BBQ or Bust: Judging Barbecue is hard work!

I'm not even kidding when I say judging BBQ isn't an easy thing to do. There are rules, formalities and etiquette that is fascinating and intimidating. Good thing we were just "celebrity" judges (I use that term loosely) because if not, we would have certainly been in trouble!

We learned a lot about what not to do during a judging contest (like, lick your fingers -- don't do it no matter how tempted or dirty you are!)

The Kansas City Barbecure Society is no joke. I hoped that growing up near Kansas City would give me some sort of advantage in distinguising good tasting BBQ but that just wasn't the case. It was all delicious!  And we were tasked with judging the food on appearance, taste and tenderness. 

Though our celebrity judging was a bit more fun, we learned that some of the way the food was displayed to us on Saturday would have been disqualified by the "real" judges. For example, we learned you can't use cabbage in your display ... why?  I don't remember... but I'm guessing it has to do something with the meat.  :)

Anyway, we had a blast judging! I also had a great time taking over Madison Magazine's twitter account for the day. This was the magazine's first attempt at a BBQ festival and I hope they continue it. What a fun day!