The Pickled Pig's 2009 McLouth Contest Pics

[The Big Pig]

We participated in the McLouth, KS contest this weekend and were really humbled. I haven't been as disappointed in our results since I did this contest last year. For reasons still unknown to us, the judges in McLouth do not like our food.

The contest venue is nice. As you can see in the panoramic below, it is held is a park-like area with plenty of excess space. For weather, we had a bit of rain, a bit of wind, a bit of heat, and even a bit of morning chill but it was pleasant for the most part. The big silver tent left of center is us.

We were stunned by how poorly our chicken and ribs scored. By our standards, they were both solid entries. We knew our brisket was crap when we turned it in. Chicken came in 42 out of 44 teams, ribs placed 30th, pork came in 2nd, brisket 28th, sausage placed 3rd, and sauce placed 17th.

On the bright side, we do seem to be hitting our stride with pork. I've been experimenting with a new pork injection for the last 2 weeks and it appears to be working. Our pork this week scored a 179.4286 and came in 2nd to a perfect 180. That's as close to 180 in a KCBS category as we've ever been. And our sausage continues to perform when called upon.

I'm not sure what conclusions we'll draw from our results. The contest only had 20% CBJs and it has a reputation for erratic results. It's possible that a couple of our entries hit bad tables but experience has taught us that it is far more likely our food was off the mark and we mis-judged it.

[Thom Emery]

You cant cook 20% CBJ Contests
with only 5 scores counting and what one
CBJ per table It just does not work
Really at that level IBCA Judges (the Public)
would give you better scores

[Finney]

Thom has a point. (luckily he wears that big cowboy hat to cover it up) LOL

[barnburner]

The contest only had 20% CBJs and it has a reputation for erratic results.

Bingo... Never cook this contest again until they get all the uncertified teachers, firefighters, police officers, and friends of the good ol' boy system out of judging this contest. You put too much time, effort and especially money into cooking a contest for them to allow totally unknowledgable judges to judge a BBQ contest.

I judged this last year and was one of the few certified judges and the only master judge that I saw. Never again.

[crd26a]

I tried for two weeks to get in and judge (as a CBJ) and got no response until a "need" for judges showed, then they took first come / first serve. It's got a history for local judges and will keep it that way, as the organizer isn't trying to get CBJ's in the door.

[luv2q]

Everything looks great. Your chicken looks great, what went wrong(scores)? Your pork looks perfect as always. Congrats!

[swamprb]

Sorry to hear about this Paul. As always your turn ins look top notch and its a shame the organizers play that game.