennessee to learn the secrets of whole hog barbecue from the sawmill operators, slaughterhouse managers and dedicated pitmasters who have preserved the craft. Escorts for our ‘cue journey include Times-Picayune columnist Lolis Eric Elie, author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in Barbecue Country and Joe York, the first filmmaker to visually document the whole hog tradition."

According to the website, once you complete this tour, you will be a certified Memphis in May BBQ judge. It's got some very interesting food on the itinerary and you will be surrounded by some of Memphis's top BBQ experts.

Sounds very intriguing. But alas, the tour is a bit pricey for us here at WhiteTrash BBQ. To join in the tour, the early bird special price is $475 per person, and it's way out of my reach at $595 per person if you register after May 1st. Prices do not include lodging or transportation to/from Memphis. But if any of my well heeled readers are interested, this sounds like a fabulous time and I'd love to have a review of the tour to post here.