Your First Time Judging an IBA BBQ Competition: What to Expect (and How to Survive the Meat Coma).
Please Note: This guide is written in preparation for the Summer Smoke Off 2025 event, so some of the content is specific to this comp, but it is applicable to most others.
All judges are confirmed prior to the event.
So, you’ve signed up to be a judge at an Idaho Barbecue Association (IBA) competition. First of all, congrats! You’re about to step into the smoky, saucy, slow-cooked world of competitive barbecue. If you love BBQ, this is your chance to be front and center where the magic happens. But if you’ve never judged before, it can feel a little daunting.
Don’t worry. This guide will walk you through your first IBA competition from start to finish, helping you feel prepared, confident, and excited for a day filled with some of the best barbecue around.
Schedule:
12:30 PM – Be at Modern BBQ Supply, ready to judge
1 PM – Anything with beef, One Bite Challenge Hand in
2 PM – Chicken Wing Hand in Round 1
2:30 PM – Chicken Wing Hand in Round 2
3:15 PM – Pork Rib Hand in
4:30 PM – Prize Giving
Show Up Ready (and Hungry)
On competition day, arrive at the judging area before judging begins. For the Summer Smoke Off, the first hand in is at 1pm, so we are asking all judges to be on-site and ready to judge, by 12:30.
Head to the check-in table. You will be assigned a seat at one of the four tables. If you are an experienced judge, you may be asked to operate as a table captain.
Tables will have bottles of water and crackers available. These are the only foods you should consume while judging. This helps preserve your palate between hand ins, without introducing flavors that could disrupt your taste buds. IBA events are alcohol free, but consumption of alcohol is not permitted for judges, during the judging window and would result in being removed as a judge.
Before judging starts, there will be a quick meeting. The IBA reps will review the rules, explain the timeline, and go over what to expect. It’s a good chance to ask last-minute questions or clarify anything you’re unsure about-but feel free to reach out to your event organizer before hand, if you have any questions.
Meet Your Judging Table
You’ll be assigned to a table with a small group of other judges, usually five or six people. Some may be judging for the first time, others may have judged dozens of events and will have lots of great advice.
Each table has a Table Captain. They’re in charge of organizing the entries, handing out the food, and making sure everything runs smoothly. The Table Captain will also collect your scores and double check everything before it’s turned in.
Step 4: Judging Basics
At the Summer Smoke Off, you’ll judge three categories:
- One Bite Challenge
- Chicken Wing Round 1
- Chicken Wing Round 2
- Pork Ribs
The Chicken Wing category (Also called the Wing King competition) allows for teams who only wish to compete in this category, to cook wings at home and bring them on site for judging. Because this means we have up to 60 total wing submissions, we broke this out into two hand in times.
Each meat is submitted in a plain white box. You won’t know who cooked it. Every entry is labeled with a number to keep things fair and anonymous.
Each box will include at least 6 individual pieces, but can include more. There is no requirement for the submissions to all be the same piece of meat-eg for the Chicken Wing Category, a box could include some Wingettes and some Drumettes.
You’ll score each sample on three things:
- Appearance (2–9): How does it look in the box?
- Taste (2–9): How good does it taste? This is the most important part.
- Tenderness (2–9): Is it cooked properly? It should be just right, not tough or mushy.
Typically a standard score is between 6-9. Judges should begin the judging process assuming that every entry is a 9 and then as you experience the hand-in you begin to remove points as needed. This is contrary to the previous way in which BBQ scoring was done, which was that you began at a 7 and teams would earn the additional points.
A 5 or a 2 should be given only after consulting with your head of judging and is typically only given when significant issues are present. A 1 is a disqualification score.
You’ll take a piece, examine it, taste it, and write down your scores. Once everyone at the table is done, the Table Captain will collect your sheets or device and move on to the next entry.
Judges should start with a score of nine and then remove points based on the entry. This is not a compete list of things you should consider, but is included as a guide.
Appearance: Are the pieces uniform? Is the box tidy? Is there an excess of sauce in places where it shouldn’t be? Does the meat look appetizing? Can you notice a smoke ring (This is not compulsory, but it is nice to see), was the meat trimmed tidily? Are there parts that looked significantly burnt or overcooked? Does the meat look moist and juicy? Are their finger prints or brush lines in the sauce? Has the meat been thoughtfully placed?
What should not be considered: Personal preferences, how it rates compared to other entries (Each entry should be judged on its own merits),
Reasons for an Appearance Disqualification: Foreign object in box (Toothpicks, foil, twine, sauce cups, garnishes), Wrong protein in box (This could also include having less beef than another protein, for the one bite challenge), Turn in box being marked in any way that can indicate the team who handed it in, less than 6 servings, pooled sauce (Some leeway is given for run off), meat which is visibly raw or undercooked.
Tenderness: Does the meat feel pleasant in the mouth (Not chewy, mushy or dry), is it tough or difficult to bite through? Does it feel rubbery or leathery? Does it fall off the bone (Competition style pork ribs should not fall off the bone, but instead should be “bite off the bone”), Is it grainy or watery? Is the skin bite through or chewy?
What should not be considered: Personal preference, taste (This will be judged in the taste section),
Reasons for a tenderness disqualification: Please note, skin which isn’t bite through, is not cause for disqualification. Undercooked (Not including beef) or raw meat.
Taste: Is the hand in balanced? Too spicy, too salty, too bitter, too sour, too smoky, too bland?, Can you still taste the meat or is it disguised? Is one flavor overwhelming the others? Does it have an unusual taste or after taste?
What should not be considered: Personal preference-spice level too high for you (But still balanced), flavors that you don’t enjoy yourself like vinegar or mustard.
Reasons for taste disqualification: In the rare cases that a judge would give a disqualification in the taste category, it is usually because there is a flavor or smell making it inedible like lighter fluid.
Water and plain crackers are your friends. Use them to cleanse your palate between entries and stay sharp for the next bite.
Process of Judging
When the round begins, you will be given a “plate” like the one below. It has space for 6 separate pieces of meat.
You will also be given a judging slip like this one below. This is where you will score each submission. You will end up using a lot of these judging cards throughout the event. Each team receives one card for each protein. With up to 30 teams competing across 4 categories, that is up to 720 total judges cards which will be filled out on competition day!
Each judge will fill out a slip for each team, for each protein. This is where you will input your score for Appearance, Taste & Tenderness. These slips are filled out and handed to your table captain, and eventually will be handed across to the team who submitted the protein. This is why we encourage judges to add comments that can indicate to the team why you gave them the score that you did. This is especially important when giving scores like 7’s and 8’s-after all-the purpose of the feedback is to help teams improve their BBQ and feedback is a critical part of this process.
No Talking During Judging
When the entries start arriving, it’s time to focus. You’re not allowed to talk about the meat or react while judging. No comments, no eye rolls, no happy sighs, and definitely no “wow” out loud.
Staying silent keeps everything fair and helps prevent other judges from being influenced by your reactions.
Once everyone at your table has turned in their scores for that category, you can talk freely until the next round begins.
The Magic of the “One Bite Wonder”
Now and then, you’ll get a piece of meat that just blows your mind. Perfect bark, balanced seasoning, a tender bite, and incredible flavor. You’ll know it when you taste it.
When that happens, enjoy the moment and give it the score it deserves. On the flip side, not every entry will be perfect. Some may be dry, under-seasoned, or overly salty. That’s okay too. Score fairly, be honest, and remember that different teams have different styles. It’s not about your personal favorite BBQ joint, it’s about balance, quality, and execution.
Most of the time, you will want to enjoy one bite of each serving and give your scores. If there is a submission that was particularly good, you might eat the rest of it. You will eat a lot of meat while judging and you don’t want to get over full.
After Judging
When the last box is scored, your judging duties are done. While the final scores are being calculated, you are encouraged to check out the event, chat with some of the teams and enjoy the demos which will be running as promotions for some of our amazing sponsors.
Prize Giving will b held at 4:30 and judges are encouraged to celebrate along with the teams and their families. It can be fun to see who wins and match those winning teams with the entries you tasted. You might even find yourself cheering when a favorite entry gets called up.
By the end of the day, you’ll leave full, satisfied, and probably ready to do it all again.
Specific Rules for Each Category
- One Bite Challenge: The point of the One Bite Challenge is to encourage creativity amongst the teams. For this reason, you are likely to experience some submissions which aren’t typical at a BBQ competition. Competitors can submit any dish, as long as beef is the majority protein. A couple of key rule call outs for the one bite challenge:
- 6 individual portions must be submitted in the box. Each submission should be appropriate to each in one or two bites.
- Beef must be prominent in the recipe and be the majority protein-but other proteins can be included.
- Normally things like salsa or Chimichurri are against the rules for a BBQ hand-in. This is relaxed for the purposes of the One Bite Challenge.
- This category is sponsored by Marbled, but the beef can be purchased from any brand.
- Wing King: The Wing King category follows many of the same rules as a typical chicken hand in, but there are some specific rules to call out:
- The hand in must be a a whole or part of the wing of a chicken.
- If the team chooses to break the wing into pieces, they can submit any combination of pieces they like. eg 4 flats and 2 drumettes.
- If sauce is used, it must be added to the wing itself. No pooling of sauces is allowed.
- Pork Ribs: Pork ribs are probably the category that new judges have the most experience with, but competition style pork ribs can be a little different than what you may be used to:
- Ribs must be served on the bone. Country style ribs are not permitted.
- Competition style pork ribs are considered ideal when they are bite off the bone, rather than fall off the bone. The ribs should be tender, but not mushy. When you take a bite, they should come away cleanly.
- It does not matter if the submission is a spare rib, a St Louise rib, loin rib or baby back ribs. There is no requirement for a specific rib type.
Wrapping It Up
Judging an IBA BBQ competition for the first time is a memorable experience. It’s not just about eating great food. It’s about respecting the hard work that goes into every entry, scoring fairly, and being part of something special.
You’ll leave with a better understanding of barbecue and a deeper appreciation for the time, effort, and heart pitmasters put into their craft.
So bring your appetite, and step into the judging tent with confidence. Your first IBA judging experience is one you won’t forget.
Happy judging!