Page 13 - DEC2021 Digial Issue: Barbecue News Magazine

Marc Gonick
marc_gonick@yahoo.com
I haven’t written a barbecue article for a while, as life has gotten really busy and the COVID pandemic has limited my barbecue travels. This year I’ve began judging a regular schedule of con- tests again. (I will commence cooking in a small capacity again next year.) I’ve actually judged more barbecue contests in 2021 than I have the last 3 years combined.
The barbecue contest I recently judged in Mississippi, a dual MBN/KCBS contest, really motivated me to write this article. At both the MBN contest that I judged, and the KCBS contest I assisted the staff after judging, I was astonished and disappointed at many of the entries in each of the
categories. This was due to the large amount of barbecue sauce slathered on everything. In
one round, every one of the six entries was over-sauced.
As a matter of fact, in the back-to-back contests I judges in October, I’d never
seen the volume of barbecue sauce used
on competition barbecue in all my 15
years of judging. Again, it was slathered
on everything. Most astounding was see- ing it in such large quantities on pulled pork and shoulder. You normally only see
a thin layer of sauce or the natural juices of the meat. In the past, my barbecue buddies and I would joke that this is “the year of the sauce”. In 2021, it is totally true!
When I was initially trained as a KCBS judge, and
a little later as a MBN and Memphis in May judge, I
was told it was a MEAT contest that we’d be judging. And that it was the quality of the cook of the MEAT that mattered most; as it applies to the entry's appearance, tenderness, and taste.
I was also trained that sauce was only a “compliment” to the entry, and in small doses, so the flavor of the smoked MEAT wouldn’t get hidden or overwhelmed. Those teams that heavily sauced their entry were usually trying to hide a bad cook; either overcooked or undercooked meat. There is a legitimate reason why there’s a rule in most barbecue organization’s regulations that states sauce can’t be pooled at the bottom of the judging box, or a scoring deduction is warranted. That’s because pooling is an indicator of over-sauced meat. And over-sauced meat is not de- sirable.
It appears some cooks in professional barbecue today have lost their MEAT focus, and feel they need to add more sauce than in
DECEMBER 2021
the past to be able to successfully compete. I honestly don't think that's true. The original intent of barbecue competition hasn't changed; to judge smoked MEAT. The MEAT needs to be up front and predominant. And often, sauce gets in the way of that.
We’re all members of barbecue organizations, not sauce organiza- tions. I’ve never heard of a professional sauce competition asso- ciation. Or, at least I hope there isn’t one in existence as of this writing.
While barbecue sauce (and dry rub) has continued to be big business in the U.S., the professional barbe-
cue should maintain its control over the use of it. Don't get me wrong, I love sauce too. But
it should only be used in excess in our back- yards for family and friends; just like “fall
off the bone” pork ribs.
A good overall compromise to this "sauce situation" may be to always put the sauce on the side, the way many teams have started to do over the course of the last few years. You see more and more sauce containers with boxes during each round of judging. If it’s on the side only, and not
brushed on the top of the MEAT, each indi- vidual judge can determine the amount of
sauce they want to use to evaluate the MEAT; as it best compliments the entry.
And from what I've seen this year, my fellow judges and I respect the MEAT, not using too much sauce to sample entries when it is presented on the side.
So, without continuing to beat a dead horse, one that probably drowned in barbecue sauce, there needs to be more constraint used by barbecue teams when saucing their entries for turn-in. Over-saucing is “a trend that needs to end”! (Like the rhyme?) That will be my mantra as long as over-saucing continues to occur at the contests I judge.
We need to get back to the reason why barbecue competitions were first held; to cook and judge amazing smoked MEATS. Over- saucing just masks the flavor of the expensive MEAT, as well as the exhaustive efforts of the cooks. In the case of sauce, old school is the best school. Let’s set the clock back a few years and make it “the year of the MEAT” again!
Marc
Where there's smoke, there's probably barbecue!
Where’s the Meat?
A Sauce Story
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