Got roped into judging a backyard rib contest in Waco and now I can't trust sauce
One judge there told me sauce is just a way to hide bad smoke, and half the table agreed while the other half said sauce is part of the craft. Where do you all land on this?
Who decided sauce and good smoke can't live together? That judge sounds like he got burned by one bad bottle and never let it go. Sauce is a layer, not a cover up, same way salt doesn't mean your steak was bad. If the meat's right and the sauce adds something, that's a win. If the sauce is just there to drown out mistakes, yeah, that's a loss, but that's on the cook not the sauce.