My wife was kind enough to write a bit about presentation.  She takes care of all of our team presentation for competitions, and has done very well, with the majority of her scores being 8’s and 9’s, even though she’s only done it for 2 comps.

Here’s what she has to say about presentation:

I would not have attempted to help my husband or his partner
in a competition if it were not for his encouragement and support. My husband is very passionate about
barbecue. I persuaded him to enter our
first competition last year, “Just do it, don’t just go and watch; get in there
and learn from your mistakes” I challenged him. And so he did - he took the plunge and went for it. It was not as scary as you might think.

Presentation is only a small part of competition, but why
not work hard for the extra point or two? After all, we put a lot of time,
effort, sweat and a small fortune into a competition. I agreed to participate
because I wanted to be with my husband in a hobby he is passionate about.

The first competition, we spent a few extra dollars on
parsley and green leaf lettuce. We went through a lot because I did not want
any brown on it at all. I have to admit
I tend to be a perfectionist when I am asked to do a task. I washed the lettuce and the parsley with
water and rinsed in a salad spinner….yup a salad spinner to rid any extra water
from the leafy greens. I generally make
up the boxes before turn in times so we are ready to go atmcrunch time; they
are “chillin” in the coolers while the meats are in final preparation.

So you want to know how I placed the meats on the bed of
greens? Let’s just say it was a woman’s
intuition, looking at a lot of photos on the internet and just trying out what
I thought looked best in the box. Oh right, there was a lot of unsolicited opinions
offered.

I tend to believe a box looks better when on a bed of greens, but the meat is
the main event, it should be showcased in the best possible way. Whether it be chicken, brisket, pulled pork
or ribs. I think they look great on a
perfect bed of greens.

I make sure the boxes of greens are ready, first thing in
the morning, washing, trimming and placing in the box and placed in the cooler,
so they are ready when needed on not pressured in crunch time.

Positioning the particular meat on the leafy bed can be
tricky. You do not want any rub or
juices on the greens, only on the meat. The meat should look “picture perfect”. The guys and I pick out the best of the bunch and decide what is going
to be presented. No burned pieces, no
ragged cut edges, no over saucing or finger prints on the selected meats. We are looking for the best looking meat in
whatever category we are presenting.

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