A judge at the Libertyville rib cook-off told me my ribs were "sauce delivery devices" and I've changed my whole approach since

Joseph Sanchez · 2026-09-11T06:20:04.021252+00:00

I placed 14th out of 22 teams back in June and that one line stuck with me more than the score sheet did. He said if I have to hide the meat under sauce, I'm not cooking, I'm just pouring. So I stopped glazing at the end and started spritzing with a simple mix of apple cider vinegar and water every 45 minutes instead, and I'm tasting the pork now instead of the sugar. First practice rack came out with a real bark and my wife said it was the best thing I've made in 4 seasons of doing this. Any comp guys here gone no-sauce and did it help you in the tenderness score or just the taste score?

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A judge at the Libertyville rib cook-off told me my ribs were "sauce delivery devices" and I've changed my whole approach since | BBQ Pitmasters - Discusd