After running these ribs at a few more competitions (4 total comps) they are still getting solid taste and texture scores, but learning that the judges (if you care about competing) are really looking for the bright red glossy look on ribs, so I haven't been able to break the 4th-5th place spot no matter how perfect they do on taste and texture. So if you are looking to compete with something like this, you may look at the following tips. Note that I plan to do them just like described above still when I do them at home.
Here are some competition tips I plan to employ in future competition including one I have this weekend:
-Use a rub/base with a stronger red hue to it to offset the coffee grounds as much as possible.
-Use just enough of the coffee to let the flavor come out, but not enough to substantially affect the color of the ribs (In my original recipe, coffee is the 2nd, by volume, ingredient)
-when grinding the coffee choose the finest grind setting they have
-when boxing the ribs give them a light misting of some fruit juice to bring out the gloss and shine look
For some reason, the judges don't respond as well to that "bark" look which the coffee gives the ribs. Of course, this method works great still without coffee at all, so feel free to just employ the method without the recipe! The method will still give you the perfect more easily controlled ribs. Despite the pressure to sauce my ribs in competition, I still cannot bring myself to do it. The drippings for me is all you need!
