Forks or no forks?

3/30/2013

QUESTION

Fellow KCBS judges, can we get by without forks when the pork and /or brisket entries are passed at the table?

Dan Millam
Kansas City, KS

Doc Kenneson link

3/30/2013 04:07:00 am

Never used a fork for the brisket entries only for the pulled pork.

jimv mcbj

3/30/2013 04:29:02 am

I'd like a fork with pulled pork otherwise it doesn't matter to me.

jim v mcbj

4/15/2013 11:04:18 am

After reading all of the comments it has occurred to me that perhaps adding a bottle of hand sanitizer at each table may be a quality addition to the requirement list and mandate that it be used by all judges.

Greg MCBJ/KCBS

3/30/2013 05:31:34 am

forks for the pork is all we need, don't fix what ain't broke. the KCBS rules are ok for that area

Frank KCBS MCBJ CTC

3/30/2013 07:02:43 am

Pork - forks slow down the judging a tad as folks seem to struggle getting some cuts on and off the tines. I would not eliminate the forks as it is near impossible touching other's selections on the pulled pork. Slices and chunks are less of an issue.

Brisket - rarely see forks for this meat and I do not see a need.

Dan KCBS CTC-MCBJ

3/30/2013 07:26:10 am

I think forks are unnecessary, as long as no one licks their fingers between boxes(we're all adults here aren't we)and slows the flow.

Jeff PIjanowski link

3/30/2013 07:33:39 am

This is the same response I posted on fb.

I'm going to toss a Devil's advocate position here. First though, I have no problem about not using forks for Chicken, Ribs and Brisket. But I am a kidney-transplant receipent. Among the things I need to be careful about, according to my doctor, is to stay away from buffets because of my supressed immune system. You just don't know where people's hands have been and what germs are there. And while a person with a normal immune system can fight off 99.9 percent of germs, I can't. That is why when I am judging, I tend to pick a piece from the box away from others that have been already been picked. I need to be careful wear other hands had been. So I have no problem with forks.

Ken / KCBS CBJ; MBN; NCPC / Medical Reserve Corps / Community Emergency Response Team link

3/30/2013 10:41:24 am

When pulled or chopped pork is being judged, it should be absolutely mandatory to use sanitary forks. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

Please pay attention to what Jeff PIjanowski has posted.

How many judges completely wash their hands before judging?

How many judges completely wash their hands after going to the bathroom?

By completely, I mean the tops as well as the bottoms of their hands. That includes wrists as well.

Has anyone ever used a black light on your hands to see what germs you missed?

If so, I am sure that you were surprised at what germs remained!!!

How would you feel if a fellow judge got sick or died as a result of improper sanitation by you or the other judges???

Dan KCBS CTC-MCBJ

3/30/2013 11:10:19 am

I wonder what the bottom of the box,that has had numerous fingers on it,looks like under blacklight.

John - KCBS / MCBJ, CTC< Rep; MBN & MABA Judge

3/30/2013 07:51:51 am

I believe forks should not be necessary, but, unfortunately, it's proven impossible to train judges not to lick their fingers. After all, BBQ is finger food and we've all been licking our fingers since we were toddlers, so, it's ingrained in the human condition. But, it's not sanitary...ask ant certified ServSafe food handler. So, we judges, by our own actions, have forced the use of forks.

Ed KCBS MCBJ

3/30/2013 08:11:00 am

I'm of the mindset that I'll not catch some deadly disease from another judge touching meat in the vicinity of my selection. However there are those that are squeamish and or medically challenged.
So that being said KCBS provides a communal fork for taking your samples. However it is against procedure to use it to eat the sample. BBQ is finger food and shall be judged while using your fingers. Part of the tenderness score is derived from feeling the meat.

Jeff Pijanowski link

3/30/2013 08:20:52 am

Once the bbq is on my judging plate, I have no problem using my fingers, and wouldn't have it any other way!

Ike, CBJ/KCBS

3/30/2013 03:00:32 pm

Prefer forks for the pork but not for any of the other meats. Its just too easy to lick your fingers on the pork.

Patrick J Austin

3/30/2013 07:32:19 pm

KCBS Certified Judge & Table Captain, MIM & MBN Certified Judge.
I see no need for forks for the Chicken, Ribs or Brisket (unless some team turns in CHOPPED brisket - and I HAVE seen that happen). But I feel forks are necessary for pulled pork. You just can't pick up pulled pork by hand without touching the adjacent product.

jaja01 KCBS MCBJ

3/31/2013 04:00:40 am

I understand the feeling of those who propose to use forks as long as the forks are used only for serving from the box. Once on the plate, forks should be a no-no.

Neil B - KCBS, FBA

3/31/2013 04:07:53 pm

I have no problem with using a common box "serving" fork - especially for chopped pork, brisket and chicken. Once the meat is on my plate, my fingers are all I need.

Johnny Y / CBJ, KCBS, NCBS

3/31/2013 11:31:01 pm

We all agree that BBQ is a finger food, however with the heightened awareness of sanitation we should use common sense. I shutter to think how many people come in contact with the finish product we judge from the point of slaughter to presentation. I know it is important to move through the entries as quickly as possible but we should not sacrifice safety. The cooks are instructed to use proper food handling procedures, should we throw the baby out with the bath water. It will only take one major outbreak of a disease for the rules to be revised, hopefully I am not the culprit.

Bill cbj kcbs

4/1/2013 12:00:40 am

It is not a big deal to me one way or the other. I think if you use it for one category you should use them in all of them. What is the difference between touching another piece of chicken (for example) and touching pulled pork with your fingers?

Keith CBJ/CTC

4/1/2013 04:46:14 am

While I sympathize with those contending with medical issues I'm not sure that a fork to keep the cooties of fellow judges away is going to put them in the clear. Other hands are touching this food and as a healthy person with a strong immune system I can attest first hand that sometimes they aren't using proper sanitation. The night after one competition last year was one of the roughest in my life. Other judges at the table contacted later concurred. For those with compromise immunity -- this may be more risk than you want to take. Maybe not.

Me? I prefer it for the pork since that means we don't have to put our fingers on other people's food -- but I never really touch other pieces in other categories. Just my .02

Tom - CBJ w/ KCBS, MBN, NCPC & comp cook

4/4/2013 06:30:10 am

Any time there is "chopped" or "pulled" pieces of meat in a box there should be a fork to enable us judges to take a sample without "contaminating" the meat around our sample. This could occur with chicken (I see more and more chopped white-meat chicken used as a bed beneath the thighs); obviously with pork - both chopped and pulled; and with brisket if someone enters either chopped or shredded brisket (I've only seen chopped once along with slices in all the contests that I've judged).

From a "sanitary" perspective, is there that much difference between someone touching your meat and you using the same communal fork that everyone else has used to take meat out of the box since you are not washing your hand before using it to eat and score the meat on your plate? I would think that the same germs that a judge might impart onto your meat would also be imparted onto the communal fork.

Mike H. MCBJ & Backyard Hack

4/15/2013 10:18:23 am

I think that we need a couple of pieces of bread to go with that pulled pork!!!! Come on KCBS get with it! (The fork is ok as is- used for any pulled or chopped meats.)

I can tell you this... IF I had a problem with my immune system, a food contest, banquet, buffet or even restaurant is the LAST place I'd EVER go. (Just like a peanut factory should be the last place a kid allergic to peanuts should be.) For those of us with very healthy constitutions (or immune systems) the fork and the new "finger lickin'"rule should probably be enough. I will admit that I do have food "phobias" and would really like to see REQUIRED hand-washing upon entry to the judges tent... but that's just me

Jim Perry

5/17/2013 08:19:27 am

I don't see what the big deal is.

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