Some of you may know that I am a certified BBQ judge for the PNWBA (Pacific Northwest BBQ Association). I don’t usually post very much about BBQ judging because it takes a little commitment to get certified first, and I don’t want to tease you with BBQ you probably can’t have. Though, really, you can.

All you need do is to take a class by the PNWBA for a day to learn how to judge using the same standards as everyone else who is a certified judge. Then, once you are certified, you must visit the PNWBA forums to sign up for the various BBQ competitions to judge whenever there is a judging call. Most of these are not in the Portland area, so may require a drive of an hour or so. You don’t have to be in Portland to be a judge- the competitions the PNWBA helps judge are all over Oregon, Washington, Idaho, even British Columbia!

The reward though is that you get to eat incredible BBQ. It’s BBQ that is better than any restaurant since it is competition-level and has been loved low and slow for the past 24 hours by a dedicated BBQ team who has put thousands of dollars into this to compete. It’s a very special tender loving care the meat you get to taste and judge has gone through, not produced in larger quantities for an every day restaurant.

You can go to one of these events and hope to taste samples of this competition BBQ. Just be aware that when it’s getting close to turn-in time you can expect the teams to be focused on putting their turn-in box together for their category. Not all teams sample if they don’t have enough people to help them out to balance between competing and keeping a close eye on their meats and serving the public.

But the other option is of course to be a BBQ Judge. And it’s FREE for you to judge. Your payment is your service and your willingness to provide constructive feedback in your notes when judging. The three main scores we look at are Appearance, Texture, and Taste. You need to leave your personal preference on sauces behind and focus on balance of meat and smoke and team flavorings,  be it Texan or Carolina or Memphis style,  be it Spicy or Sweet or Citrusy or Tomato based or whatever. It’s only about balance.

It is a multiple hour commitment each time you judge, 10-3ish pm each time. You have to judge all the categories, so you will be judging the 4 categories of pork butt, brisket, chicken, and ribs, over the next 5 hours, with each category being turned in 1 hour apart (with turn-ins at 11, 12, 1, 2). Sometimes there may be multi-day events that include special categories, such as sausage, Dutch Oven, dessert, etc.

During each hour, you may be sampling 5-7 pieces of that kind of meat or whatever was turned in for that category. You don’t have to finish your entire sample – in fact, you shouldn’t because just a few bites of everything is going to get you pretty full already. Instead, you are given Ziploc bags to keep the leftovers of each category, and you just need to bring your own cooler and ice packs to keep everything cold for leftovers later (I like to use mine in mac and cheese or on rice).

Essential Judging Supplies: Baby wipes and towels for wiping sauce off hands, paper plates for our tastings, zip loc bags for our leftovers, unsalted crackers for cleansing our palates, tongs for selecting our tasting samples. Pizza boxes for keeping the BBQ Boxes still warm after turn-in until they are judged

This weekend September 6th and 7th is probably the last BBQ competition I will be judging for this year, and it’s a big one. It’s a 2 day event called the Tree Top Skewered Apple BBQ Championship that offers a huge prize for winners, has lots of competitors, and even if you are not a judge, you can come out and purchase samples of this high level of BBQ!

Besides the BBQ there’s more going on at this Tree Top event: an apple pie eating contest, hog calling contest, live music entertainment, beer and wine vendors, kids activities and more. And, all event proceeds benefit the Yakima Valley Children’s Underground Museum.

This is the 5th year for the Tree Top Skewered Apple Barbeque Championship, on the Tree Top Campus in Selah. The BBQ teams here are competing for prizes worth $25,000, including being crowned a $10,000 Grand Champion winner and thus earning the chance to participate in The World Food Cup. So there are some pretty serious teams participating.

Here are a few pictures from last year. The BBQ teams usually put some love not only into what they are cooking, but even in decorating their booth that they will be camping out at as they are cooking for the 24 hours until turn-in. Don’t be surprised that you see RVs and campers often behind them.
   

They also invest in some serious equipment and wood, as you can see.

With 2 years now under my belt, these are still all the pictures I have from when I have judged! Usually when I am in actual judge mode, I am too focused on judging then taking photos, and I don’t want sauce all over my phone. It’s hard enough trying to remember not to lick my fingers so I don’t infect the table tongs we will be using that day.

Still, I hope this post encourages you to think of visiting a BBQ competition if you see one, and perhaps consider taking a PNWBA Judging Class next year!

If you are in the area, I definitely recommend checking out the Tree Top Skewered Apple BBQ! This is a fun family affair (both in the audience  and with family teams), and this is a big BBQ event with 60-65 barbecue teams competing!

What are you doing this weekend? What is your favorite barbecue category – ribs? brisket? chicken? pulled pork? sausage? Let me tell you for me, it used to be ribs, but that was before I bit into my first money muscle in a pulled pork / Pork Butt category turn in box. From then on, that has been my personal favorite category. Though, I think it was always a top one for me, since I still remember years later this particular North Caroline pulled pork and still reminisce upon it fondly…