The blind judging is your finished barbecue product as you want it presented to the judges.
- Entries are a blend of cooked meat, sauce and seasonings; and may include additional cooking methods.
- Entries may be chopped, shredded, pulled or sliced.
- Entries must be turned in within the state time limit.
- Entries may include individual chips of crackling for the judges, and crackling bits may also be blended into the prepared barbecue, if desired.
- Blind box entries should not include garnish, extra sauce containers, or foreign objects such as aluminum foil, tooth picks, etc.
- Blind barbecue entries are to be judged on appearance, tenderness and taste.
- Appearance includes texture, color, fat to lean ratio, burnt meat and the visual appeal of the barbecue as a food product.
- Tenderness is based on moistness and tenderness of the barbecue. Entries should not be dry, burnt, tough or mushy.
- Taste of the entry should be pleasing, and should not be excessively hot from the sauce and seasonings, and should also not be bland. The barbecue should be such as to be appealing and enjoyable to a typical barbecue consumer who would be eating an entire serving of the entry.
- The NC Pork Council’s Blind Taste Judging Scoresheet should be used for scoring of the entries.
Note: These are the guidelines for the State Championship Blind Competitions. Local competitions may have their own rules for their blind competitions if they wish. The Blind competition score cannot be combined with the culinary score to determine a winner. The scores MUST be kept separate.
Blind Judging Guidelines (PDF)
Blind Taste Judging Scoresheet (PDF)
Updated 1/3/19
