KCBS Judging
With any BBQ competition, there is a team of judges working to find out who wins. This sounds like a pretty great job, right? Taste some of the best BBQ and tell people what you think of it. There are a few more things to consider but realistically, that is the basics of judging a BBQ competition. Your preferences go a long way and it can sometimes mean that you will get one judge giving you a 9 and another a 6.
Becoming a Judge
To become a judge, the Kansas City BBQ Society offers judging classes all over the US. These 1/2 day classes teach you the basics of what to look for in good, and bad, BBQ to make sure you can fairly grade. They teach the rules of competitions, and highlight when to DQ a team to make sure the competitions remain fair. To be a judge, you must meet each of the qualifications identified on the KCBS website, as well as completing the class! Each team is judged on 3 unique areas when turning each of their meats during a competition.
- Taste – This is a very arbitrary category and varies by judges. They should all be asking; how does the meat taste? Does the chicken taste like chicken and not smoke or beef? This is your personal preference of how the meat should taste, so you might wish it was sweeter or spicier, and that is up to you!
- Texture – The tenderness of the meat is somewhat arbitrary again, but they give some tips. Does the meat stay on the bone when you bite the rib and chicken? Does the brisket rip when you give it a loose tug? These things help you properly judge as well as tasting the meat and seeing how tender it is that way.
- Presentation – The presentation is something the judge can easily control. How does the turn in box look? Did they provide enough meat in the box? Is it full and looks appetizing? Did they include any banned items in the box to identify it as their own? These sorts of things can make or break a top finish and the bottom of the competition!
The Judging Scale
Every category on each of the meats is judged on a 9 point scale. A 9 is a perfect score in each category, meaning a 27 is a perfect score for each meat. From there, you can go down based on preferences you have, but realistically, it should be very hard for a meat to be below a 5 that gets turned in. If they did not provide enough meat in the box or broke a rule in their turn in, they would get a 1 for that category, effectively DQ’ing the team.
Signing up to Judge
After getting your certification, the next step is to sign up for judging a competition! Sometimes, these can fill up really quickly, so when you know there is a competition in your area, sign up as early as you can. To find competitions in your area, check out the KCBS website for the region and date range you are interested in! Some judges will bring a tupperware container with them to the judging, as it will be atleast 6 pieces of chicken, ribs, brisket, and pork, as well as the possibility of even more meat coming your way! Be sure to come hungry, open minded, and ready to judge BBQ!
