That time a competition judge told me my ribs were too saucy

I was at a local comp in Kansas City last summer, and a judge pulled me aside after the turn-in. He said my ribs had way too much glaze and the flavor was getting lost under all that sticky sweet stuff. I used to paint on sauce every 15 minutes during the last hour of the smoke. Now I just do one light coat at the end and let the rub shine through. It felt weird holding back at first, but my scores went up by like 10 points after I changed. Has anyone else had to dial back on sauce to get better results?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_butler1mo ago

One judge told you that? Judges barely remember what they ate five minutes after the turn-in window closes. I've seen guys win with ribs so sticky they could hang from the ceiling and others win with a dusting of rub and nothing else. It's all personal preference and who happens to be at that table that day. Pulling you aside to give unsolicited advice just sounds like someone who takes themselves way too seriously. Glad your scores went up though, but I wouldn't read too deep into it.

river_rivera451mo ago

Take a step back and look at the judge's feedback from a different angle. Maybe they weren't trying to give you the golden rule, but instead they were signaling that your style stood out enough to be noticed at all, which is pretty rare in a crowd of turn-ins. Either way, your scores went up so something clicked, and that's the only metric that really matters in the end.