Wrapping in competition

[BKING!]

So for at home cooking I’ve wrapped and not wrapped all of the major bbq meats several times over. It seems I get a more consistent and overall better result on average with not wrapping meat. There really wasn’t a noticeable difference between the two in terms of tenderness (slight edge to wrapping) but I feel flavor, appearance, and bark was better for the unwrapped meats.

Now to the question. Does anyone compete without wrapping in competition on here? I eventually would like to try competing and have always been told to practice like you play. In other words, if wrapping leads to the best comp meats, I may need to continue cooking that way at home even if I prefer unwrapped.

 

[BKING!]

Non competitors opinions welcome as well obviously.

 

[gmc2003]

I've never been to a comp., but the guys I see on the tele usually wrap. Johnny Trigg for instance. I like to wrap, but the way my family likes ribs wouldn't do well in a real competition.

Chris

 

[fullsmoke]

Depends what Meat your doing for brisket I use paper wrap and some times for Butts ribs I use foil chicken is done in a pan then on a rack to Finnish

 

[BKING!]

My biggest thing is consistency in results with wrapping. Obviously it can be done. Do I just need more practice? Can you guys tell a significant difference in the outcome? My best brisket and butt were unwrapped the entire time and best ribs were wrapped.

 

[fullsmoke]

It helps cool times and keeps Meat from getting to dark some times judges dock for being to dark I know it don’t sound right but it happens

 

[BKING!]

It helps cool times and keeps Meat from getting to dark some times judges dock for being to dark I know it don’t sound right but it happens

Good point on the color. What about tenderness? Any differences there In your opinion ?

 

[noboundaries]

From what I can tell by just WATCHING folks compete, is they use wrapping to better control color and tenderness. Appearance, taste, and juicy tenderness seem to be the major point getters, and all three are EXTREMELY subjective. I've heard that the major competition circuits train their judges for consistency, but a winner in TN might come in the middle of the pack in GA, and be laughed out of the arena in TX.

Competition Q is VERY different than what I make at home, where I'm always a winner!

 

[BKING!]

From what I can tell by just WATCHING folks compete, is they use wrapping to better control color and tenderness. Appearance, taste, and juicy tenderness seem to be the major point getters, and all three are EXTREMELY subjective. I've heard that the major competition circuits train their judges for consistency, but a winner in TN might come in the middle of the pack in GA, and be laughed out of the arena in TX.

Competition Q is VERY different than what I make at home, where I'm always a winner!

So pretty much do what I want and what I consider to be best? (At least when starting out) I’m not really a fan of or dislike either technique. I am basically just pointing out that I am more likely to miss the mark on tenderness/texture when wrapping than when not at least right now. I am just trying to figure out if I should continue sticking with wrapping to get it perfected since that’s what most comp cooks do.

 

[fullsmoke]

It helps cool times and keeps Meat from getting to dark some times judges dock for being to dark I know it don’t sound right but it happens

Cook not cool

 

[fullsmoke]

Good point on the color. What about tenderness? Any differences there In your opinion ?

No I can’t tell one way over the other for tenderness

 

[BKING!]

Cook not cool

Ah ok. I cook hot and fast so wrapping doesn’t help me there. Color doesn’t seem like a problem either

 

[fullsmoke]

Ah ok. I cook hot and fast so wrapping doesn’t help me there. Color doesn’t seem like a problem either

I am a very low and slow like 20-24 hours when I can some times I’m competition don’t get that long but usually do !

 

[noboundaries]

Wrapping meat, with an added liquid, is a form of braising or steaming the meat. It will result in a softer bark and the container will capture the collagen that melts out of the meat. That jus can be used to make a sauce or glaze that can add to the appearance, taste, and surface juice of the meat.

In all the BBQ competition shows I've watched, I've never seen a judge comment positively on the type of bark I've grown to love, that firm, almost crunchy dark rub goodness wrapped around the outside of the meat. All my judges at home fight over it as I pull a butt apart.

 

[BKING!]

Wrapping meat, with an added liquid, is a form of braising or steaming the meat. It will result in a softer bark and the container will capture the collagen that melts out of the meat. That jus can be used to make a sauce or glaze that can add to the appearance, taste, and surface juice of the meat.

In all the BBQ competition shows I've watched, I've never seen a judge comment positively on the type of bark I've grown to love, that firm, almost crunchy dark rub goodness wrapped around the outside of the meat. All my judges at home fight over it as I pull a butt apart.

When I don’t wrap I capture the jus with a pan under the meat and then use a grease separator. Your comment on the bark is what has me worried about the no wrap method although that is what I prefer to eat myself.

 

[BKING!]

Wouldn’t spritzing and wrapping in foil at the end to rest prevent the crunchy bark yet maintain the integrity of the bark? I’ve done that before and it seemed to tone the bark down a bit to competition standards while aiding in smoke penetration/ring formation. Just throwing ideas out.

 

[bbqbrett]

I did wrap in the comps that I was in. Granted I have only been is a couple but I know there were some teams that did not wrap and others that wrapped some meats and not others.

 

[BKING!]

I did wrap in the comps that I was in. Granted I have only been is a couple but I know there were some teams that did not wrap and others that wrapped some meats and not others.

Thanks! I guess I’ll just have to do some wrap vs no wrap side by side comparisons and see which does best.

 

[zwiller]

Lot's of comp insight in Mixon's book. Lots of other interesting stuff and use of odd ingredients in there too. Weirdest rib marinade I ever saw... Also weird, everything he smokes goes into a foil tray in the smoker and later then he adds various liquid mixtures and seals rather than just wrapping alone. Actual braising. It's funny as he gives you his actual recipes and many of the injections/etc are for huge competition size batches.

I don't compete but I do judge beer so I am familiar with comps but unsure if the comps you enter score or not. We do for homebrew. I always leave good feedback on my scorecards. I would pay close attention to such info and focus attention to anything scoring low. Try and extract other useful data from the scores: http://thebarktenders.com/en/reading-score-sheet/

 

[BKING!]

Lot's of comp insight in Mixon's book. Lots of other interesting stuff and use of odd ingredients in there too. Weirdest rib marinade I ever saw... Also weird, everything he smokes goes into a foil tray in the smoker and later then he adds various liquid mixtures and seals rather than just wrapping alone. Actual braising. It's funny as he gives you his actual recipes and many of the injections/etc are for huge competition size batches.

I don't compete but I do judge beer so I am familiar with comps but unsure if the comps you enter score or not. We do for homebrew. I always leave good feedback on my scorecards. I would pay close attention to such info and focus attention to anything scoring low. Try and extract other useful data from the scores: http://thebarktenders.com/en/reading-score-sheet/

I might have to pick up his book