Insider's View of a Certified BBQ Judging Class

By Dru Chai

I'm not gonna lie. As I mentioned before on this blog, a big reason of why I wanted to become a BBQ certified judge was for the free food. I mean, who wouldn't be excited for that? If you eat, breathe and sleep BBQ, free food has to be on the top of the list. Heck, BBQ is expensive!

But as I sat through 10 hours of BBQ judging class at the NBBQA Conference & Trade Show in San Diego, I realized something. I realized that the world of BBQ competition is serious business. When I mean serious, I'm referring to everyone's passion, love, and dedication for BBQ.

The NBBQA Conference rarely happens in SoCal

As a certified BBQ judge, I want to make sure that I'm judging each piece of BBQ meat with fairness and equality. There is no such thing as a BBQ expert. Everyone has different taste buds, and their own idea of what constitutes good BBQ. BBQ judges take their "job" seriously and look that way on the outside, but make no mistake -- I'm doing a happy little dance inside each time I taste a tender, flavorful, and mouth-watering piece of BBQ.

So how was the BBQ conference and the judging classes? Well, I consider myself lucky. Both judging classes and the conference rarely make an appearance in Southern California. So I had to take advantage. Since both classes took up the entire day, I didn't get a chance to check out some of the other how-to presentations, guest speaker seminars, or the trade show. I barely had a chance to taste some BBQ, but this one was clearly my favorite.

Neil "Bigmista" Strawder serving up some pulled pork

Flavorful and tender pulled pork from Bigmista BBQ

That BBQ sauce was da bomb

MBN Judging Class Overview
Memphis Barbecue Network competitions is all about the swine -- judges blind taste test pork shoulder, ribs, and whole hog. What sets them apart from others is that there is on-site judging as well. This means they get to visit and talk with the cooks and pit masters in person, who have the opportunity to explain their cooking methods and present their food personally to the judge. We went through two demonstrations to get a feel of what it would be like.

Showing what pork shoulder is all about to a "test judge"

Pork shoulder goodness, the money muscle

Some teams will show their sauce and rub, but it's all about the meat

The class was small in size at around 20 people, and understandably so. After taking the class, we were only MBN "trained." We only become officially certified once we judge 3 competitions. MBN sanctioned competitions rarely occur on the West coast, so finding one in Southern California will be tough. Chances are, I'll probably be just an MBN trainee for a while.

KCBS Judging Class Overview
Kansas City Barbecue Society competitions occur all over the country, and quite a few of them take place up and down California. So I knew this was going to be a popular class -- there was about 60 people in attendance, jam-packed in rather small conference room. Many in attendance were BBQ teams, wanting to know more about the judging process, so they know what to look for when putting out their BBQ during competitions.

Getting ready to do some practice judging

Pulled pork category, not so good... but it's practice

This class was definitely a lot louder than the smaller MBN class. After going through a presentation, we were presented with BBQ samples from each category (pulled pork, ribs, chicken, and brisket) for our own judging session. Unlike MBN, there is only blind judging for KCBS competitions. There are a few things to look for that could disqualify an entree, so they purposely threw in some screwballs to test us. I'll definitely be looking to judge as many KCBS events as possible!

Lining up for some BBQ samples

Now that's old school

Just don't BBQ his pet

Certified BBQ Judge? I Like The Sound of That!

Yup, I'm still here. I know it's been a while since I've posted on this blog, but honestly there just hasn't been anything interesting to write about. I'm not one to babble just for the sake of babbling. But I do want to give a huge thanks to those who have ordered from my little catering business on the side. You know how there's a lady that sells tamales at work? Well, I'm the dude that sells brisket at work. I've sold pulled pork, ribs, and chicken, but the brisket has been the hot seller by a landslide. Thus far, I've done about 30 orders and it's been a blast.

I drool every time I look at this picture

Dirty Smoke BBQ brisket is always a favorite

If you've been a reader of this BBQ blog, you'll know that I'm constantly trying to learn new things. There are so many great BBQ websites out there that give you how-to instructions, videos, and all types of info. Of course, that isn't my goal here. Although, I don't want to be seen as a BBQ expert, I'll still share my experiences (good or bad). As we kick off the new year, I want to make an effort to chronicle more BBQ experiences outside of the backyard -- whether it's writing about restaurants, products, or events.

So what's first up this year? Back in June '11, I wrote about wanting to attend a certified BBQ class. Well, that time has arrived. I just signed up for not just one, but TWO certified BBQ judging classes on February 25 in San Diego. It's part of a BBQ convention organized by the NBBQA (National BBQ Association). If you're new to the BBQ world, there are quite a few acronym-loving BBQ organizations out there. It can be hard to remember and keep track of them all. One of the classes is by the MBN (Memphis BBQ Network) and other is by KCBS (Kansas City BBQ Society).

So what's the difference between the 2 classes? Well, they both judge different meat categories. KCBS is the most popular one that sanctions a lot of competitions and probably most people know about -- they judge ribs, chicken, pork shoulder, and brisket. The MBN judges whole hog and pork shoulder only. I could write more, but Professor Salt from the Grill Marks blog over at OC Weekly explains it in more detail. Of course, all this BBQ fun doesn't come cheap. Each class costs $90. But once I become certified, hopefully I'll more than make up for it by eating lots of "free" BBQ at competitions. Oh and yeah, that BBQ competition knowledge will help too.