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Normally, I write my newsletters Sunday morning, then post them Monday afternoon. However, I had an event Sunday so I’m writing this Monday morning.
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Not a book event, but BBQ judging!
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The Pacific Northwest BBQ Association was judging the meats at the Enumclaw Beer, Brats, and BBQ event this weekend.
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A bit more about the Enumclaw event. Some BBQ events are big enough that they are considered qualifiers for other events. The event in Enumclaw is now a qualifier for the Las Vegas international invitational.
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The only team who qualifies for the Las Vegas event is the Grand Champion for the Enumclaw event. That means the team whose meats scored the highest overall for all four categories: chicken, ribs, pork shoulder, and brisket.
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There are things I will not talk about in regard to judging. For example, I can’t give out any identifying information about any of the meats that I judged. I’m just going to tell you a little more about the process.
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The judging took place in one of the buildings on the Enumclaw fairgrounds. These are big buildings, at least two stories high but with no division in the interior: the ceiling just goes all the way up. The walls are not thick or insulated—more similar to a barn-like structure made out of tin. Then add concrete for the floor, no heat, and cool breezes blowing across from the open doors on either side.
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Fortunately, I was prepared for this. I wore winter silks, plus jeans, a T-shirt, jacket, and vest. The metal folding chairs were just as cold—I ended up sitting on my vest for additional warmth.
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Before the judging, everyone went out to the area where the BBQ teams were setup and we all had a shot of Jack Daniels. They also served apple juice, so many of us were “double fisted” as it were, with a shot in one hand and a chaser in the other.
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It was a lovely bonding moment between the teams and the judges. One of the more experienced judges gave a funny, rhyming toast that everyone saluted to, thanking the organizers, the cooks, and the judges.
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After that, the judges were sequestered, and not allowed to speak to the teams, and vice versa.
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In the judging area, there were four tables, each with six judges plus a table captain. The meats came in once an hour, in the normal order, so we started with chicken.
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Before every judging, one of the master judges read out loud the general instructions from the PNWBA for how to judge that category of meat. It was a great reminder of what to look for, as I’m such a Noob. (Yes, that’s my official level title within the PNWBA. I won’t be at the next level, Junior, until after I judge 5 BBQ contests.)
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The team captain picks up the meat containers from where they get turned in and places them into insulated bags to help preserve heat. Think big pizza delivery bags, spread across a table to the side.
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At the table, each judge has a score card as well as a comment card, where you write comments and why you scored a box as you did. Water bottles are provided, along with unsalted saltine crackers to help clear your palate. Plus plates and napkins.
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You judge on three criteria: appearance, texture, and taste, scoring from 1-10.
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The table captain first presents the box. Each judge gets to take a long look at the meat, then nods when they’re finished. After the judges have marked down their appearance score, the table captain serves each judge a piece of meat.
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Because I’m still so new to this, I frequently took two bites. One specifically for judging texture, the second for taste. Though sometimes the meat was so AMAZING all I could do was focus on the taste first, and had to take a second bite for texture.
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There is no talking while you’re tasting. No looking at other people’s score cards. You’re supposed to keep your own face serious and not show emotion while you’re tasting. You don’t want to influence someone else’s score accidentally.
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We got to judge five boxes of every meat. I spent time with each bite, sometimes closing my eyes so I could figure out what I was tasting, whether or not it was working for me, and why. One of the things they warn about is getting into a rut while you’re tasting, so I tried hard to focus and treat each box as completely new.
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All in all, it was a delightful experience. I met some very interesting characters. I’m looking forward to my next judging event.
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And I think that’s it for me for this week. What food have you had recently that was astonishingly good?
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Woo and hoo! I was invited to be in ths Space Opera Sisterhood story bundle. Basically, this is a collection of FIFTEEN novels that you can get for just $30. You should go check this out, as this deal will only run for a few weeks, then it'll leave orbit forever.
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It's September. The start of the cozy season. What better way to celebrate than with a sale on one of our most popular cozy fantasy books?
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The perfect cozy mix of dragons, myths, gods, magic, and found family.
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An evil wizard tries to transform the great champion Killian into a common garter snake.
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The spell misfires (or the fates intervene) and Killian instead becomes a dragon.
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Killian can’t wield his sword and lead his men into battle. Can’t speak. Can’t even shoot a majestic gout of fire but only spits a measly dribble of acid. (Which honestly? Kinda gross.)
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Thus begins the tale of the dragon named Talon, and his eventual fight with a God.
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Well, maybe just a demi-god.
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Okay, all right. Perhaps the person in question doesn't have any divinity at all.
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He will have you know that he is Someone Important, though.
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Plus all the other lies...
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Welcome to this lovely cozy fantasy filled with humor, found family, and plenty of breaking of the fourth wall. Prepare to be swept away into this somewhat silly world full of wit and heart, with adventures you'll love reading about again and again.
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For fans of T Kingfisher, Casey Blair, and Lindsay Buroker.
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This is our annual cozy issue!
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What sorts of crimes take place when students are on a spring break? Or perhaps what happens at an abandoned campus?
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Come see what the syndicate of MCM has dreamed up.
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Available at all reputable–and some not so reputable–retailers.
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I have a new book coming out at the end of October! It's a cozy fantasy romantic retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I did both a non-spicy version as well as a spicy version, as indicated by the green and red covers.
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Perfect for readers who love:
• Forced proximity
• Slice-of-life fantasy
• Slow-burn yearning
• Witty banter
• Gentle caregiving
• Mutual rescue and devotion
• Fairy-tale retellings
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The book is currently available for preorder on the KRP store and Amazon. It'll be available for preorder everywhere else by mid-September.
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In addition, I'm accepting ARC reader applications. Here's a link to the form if you're interested:
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