Mike Davis Interview
Greg, I was listening to your interview with Mike Davis. I think you and Mike missed the whole point over the controversy over the separate and identifiable pieces for ribs. I have no problem with teams getting hit with a DQ when their ribs are not cut all the way through and there are not at least six portions for the judges. What is causing the controvery is that a team could have six or more separate pieces and still get a DQ on appearance if the judges can not see at least six identifiable pieces. Most teams try to turn in a rib box where the majority of ribs in the box form a slab in appearance. This is done for three reasons, 1. it looks much better than having the ribs separated, 2. having them together keeps the ribs from drying out, and 3. there is limited space available in the box.
So a team could have eight ribs in the box, every judge gets a rib with two left over for table captains and they still get a DQ because the judges may or not be able to detect upon first glance that the ribs are cut through. To me that's just the sign of a well put together box and teams should not be DQ'd for it. On the other hand in the case where Mike mentioned with Leann, she could turn in ribs that were not cut all the way through and still not get dinged on appearance because the judges can see the cuts and then get 1's from the judges that get shorted in the taste and tenderness categories. It's just a little bit scary when you have to rely on the vision of 6 different judges who all have different levels of eyesight. This is the heart of the controversy, in appearance, not with the actual turn in of six or more identifiable pieces. As Mike correctly stated the rule isn't new. If just hadn't been enforced in the past and now KCBS says it will.