True life: I’m a BBQ judge
Under a large white tent just beyond Town Hall, The Sweetwater Festival BBQ Contest, a Memphis BBQ Network sanctioned contest, has already begun, and 90 judges are carefully tasting and scoring each pork entry from three categories: whole hog, pork shoulders and ribs.
Among the bevy of judges stands Dr. Jan Flynn, assistant professor of management, only one of many GCSU faculty members that acted as a judge for the contest.
Before 2002, there was no certification program for judges in the Middle Georgia area; however, with an idea and a little help, Dr. Flynn created one.
“The School of Business worked with the Vienna Chamber to sponsor a judge training here on campus,” said Flynn. “We trained and certified almost 50 people in that session, and some of that original group of judges, were instrumental in getting BBQ started as a part of the Sweetwater Festival.”
Like Flynn, Bill Wendt, manager of television services, has been a certified BBQ judge since 2002.
“After you take an all day class, you go out and apprentice at two different contest locations, and they sign off to make sure you know the criteria for judging,” said Wendt.
Wendt participates in three to five contests per year as a judge; he looks for appearance, flavor, tenderness, presentation and anoverall impression when judging both blind and on-site categories. While blind judges are not privy to knowing which team created which barbecue dish, on-site judges spend more time with the teams, and learn step-by-step what was done to the meat.
“About five years ago, it was decided to have a local barbecue contest as a part of Sweetwater,” said Wendt. “It was well received, and it was soon after our certification course, so they decided to go for it and joined Memphis in May.”
Now a sanctioned function, The Sweetwater Festival BBQ Contest has become a precursor for the Memphis in May contest. The grand champion from Sweetwater will advance to Memphis in May, where they will have a chance to win over $90,000 in prizes.
While some students and faculty might enjoy the idea of learning how to prepare barbecue or maybe even hope to enter a contest one day, Wendt gives a tip on how to make barbecue better.
“Low and slow is the famous slogan for cooking pork,” said Wendt. “Teams primarily use a mixture of hard woods and charcoals and do an injection of spices into the meat.”
Both Flynn and Wendt are seasoned veterans when it comes to knowing what constitutes good barbecue, but only Flynn could name a couple of her favorite barbecue restaurants.
“My favorite of all time is Whitt’s BBQ in Athens, Alabama,” said Flynn, “followed by Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, Alabama.
The South is a prime place to seek out good barbecue or at least find good contests. For more information on upcoming contests visit www.mbnbbq.com.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 31 2008. Filed under Features.
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