Cleaning out my garage and found my first competition score sheet from 2007

It was from a small town event in Lockhart, Texas, and I got a 6.5 on my brisket from a judge who wrote 'too much pepper' in the notes. That number stuck with me because back then, I thought I was ready for the big time. Now I realize how much the whole scene has changed, with pellet grills and fancy rubs everywhere. Anyone else keep their old score sheets and feel that way?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessap7322d ago

Man, "too much pepper" is such a classic note. I found an old sheet where a judge just wrote "wet" on the chicken line, and for years I was trying to figure out if he meant juicy or soggy. It drove me nuts. Those early comments really get in your head, way more than just a number. The whole vibe was different then, like you said, less about gear and more about just figuring it out on whatever smoker you could afford.

kevinking22d ago

Those vague notes were pretty useless though, @tessap73.

drew_rivera22d ago

What do you think makes those old vague notes stick with us so hard, more than the score? Like @kevinking said, they were useless for fixing things, but "too much pepper" or just "wet" becomes this puzzle you can't solve. I bet part of it is because we had less to go on back then, no YouTube deep dives, just you and a judge's two-word gut feeling defining your food for years.