The Mad Mad Mad Mad World of Competition Barbecue

[Toby]

Hi Steve, struggling to understand your post but if i have it right you are asking why there is a difference in flavor if a judge has one bite or eats the lot? The reason for one bite judging is due to the sheer volume of food a judge will consume during a competition. 6 bites (or 12 if the taste burnt ends too) for brisket, 6 bites of thigh, 6 bites of ribs and generally two different type of pork, pulled sliced, chopped etc. It is impossible for a judge to eat everything, a man vs food challenge..........

[Pecker]

Hi Steve, struggling to understand your post but if i have it right you are asking why there is a difference in flavor if a judge has one bite or eats the lot? The reason for one bite judging is due to the sheer volume of food a judge will consume during a competition. 6 bites (or 12 if the taste burnt ends too) for brisket, 6 bites of thigh, 6 bites of ribs and generally two different type of pork, pulled sliced, chopped etc. It is impossible for a judge to eat everything, a man vs food challenge..........

Yes, judging wouldn't be a healthy occupation if they had to eat it all.

What I'm saying is, someone who knows how to taste food shouldn't need to eat the lot - they should be able to tell how it is from one bite. And there shouldn't be a need to exagerate the flavours in that bite - they should be able to tell if something tastes so strong that it'd be too sickly if they ate it all.

Hope that's a bit clearer.

Steve W

[Toby]

ok understand now, the biggest problem with BBQ judging is the very nature of BBQ, with the best will in the world you cant completely clean your pallet between bites and therefore your food needs to stand head and shoulders above the others. appearance is easy, texture is easy but taste if difficult. If you tried 6 pieces of chicken from different people, you would struggle to ignore the flavors still remaining in your mouth left by the other entries, this is a major part of training the judges.

[Pecker]

Cheers for that - interesting stuff.

Steve W