“Q”

No, I’m not talking about that ridiculous conspiracy crap, Q-Anon.  In my world, “Q”is short for barbecue.  

I’ve told you how I became a barbecue judge (Read the post “Egg Rolls”). I am a certified judge for the Memphis Barbecue Network and for the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. MBN is the sanctioning body for local contests during the year.  I took my training class in August, 2007, and got my certification in November of that year, so I’ve been doing this for 16+ years  

If you’ve watched any of the barbecue shows on television, most of what you’ve seen is KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) rules or contests.  Our group differs from KCBS in that we are pork only.  Ribs, pulled pork, and whole hog. KCBS is pork, ribs, chicken, and brisket. The judging rules are a little different but I won’t go into that.  

We used to do onsite judging where the judges go out to the teams’ booths and judge them there.  The teams would give you a presentation on how they got their meat from raw to cooked, their cooking process, how they got started in barbecue, and sometimes a little BS thrown in for a laugh!  That’s the part I enjoyed most, because I got to meet the cooks and get to know them. We don’t do that any more, just “blind box” judging. I’ve met and judged some of the biggest names in barbecue, the guys you see on TV, doing onsite judging   

Somebody told me once that I have the perfect hobby for a fat guy!  I get to go hang out with my friends and eat world class barbecue!  But the food is not the main reason I keep doing this.  Yes, I’ve eaten some of the best barbecue in the world, but the real reason I keep doing it is the people. Barbecue people are the best people in the world.  Friendly, genuine, down to earth people. Just good folks. The teams, my fellow judges, the organizers, everyone, are all the best people you’ll ever meet.  Some of the best friends I have in the world I met through barbecue. 

If you are interested in becoming a barbecue judge, or would just like to know more about competition barbecue, visit mbnbbq.com or KCBS.us, and look for an upcoming judging class. I promise you’ll love it! After all, who doesn’t like barbecue!  

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