Judging BBQ In SC
I
attended the first seminar with the SCBA (South Carolina Barbeque Association)
held in Aiken last month. Let me tell you,
there is a lot more to judging BBQ than you might think. Did you know that there are four different
types of BBQ sauces found in SC, and it depends on where you live as to which
sauce is used? You use the sauce in
basting and also as a finish sauce. The four
sauces are vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomatoes, and heavy
tomatoes. I learned that North and South
Carolina share three of the four types of barbeque sauce that Americans
normally use. But South Carolina is the home
of all four sauces. The “original”
barbeque sauce is vinegar and pepper, and it is found on the coastal plains of
both North and South Carolina. The
second sauce is South Carolina’s own style, a mustard sauce. It comes from a large German population that
settled in the Orangeburg and Lexington areas.
The third sauce is a vinegar and pepper sauce with some ketchup and
spices thrown in to give it a little sweeter taste. This comes from the Pee Dee region of the
upper coastal plain. The fourth sauce is
a heavy tomato based sauce which is more like the red sauce found in Kansas
City Masterpiece and is the sauce that is most thought of as America’s
sauce. However, I learned that true BBQ
that America should taste is right here in the great state of South
Carolina. Way to go SC, BBQ is what we
should be all about! True BBQ isn’t
putting your meat on a grille; it’s cooking your meat on a pit with different
type of woods, slow cooked to pick up the flavors. Two different woods used are apple and pecan. “Use whatever woods are native to your area”
is what the Grill Master Chef and Master Judge, Morrey Thomas, told me. They also cook the meats on low, slow
indirect heat and use a rub, sometimes, in addition to the sauce.
To
become an SCBA Certified Judge is no easy task.
First they must complete the seminar, then judge four SCBA events and
pay their dues. To become an SCBA Senior
Judge, you must judge 15 team cooking events and pay your dues. To become an SCBA Master Judge you must judge
30 contests, 20 of which are different, cooked with at least three teams and pay
your dues. They judge the pork on
appearance: texture, color, fat to lean ratio, burnt meat. Tenderness: Moist
and tender vs. dry and tough. Taste is
another judging scale, sauce too hot, too mild or excessive versus a pleasing
blend of sauce, spices and meat.
The food that they served at the SCBA seminar
was provided by pit master Larry Bowling of Smokin’ Stack’s. He placed 3nd in the state out of 80
teams. I want to tell you that his
pulled pork was excellent and I really would hate to have to judge those cook
teams. The people who were there said that they are not there to sell their BBQ
through a restaurant; they are there to compete and make the best slow cooked
SC BBQ in the country. It’s all about
team work and cooking for the love of SC BBQ.
I hope you go and try some great BBQ the next time you hear of an event
where all these pit master chefs are cooking.
There are 700 members across SC, so there is a lot of competition going
on across our state. I want to say thanks for watching “Cooking with MadJon and
Friend’s” on ASTV 95, the best station in Aiken.
Indirect Heat B.B.Q. Chicken
Season 04
Esp. 19
Recipe # 63
1 Chicken, cut in half
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic and Onion Powders
Smoked Paprika
1 cup B.B.Q. sauce
Cut your chicken in half and dry it on both sides of the
meat. Dust it with salt, pepper, onion,
garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Make
sure you give it a good coating on both sides of the meat. Then you are to place it on your grill, bone
side down so your skin is on top. You
are to place it on the side of the grill that you cut off. This process will take about 2 hours to cook
the chicken but I tell you it makes it moist and very tasty. I coat the chicken with my favorite B.B.Q.
sauce while it’s still cooking, so I coat it for the last ½ hour of cooking
time. With Poultry you want to check and
make sure that the chicken is done, that means no blood flowing. The desired temperature reached for doneness
of chicken should be 165 degrees. Bon’a
Y’all
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