I just spent the weekend going to St. Louis for a judging class. It
was put on by the St. Richard’s Mens Club, and it was very nicely
done. The instructor was Ed Roith, who can be seen on last year’s All
Star BBQ Challenge on the Outdoor Living Network (OLN).
The
cooking team was Smokin’ T’s, and they did a great job. My wife and I
showed up Friday night for about 40 minutes and talked to the team. We
learned a lot, and it was gerat meeting the team; as it turned out,
they competed in both comps we did last year, too. We’d been driving a
good part of the day and were an hour ahead in time, so we headed back
to the hotel after a bit.
The next day, we went shopping a
bit at the Plaza Frontenac, which is just a fancy mall, but very nice.
I do have to say that the people in St. Louis, at the hotel, the mall,
everywhere we went, were very nice; I don’t know if it’s just the city,
but knowing how great the Cardinal’s fans are, I tend to think it’s the
city.
The class started at 5:00 PM, so that gave us the whole
day to enjoy leading up to that. Once we got there, the place was
already mostly filled; there were 84 people in the class, a great turn
out!
Here’s one item I think they could improve (they being the
KCBS or the organizers, I’m not sure which)… When we got signed in,
we had to find a table, but spouses weren’t allowed to sit together. I
can understand this at a competition when you’re actually judging, but
I thought it was a bit much at the class that we both paid to attend.
It worked out ok, but I would have rather sat with my wife.
My
table was made up of 3 guys that just liked barbecue and wanted to
judge and three of us that were cooks. They had a psuedo table captain
for each table, too. Once we got through the instructional part of the
class and took a break, the table captains all brought three entries of
each type of meat, simulating a competition but with just three entries
instead of six. Each table got the same three entries so that the
group as a whole could also review the entries. The thing that was
different from comp here was that there are intentional
disqualifications, most of which I doubt would be seen in a comp.
Smokin’ T’s did a great job with varying the entries; brisket, for example, had very distinct tenderness between the entries.
Here are the basic things I learned for cooking a comp from the weekend:
- Find
out who the judges are. I don’t mean each name, but find out if
they’re seasoned judges, new judges or judges pulled off the street.
Depending on where they are on that scale, do sweeter and more toward
overcooked the less seasoned the judges are. - I think I need to
grind up my chicken rub more. And add celery seed. I also have a
better idea of the right tenderness, I think. - I knew this one,
but it was reinforced by the fact that Ed told everyone how to check
rib tenderness: if you bite and the meat comes clean just at the bite,
they’re the right tenderness. If more comes off, they’re too done, and
if less, forget about it! - Make sure that there is no pork that
doesn’t have flavor. By this I mean that if I’m putting in strips of
pork from the inside of the butts, make sure that there’s rub with it.
I’m thinking that instead of shredding the meat when I pull it, I may
just tear off bigger chunks and ensure each piece includes som bark. - I
had heard about the pull test for brisket, but seeing all three
examples helped. Texas bbq tells you that brisket should be a #2
pencil width, which is a good guideline, though not required, for
KCBS. At that width, if you pull and there’s some resistance but it
pulls apart nicely, that’s perfect. If it snaps back, not tender
enough, and if it just comes apart, too done. - Don’t worry about
‘secrets’. Nothing I’m doing hasn’t been tried before most likely.
Even if it hasn’t been, you won’t do it the same as I do it anyway. So
from now on, I’ll most likely be sharing whatever secrets I delude
myself into thinking I know.
All in all, a great weekend. I
was hoping to go back to judge, but I think the comp is the same
weekend as another one in Michigan that I told Mark I’d do this year.
What
does being a certified barbecue judge get me? Some more knowledge
about what judges are told to look for in barbecue and the ability to
offer my services to a competition if they need them. It doesn’t give
me any rights or privileges, or make me an expert in any way.
