British BBQ Society Forums

As I've stated if I need to use these products to win then I'll use them however I feel it is only honourable to state my opinion that I do not consider the end result to be anywhere close to the best tasting BBQ that I can cook.

Would we then want to use the same equipment? Don't get me wrong I would love this idea. A sort of A1 grand prix of BBQ.

I'm not suggesting that anything should be banned . I would merely like to change the judges perception of what is good BBQ

When judging you need to be able to taste the meat, so if you mask it too much its a fail, i think before we go bashing different rubs it would be nice to see the quality of cooking getting better. You have to remember that it is teams that introduce the flavor to the judges, they wouldnt know MSG if it slapped them round the face, and they have no idea how much fabrication goes into the product, but as some of you know you can achieve the same results with your own rubs. Most of the American ones can be reproduced with a little thought and off the shelf ingredients so you dont need to pack them out.

Good BBQ and competition BBQ are fairly far apart, i love a rack of ribs like the next person, but I will enjoy them all. Comp BBQ as you know is one bite. Unless we can multiply Ed by 50 i dont think we could justify getting each team to hand in 6 racks rather than ribs!!

I suppose my major objection is to compound injections rather than rubs as I believe it gives the taste and texture of a meat lightly braised in a ''bisto like'' gravy as opposed to a meat roasted in its own juices . However it does sadden me to see that there is one particular sauce that so many people use that wins prizes yet I believe it tastes like an overly sweet mince pie at Christmas.There are also a few rubs which constantly win prizes and again if everybody follows what wins I see no future for the development of competition. This is, of course , merely MY opinion which I do not apologise for as I enjoy a little light hearted debate as well as controversy.So looking forward to MIM [UK] and doing battle. The question is will I or won't I be using any of these products?

From The Sauce wrote:

Steve wrote:I'm pretty sure John wasn't implying that you would be given compulsory rubs/sauces etc.

He was just making the point that it would be nice to have a supply of US products available at the competitions so that it's easier for teams to get hold of and try proven products.

Having looked at the costs of importing before though, I'm not sure anyone could make any money out of it, thus I'm not sure anyone would be prepared to do it.

I have to say that our reception at Rudgwick to selling imported American rubs and sauces was not received particularly well. I like the idea and think it would work but what volume are competitors going to buy in?

Did I miss something at Rudgwick or are you referring to Butt Rub only? If you are then the most likely reason you didn't see great uptake is that amongst the teams who have competed in the US it's unlikely to be a first choice comp rub.

I'm not knocking it in the slightest and up until recently I had butt rub in my rub cupboard and the only reason I don't now is that I've stopped importing rubs on the whole. However you'll find that Yardbird, docs, guns, Dixie dust and various Obies rubs are what a lot of people are importing individually. I'm sure there are others too

I think people would buy imported rubs and sauces from a uk seller but there's so many different ones people want the economies of sale are hard to work to make it worthwhile.

On the injection front, I wholeheartedly agree with John. I think the phosphate injections leave meat with almost a pond slime texture that I don't like to eat. However as unfortunate as it is US judges are conditioned to these products and we want our champions to get the experience they need to be competitive in the US comps they qualify for. It's a difficult situation I guess.

So who's cheating, Mr blue?

And here's me thinking all you competition guys made your own rubs etc, stunned

fleagle wrote:And here's me thinking all you competition guys made your own rubs etc, stunned

I've experimented with making rubs from recipes in respected books, but due to either not liking it too hot or, in the case of sauces not liking maple syrup ( ) I've been forced to change them to my liking. (or not as has happened )
However without an idea of what good bbq should taste like I would be barking up the wrong tree. I admit to being hopelessly lost and confused with the different rubs/marinades etc available in the US and with the cost of importing them rising almost daily I would happily buy small quantities to experiment with from a stall/supplier at comps.

fleagle wrote:And here's me thinking all you competition guys made your own rubs etc, stunned

Very few top US teams make their own rubs from scratch. It's much more common to blend and doctor commercial rubs. You have to remember these aren't supermarket crap, they're products that have been developed by great BBQ'ers and there's a definite view of why reinvent the wheel.

There are teams who make their own rubs from scratch. I'm happy to say all my rubs are homemade, as is my sauce but it's taken me 3 years to get to the point where I feel I have rubs that stand up to what I could buy in. The first year I competed I used my own stuff and it cost me dearly. After going to America I realised commercial was the done thing but it never sat right with me so while I used bought products for a couple of years I slowly introduced my own rubs and sauce into the mix when I got them right. I'd recommend new teams to start with bought rubs and sauce.