Pulled Pork

[bigred7469]

We are having a BBQ contest at work and thanks to Jeff and his site I have the smoking of the Butt pretty much down.  One question I had to you all is how to present it?  It is one of the things being judged so I was wondering if you all had tips or any pics of plates you have made.  Thanks for the help!

Red

 

[eman]

If there are no rules about presentation i'd use some curly leaf lettuce to line the box and then arrange the pulled pork on top then hit the pork w/ some finishing sauce.

 Make sure to wipe away any splashed or dripped sauce and present a neat clean entry.

 You can also garnish w/ fruit slices but to me this takes away from the meat.

 

[bigred7469]

Yup, there are no rules and thanks for the ideals!!

Red

 

[johnnybigsmoke]

The best way to present pulled pork, in my humble opinion, is a huge mountain of it on a soft bun with a healthy dose of your favorite sauce and maybe topped with some slaw... I think that pulled pork is one of those foods that looks great when its a sloppy mess!!!

Geez I'm hungry!!!  

In all seriousness, the key to an attractive and mouth watering plating is a good combination of colours... I would definitely agree with eman on the curly leaf lettuce and maybe add a couple lemon wedges fanned off in the corner to add a little more life to the plate if you're presenting as a platter. 

Good luck with the comp, Red!!!

Johnny K.

 

[tnbarbq]

Present it so that you can see the bark, smoke ring and tender meat all on one piece of meat.  Then ship it to me for a taste test!!!

 

[cliffcarter]

I like JohnnyBigSmoke's idea-

 

[deannc]

I recently made some vinegar based slaw (no mayonnaise spoiling to worry with) using both regular cabbage and shredded up some red cabbage.  Few shredded carrots etc...maybe a mound of this slaw (which is very colorful) in the middle, surrounded by your pp on the curly lettuce.  

 

[eman]

not saying one way is right or one way is wrong but after thinking about it .

 The one thing i would say is do not use anything as a garnish that will change the taste of the meat it touchs.

 You want every judge to get the same exact taste when they take a bite.

 I know in my first post i said you could use  fruit as a garnish but i don't think i would.

 if you use a citrus fruit that will add a taste to any meat that it contacts

same w/ the vinegar in a slaw.

 Lettuce is a neutral (no real flavor)

 If you have to dress it up .Maybe a apple slice or 2 as most of us (and the judges ) are used to apple smoked food . The only thing w/ apple slices is they would have to be added right b4 turn in as they will turn brown.

 I would just stick w/ some greenery and let the meat speak for itself

 

[bigred7469]

Thanks for all the ideals!!

 

[johnnybigsmoke]

If you were to use apple, you may want to spray them with a little lemon juice to prevent them from browning...

I do see eman's point though... It would be terrible for the garnish to compromises the flavour of the dish... But there are lots of garnish that would look nice and not affect the dish: cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, arugula... all of which add a vibrant colour. But at the end of the day, no one is there to eat that crap...

Bring on the pork, baby!!! It really should speak for itself... (right again eman!!!)  This isn't fine dining... Its pulled pork!!!

 

[eman]

Google KCBS garnish rules  lots to be learned or if that's not enough read the MIM rules.