Hot take: I left the Memphis in May contest last year thinking competition BBQ is overrated

Everyone raves about that event like it's the holy grail of smoking meat. I went down there in May 2023 to watch and help a buddy on his team. After 8 hours of watching people stress over 1 degree temp swings and tweeting about their exact wood blend, I decided it just wasn't for me. The ribs we ate were fine, but nothing compared to what my neighbor makes on his beat up offset at home on a Saturday. Has anyone else left a big competition feeling like it killed the fun for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly_reed5518h ago

read somewhere that comp judges are basically trained to prefer sweet glazes over actual smoke flavor.

paige33116h ago

...and that explains why my first comp entry got laughed off the table. I spent three days getting a perfect smoke ring on some brisket, glazed it with nothing but the drippings and a little salt. Judge took one bite, made a face like I'd served him shoe leather. Meanwhile the guy next to me slathered his ribs in something that looked like candy syrup and walked away with a ribbon. Guess I should've read the memo about the sugar overload.

elliot_gibson2713h ago

Three years ago at the Jackson County cookoff, I watched a guy win first place with chicken thighs that had been sitting in a tub of Italian dressing and brown sugar for 48 hours. My entry was a simple dry rubbed shoulder that got compared to "cardboard with pepper." @holly_reed55 is right about the sweet glaze preference. I still think about that Italian dressing chicken sometimes and wonder if I'm the crazy one.