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Continued from Page 2
Choosing the Entry
As time nears for prepping the entry, you must decide which of your
butts is what you think will best please the judges. Teams have
several methods used to choose. Usually, several members of the team
will gather, taste those butts that have not been already knocked out
because of defects, and settle on what they intend to enter.
Sometimes the outer bark may be selected from one butt, the pulled
pork from another. One thing to remember is that exposure to air will
cool the meat quickly and dry it out. So the selection process should
move swiftly. Meat is usually displayed with some bark, some meat
pulled, some meat chopped and occasionally sliced. The contrast of
colors from the dark outer skin, the pink "smoke ring" and the whiter
interior should all be represented.
The Presentation Box
Memorize the rules on presentation written by the sanctioning body.
Follow them exactly. Beyond that, choose the best pieces of meat and
arrange them attractively in the box. In the shoulder/butt category,
include some pulled and some chopped meat and include the gamut of
colors from white to the dark brown bark. Count to make certain that
each of the six judges can get a separate portion of each type of
meat in the entry. Now a critical question arises: To sauce or not
to sauce. Keep in mind that your goal is to satisfy the questionable
palates of the judges, so not too spicy or exotic. If you believe
that you meat benefits from the addition of your finishing sauce, by
all means, use it. It should be applied evenly over the meat, not
puddled, and it cannot be served up separately from the meat.
Ultimately the overall flavor, sauced or not, will determine the
taste scores. The choice is yours. So, sauced or not, close the lid
tightly to prevent heat loss and take it hastily and carefully to the
entry point.
Post Mortem
After you have sent the entry in, record the views and opinions of
all the team members who were in the choosing process. Try to be
specific in your impressions. Have each member rate each entry just
like the judges are going to do. After all the entries are in and all
the information is recorded, relax and have a cold one.
After the judging results are announced, get your copy of the scores
and see how the individual judges scored each of your entries. By and
by you will have a data base of scores for your entries in each
category — those from the team and those from the judges. This can
help direct you toward an end product that is consistently
competitive. Don't be discouraged when some tasteless judge scores
you low. See how the majority of the judges scored. You want to
strive to reach the top five percent level and continuously refine
your process. Don't make any great changes, just incremental
adjustments.
Persevere and remember that the real reason you are doing this is to
have fun. If, after all pots and pits are cleaned and the wagons have
been loaded, you can honestly say that you had fun, then you have
been successful.
Memorize the rules on presentation written by the sanctioning body.
Follow them exactly. Beyond that, choose the best pieces of meat and
arrange them attractively in the box. In the shoulder/butt category,
include some pulled and some chopped meat and include the gamut of
colors from white to the dark brown bark. Count to make certain that
each of the six judges can get a separate portion of each type of
meat in the entry.
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