KCBS Hoosier BBQ Classic

[912smoker]

Minimum is 1 piece judge.
6 judges but most like to turn in a full box to get a better appearance score.
But as thirdeye said, if it's in the box it will be judged.

Keith

 

[TheBeardedPig]

Minimum is 1 piece judge.
6 judges but most like to turn in a full box to get a better appearance score.
But as thirdeye said, if it's in the box it will be judged.

Keith

I know the rules are hard to find online sometimes. If you don't have the little pamphlet, private message me your e-mail addy I can send a .pdf of them. They are somewhat straightforward and cover everything you need to be aware of.

Let me answer in reverse order - That is a good plan for the brisket as long as the burnt ends are very good to excellent when you sample them. Some of the first advice I got was to not plan on turning them in and stick with slices only. If you turn in both BEs and slices, judges will use a composite score for taste and tenderness.

The previous Pork rules included a weight requirement, and requirement for separating. For example, cooks might isolate the MM by trimming so it could get more bark, but it was still connected to the roast. After it was cooked, it could be removed.
The 2020 Pork Rules:
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Boston Roast, Picnic and/or Whole Shoulder, weighing a minimum of four (4) pounds at the time of inspection. After trimming, pork shall be cooked whole (bone in or bone out), however, once cooked, it may be separated and returned to the cooker at the cook's discretion. It may be turned in chopped, pulled, chunked, sliced or a combination of any of those.

As long as the pork you turn in is from the "shoulder" as defined below, the current rules don't have any reference to weight, certain muscle groups you elect to turn in, or how they are presented. One thing to consider is that if you turn in pulled, sliced, and some plugs... the judges will sample some of each and give a composite score, so make sure they are all good enough to turn in.
The 2023 Meat Rules:
The Four KCBS Meat Categories:
CHICKEN: Chicken includes Cornish Game Hen and Kosher Chicken.
PORK RIBS: Ribs shall include the bone. Country style ribs are prohibited.
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Boston Roast, Picnic, Collar (aka Cellar) and/or Whole Shoulder.
BEEF BRISKET: May be whole brisket, flat, or point. Corned beef is not allowed.

Feel dumb for asking this but how do I send a private message on here lol?

 

[gmc2003]

Feel dumb for asking this but how do I send a private message on here lol?

You can either hover your mouse pointer over their name or you can click on the envelope in the upper right hand corner of the page. Then just click start conversation.

Chris

 

[thirdeye]

Looks great!!! Do you know how much food needs to be turned in for each category?

16) Each contestant must submit at least six (6) portions of meat in an approved container. Chicken, pork and brisket may be submitted chopped, pulled, sliced, or diced as the cook sees fit, as long as there is enough for six (6) judges. Ribs shall be turned in bone-in. Judges may not cut, slice, or shake apart to separate pieces. If there is not enough meat for each judge to sample, the shorted judge(s) will score a one (1) on all criteria, and the judges having samples will change the Appearance score to one (1) as a penalty.

Here is where things can get interesting because the term used is 'at least (6) portions'. A typical chicken box would have at least 6 thighs, 6 drumsticks, 6 wings, 6 slices of breast etc. However...if you turned in 3 drumsticks, and 3 thighs, this would satisfy the rule. And turning in 3 thighs, and a generous portion of pulled chicken would also satisfy the rule. Even turning in 1 drumstick and a generous portion of pulled chicken is legal. In these examples every judge would still get a 'portion' and would only judge the portion on their plate, but cooks that turn in boxes with more than one style of meat most generally include at least 6 portions of each style. I have seen some pork boxes that had 6 slices, a pile of 6 or 8 tubes, and some pulled pork. A box like this has met the rule and judges would take 1 slice, 1 tube, and enough pulled for a bite. I have seen brisket boxes with only 6 or 8 burnt ends, and boxes with 6 or 8 really short slices.... these are also legal.

Ribs are the exception as you must have at least 6 bone-in ribs (and they must be sliced all the way through because a judge can't shake or tear two ribs apart).

Here is an example of a pork box with a sliced MM and a generous amount of some chunky pork. Judges would get a slice, and a good sized bite of the chunks.

 

[thirdeye]

Feel dumb for asking this but how do I send a private message on here lol?

Look for a little envelope in the top right of the header. Click that, then click "start a conversation" and go from there.

 

[thirdeye]

I just looked at the contest page, a rib and dessert competition Friday, then a Turkey competition and KCBS 4-meat on Saturday, and also Sunday. A lot of stuff going on.

 

[TheBeardedPig]

I just looked at the contest page, a rib and dessert competition Friday, then a Turkey competition and KCBS 4-meat on Saturday, and also Sunday. A lot of stuff going on.

Yes sir. I’m not doing the dessert or Turkey and also I’m just doing the rib burn Friday and the 4 meat Saturday. I decided to start slow and not overwhelm myself since I was able to pick and choose.

 

[TheBeardedPig]

I just looked at the contest page, a rib and dessert competition Friday, then a Turkey competition and KCBS 4-meat on Saturday, and also Sunday. A lot of stuff going on.

Thanks for the email. I’ll definitely study the crap outta this.

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks for the email. I’ll definitely study the crap outta this.

No problem, just paying it forward. We had months to gather advice and practice for our first competition so I had plenty of notes. We did wet age two Prime briskets, but everything else was typical grocery store meats.

We were in a group of 10 or 11 new teams, 20+ teams that were experienced, and 4 or 5 that were very experienced. Neighboring cooks were all very friendly. Our rib cook scored the highest in like 11th or 12th place.

 

[TheBeardedPig]

No problem, just paying it forward. We had months to gather advice and practice for our first competition so I had plenty of notes. We did wet age two Prime briskets, but everything else was typical grocery store meats.

We were in a group of 10 or 11 new teams, 20+ teams that were experienced, and 4 or 5 that were very experienced. Neighboring cooks were all very friendly. Our rib cook scored the highest in like 11th or 12th place.

 

[TheBeardedPig]

Just did a dry run. I know I need more money muscle but let me know what you guys think.

 

[thirdeye]

Just did a dry run. I know I need more money muscle but let me know what you guys think.

I think the slices and the plugs look really good. What part of the butt did the pulled come from?

 

[thirdeye]

I think this was the first or second practice pork box we made. I don't recall the time limit and I didn't take the lead on pork or ribs. It's really funny how you notice things in a photo that aren't obvious when you are looking at it. The fanned slices were kind of sloppy and would have looked much better if the direction was reversed. For pulled, we only used soft and easy-to-pull muscles and would moisten it with some foil juices. There is a fine line between soft pulled and mushy, and judges score down for mushy pulled pork.

 

[TheBeardedPig]

I think the slices and the plugs look really good. What part of the butt did the pulled come from?

From the horn

 

[thirdeye]

From the horn

Then you are on track. Cooks often shy away from using the center butt section and opt for a better muscle group. I was helping build boxes one time for a CBJ class and the cook took a pan of money muscles way over the sliceable point. But the pulled pork from them was fantastic.

The "look" of pulled pork is hard to describe for appearance judging. It should look appealing, inviting, moist, not over-sauced and so forth. On occasion I've seen PP that looked pale, dry and like it was under-done and forced into pulling.... and maybe a 6 on appearance. But it might come back with 8s for taste and tenderness. I think I mentioned this but judges only spend a few seconds when appearance judging. A quick look to make sure the garnish is approved, then they take in the overall impression.

 

[JckDanls 07]

For instance you can trim chicken but can't brine, inject or season it until after the meat inspection on Friday

I also pre-trimmed the brisket flat

Now I have only done one KCBS comp... For that one I could not do ANYTHING to the meat before hand... IT had to be in the original packaging from the supplier/store to be able to pass meat inspection ...

For chicken... are you doing comp thighs?? meaning scraping the fat off the skin and shaping and forming the thighs ?

The whole cook part is easy as you do it all the time... Its the making up of the turn in box that creates the nerves/unknowns as that is never done on our weekend cooks... So it's not natural...

 

[TheBeardedPig]

Now I have only done one KCBS comp... For that one I could not do ANYTHING to the meat before hand... IT had to be in the original packaging from the supplier/store to be able to pass meat inspection ...

For chicken... are you doing comp thighs?? meaning scraping the fat off the skin and shaping and forming the thighs ?

The whole cook part is easy as you do it all the time... Its the making up of the turn in box that creates the nerves/unknowns as that is never done on our weekend cooks... So it's not natural...

Yes I’m doing thighs and plan on trimming them up and make ‘em look like “pillows” as Soo says it.

 

[JckDanls 07]

ok.. well look into taking the skin off and scraping the fat off the back side and then wrap the deboned trimmed thigh to look like a loaf... Scrapping the fat off gives you MUCH BETTER bite through of the skin...

Another pointer... NO brush marks in the sauce... no streaks... If you can dunk the thigh in sauce that works better

 

[TheBeardedPig]

ok.. well look into taking the skin off and scraping the fat off the back side and then wrap the deboned trimmed thigh to look like a loaf... Scrapping the fat off gives you MUCH BETTER bite through of the skin...

Another pointer... NO brush marks in the sauce... no streaks... If you can dunk the thigh in sauce that works better

Ok. I’ve been working on thighs. I’d say it’s my weakest meats. Been doing a couple dry runs and the trim hasn’t been to well. The skin would curl up the meat. I’ve never deboned them before always left the bone in. I definitely need to take my time and give myself extra time for the thighs especially the trimming part. I was planning on bringing a loaf pot so I can dunk them.

 

[912smoker]

I scrape the skin, jacquard and slice off the knuckle. Brine and inject. Make sure the skin is.long enough to wrap around and under.

Keith