BBQ: To Be Judged By In South Carolina
SCBA
www.scbarbeque.com
CLASS 1/20/07
Taught by the president of the SCBA
Background as a wine judge.
Judging Class AM
About SCBA PM
Sauce Class & Cooking Class This Summer
"The BBQ Culture In South Carolina"
The Unrecognized Capital
Invented Here In SC In The 1500's
4 Different Kinds Of BBQ - Light Or Heavy Tomato Base, Mustard Base, Vinegar Base
Marketing, Promotion & Advertising To Get SC On The Map
"It's all about the BBQ!!!!!"
3 Rules To Spread The Gospel
"Toot Your Own Horn"
"Turn Out The Best Judges"
"Carolina Q-Cup: Education Public on all four types of BBQ"
JUDGING
Reason To Have Judging Structure
Make a uniform structure in order to level the playing field
What Is Looked For In A Judge
Fairness - Just be fair
Objectivity - Try to eliminate bias. Preserve The Order. Eliminate inappropriate remarks, body language etc.
Consistency - In the individual Judge. Consistency in the judges table.
Criteria In Judging
Appearance - "Do you want to take a bite?" "Is it swimming?" "Do you see fat chunks?"
Aroma - Know the difference between types of sauces and use it to your advantage. ie. See Interesting Facts
Tenderness - Watch for the difference between tender and "mushy."
Taste - Use personal taste but be aware of the four types and what is in the genetic make-up of each type.
Overall - Should recap your other scores in the the other areas. Don't let it contradict your other scores.
Scoring System:
SCBA works on a build system and weighted system.
Work with decimals. Just like working with a 100 point scale.
SCBA does not do "on-site" judging, only blind judging.
Novice judges (AKA Myself) are hypercritical.
Pace Yourself. You have a lot to eat!
Assume nothing.
Reevaluate your scores.
The Rules
(As per how I heard them. These were not stated as rules per say, but is my interpretation. No actual handout was giving.)
* Palette has to be clean before judging. No soda, tea, beer etc. before judging.
* SCBA keeps all judges scores for all of the test.
* Can't talk about the BBQ with the other judges while judging.
* Judging is on a 1-17 scale. The average score is 13.7. Use this as your scale. 13.7 is average. You would possible go back to eat more of. Anything lower you wouldn't go eat again.
* Table captain can change your score.
* Normally don't ever taste and judge over 8 spots of BBQ. Max is 10.
* Scores tend to go lower over time.
* Temperature affects taste. Don't let it influence your judging too much.
* Be generous. If you are going to error the error on then high side.
* Run with the pack. Don't be too high or too low.
* Three off rule. If you are three off of the general consensus score then it is normally you with the with the problem.
* Normally need to judge about 1/2 cup of BBQ.
* In case of a tie in judging, you go back to the sheets and recalculate the taste column only. If for some reason there is still a tie you then calculate the tenderness.
Lessons Learned And To Be Learned By
"My BBQ Is The Best"
To truly be number 1, you go threw the MBA BBQ Circuit in SC.
Don't fall into the trap of this "BBQ is number 1."
"It can all be good!"
Good BBQ is good, no matter what type of BBQ it is.
Separate personal taste from favorite type of BBQ.
Be judgmental not bashing.
Know the difference between quality and personal biases.
Do not pre-judge.
Don't have prejudice.
"Be judgmental"
You are here to judge not be entertained.
Lay it all out there, be fair and critical.
"Don't screw the cooker."
Mountain Effect -
Due to the nature of hunger your first bite tends to be one of the best. But this is a basis judgment. It tends to be the middle one that you try will get the highest score and then goes down the mountain after that. Be flexible with your tasting. Understand your personal flaws. Make sure the cooker gets his/her fair stake no matter what spot you judge them.
Be consistent with your judging. But continue to learn about BBQ.
"Decent Judges But Terrible Scorer"
Understands the judging process but not the scoring process.
Most of the time judges rate in the same order but tend to have overall lower scores than the rest of the judges.
Interesting Facts Or Comments Overheard:
2 Out Of 3 Cookers In SC Use Gas
Normally pulled meat wins, over all others in SC.
In KC sliced never wins.
Tomato Kills Odor / Mustard does not
NC BBQ is sponsored by Department of Agriculture
Things To Check Out:
National BBQ News
Kansas City Has A Certification as well - Largest Operation In Country
Kansas City Royal BBQ Competition
Memphis In May
