BBQ AND BASEBALL TOUR 2017 DAY #10 “WCBCC – Here Comes the Judge”

Today was the big day at the World Championship of Barbecue Cooking.  It was time to bring out the pork. There are 3 categories that are judged: 1.) Ribs, 2.) Shoulder and 3.) Whole Hog.  This morning we were assigned to do “Blind” judging (you receive a box of meat and have no idea who cooked it) of shoulder.  Both Patrice and I were disappointed because “On Site” judging (when you visit the competitors at their booths) is where the real fun and excitement are located.  I talked to the head of the festival to see if somehow they could find two more spots for On Site judging and my negotiations (aka whining but called “swhining” here) paid off.  Patrice and I were both assigned to do On Site judging of ribs.

The Festival park is laid out with all the competitors arranged into groups. They are separated by competition categories (Ribs, Shoulder, Whole Hog) to make it easier for judges to get to the three sites they need to judge within the limited amount of time allotted for the process.  The sites are numbered with Rib booths starting with an R, Shoulder booths starting with an S and Whole hog with an H (I guess for Hog instead of Whole).

The competitors have very interesting team names such as “The Pit and the Pigulum”; “Kill-em and Grill-em”; “Pork Illustrated”; “Swine and Dine”; “The Hogfather”; “Natural Born Grillers”; and “Pork and Bean Counters” (my friend Steve assumed these guys must be accountants).

When judges approach a team site they are greeted by a team member who then introduces you to the Head Cook and the other team members.  All of these people greet you as if you are visiting royalty.  Then you are brought to the cooker and the chef explains their method of preparation.  After 2 years of doing this we are learning things like what type of smokers are used (3 of the 6 we judged use Backwoods), what type of marinade they use, how long they cook the meat and little tricks they might have (who would have thought Mott’s Apple Juice would make pork taste so good?).

I arrived at one team’s booth while the judge before me was still reviewing their work. So while I waited I was entertained by team member, Jimbo Billy Bob.  I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!   Before I even got into their booth Jimbo Billy Bob explained to me how he got his name.  Sorry I don’t remember about James but William was after William Jennings Bryan and Robert was after Robert E. Lee.  Need I say more?  When it was my turn to judge I was given the tour and the rundown on how they cook their pork. Then I got to taste possibly the best ribs I have ever had the pleasure to eat.  All the teams I judged were excellent and it was hard to choose one over the other.  After leaving the booth it is not uncommon to get a round of applause (but it is a bit embarrassing). Unfortunately none of my teams made it to the finals.  After turning in my scoring cards I went back to my competitors to introduce them to Patrice.  I had to have her meet Jimbo Billy Bob who was very happy to see us come back.  He also shared with us some of his homemade moonshine.  Jimbo Billy Bob is my new BFF.

Our friends Steve and Becky joined us after the judging and we fixed them up with some great pork and just hung out talking to other judges and hoping that our stomachs did not explode.  Steve promised that he would join us as a judge if we come back next year.  If?  Is he kidding?  As I have told many of you I will not eat BBQ in Los Angeles after experiencing Memphis in May.

After getting back to the hotel we met Patrice’s cousin, Margaret and her husband John. This was not preplanned.  On Friday (today is Saturday isn’t it?) we received an email from Margaret asking for recommendations of places to eat and things to do in Memphis knowing that we love this city.  Neither of us were aware that the other was going to be in Memphis at this time.  So we met them for dinner.  I AM NOT KIDDING! Unfortunately my brain was still under the influence of Jimbo Billy Bob’s moonshine and I forgot to get a picture of our happy group.

Tomorrow we leave for Nashville.