Muffin Pan Chicken Thighs??

Yep.

To a certain degree. When I judge I can tell which entries were done in a tin. They tend to be small. If they were done in a rectangular tin, they score well as long as all other criteria is in line (color, sauce, etc). If they look like billiard balls they don't score well with me.

It certainly can depend on what judges/table you hit, but in my experience when we gave them a try in 5 competitions in a row we received maybe two 8's the entire time. The rest all nines. I also think 9 thighs in a box looks great since 6 is pretty common. We also had luck with 9 square'ish thighs that didn't use a pan.

Even though you can find some flaws in this with sauce and maybe a few other tiny details, this is what got us a lot of straight 9's in appearance. Now unfortunately the judges then had to eat them and we didn't have good taste on them so we stopped :becky:.

fnbish said:

It certainly can depend on what judges/table you hit, but in my experience when we gave them a try in 5 competitions in a row we received maybe two 8's the entire time. The rest all nines. I also think 9 thighs in a box looks great since 6 is pretty common. We also had luck with 9 square'ish thighs that didn't use a pan.

Even though you can find some flaws in this with sauce and maybe a few other tiny details, this is what got us a lot of straight 9's in appearance. Now unfortunately the judges then had to eat them and we didn't have good taste on them so we stopped :becky:.

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Congrats on all those 9's in appearance with that technique, but personally, I don't like it. It does make me hungry for spaghetti and meatballs.

:clap2:

Podge said:

Congrats on all those 9's in appearance with that technique, but personally, I don't like it. It does make me hungry for spaghetti and meatballs.

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Heck I wish they didn't score them all 9's in appearance. I would have stopped chasing the muffin pan way earlier :crazy::clap2:.

I like my chicken to look like chicken.

Well, this is where I disagree with a lot of you folks. Other than drumsticks, I have yet to see chicken at a comp "look like a normal piece of chicken"!

Maybe I don't visit the same places others do, or grew up eating chicken like some, but I have not seen chicken thighs trimmed in any restaurant or backyard get-together as of yet.

The judging should be based on what is presented, not what someone opinion is. This is almost as bad as saying, I don't like sweet glaze, so anything that comes across my table and is sweet will not get a good score.

I call BS! If you already have a preconceived notion about an item, what is the use.......... Since when does most of the chicken that is turned in look like a hot-dog in a bun, or is square, look "natural"?

Heck, I really don't even like thighs, but rather would pick a wing or breast first for my personal personal preference. But I cannot go into a contest as a judge with that mindset. Otherwise, I am doing most people a disservice at thighs are the most predominant part of the chicken that is cooked.

To the original post, I have scored pretty good using muffin pan chicken. A few comps, I scored 9's all the way across for appearance. But for taste and tenderness, I screwed those things up (hence the lower scores in the category).

Ready to defend myself!!

wallace

The chicken looks like a Sculptured piece of meat, a muffin :mrgreen:.. I think it looks fine, but in the end you still have to make it look good and taste good

Chicken balls worked well for us a couple years ago then there seemed to be back lash against them. We finally stopped doing it and our scores went back up immediately. I think you can score well with them still but think chances are high you will land on a table with a judge that doesn't like them.

Theresa B said:

I like my chicken to look like chicken.

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I agree but then again all I ever hear is how they don't look "uniform"

Wallace- :icon_frow I should have elaborated...My statement was what "I" like but I judge what is presented. Almost any chicken is going to look more like chicken than the muffin pan version. I appreciate when the pieces are relatively symmetrical/uniform but the team does not get dinged if they are all not perfectly "groomed". I know teams get hit hard on BBQ critic for lack of uniformity. But for me they don't have to be *perfect*.

We started out using the round muffin pans. Got a call in our first contest. Switched to the square muffin tins and got a few more calls. Now no pans and have also gotten calls. I will admit though that I like non pan chicken. It looks more normal to me, but what ever works for you should be what you use.

Theresa B said:

Wallace- :icon_frow I should have elaborated...My statement was what "I" like but I judge what is presented. Almost any chicken is going to look more like chicken than the muffin pan version. I appreciate when the pieces are relatively symmetrical/uniform but the team does not get dinged if they are all not perfectly "groomed". I know teams get hit hard on BBQ critic for lack of uniformity. But for me they don't have to be *perfect*.

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Thanks! IMO, chicken is the only thing that does not look natural in a competition.

I really wish just turning in "plain ol' smoked" chicken would work.

Sorry to get upitty, but, I like the muffin chicken idea; at home as well. :mrgreen:

wallace

Theresa B said:

I like my chicken to look like chicken.

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I tend to agree, thats why we are using these molds.

I personally very much dislike Christmas tree ornament chicken. They have nothing to do with what a piece of chicken should look like. BUT I don't judge on what I like, if you turn in balls of chiken and they look delicious and I'm anxious to try one, then that is excellence in appearence and you will get a 9 from this judge.
I judge what's presented to me and have learned to leave my likes and dislikes in the car.
Ed

While I agree that the spheres are getting a little ridiculous in terms of it no longer looking like chicken anymore, I can not deny that it looks amazingly "tight" and uniform in the box.

Like many others said above, once you take subjectivity and opinion out of it, there's no denying that 6 or 9 perfectly shaped and glazed globes is a nice presentation and shows care.

I have been making muffin globe chicken for a while, (home and comp) and I like it overall. You'd be hard pressed to make a more moist, tender piece of chicken. I only stopped doing it in comp because I had a heck of a time finishing the skin out correctly.

I've recently switched to drumsticks and done better (first place in a smaller comp last week). I haven't given up on the cupcake thighs, but can't argue with results, lol.

sdbbq1234 said:

Thanks! IMO, chicken is the only thing that does not look natural in a competition.

I really wish just turning in "plain ol' smoked" chicken would work.

Sorry to get upitty, but, I like the muffin chicken idea; at home as well. :mrgreen:

wallace

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Amen to that.

We got much better score when we didn't use the muffin pan than when we did. Its a lot more work trimming and tending to the meat during the cook to keep it looking good, but the scores were higher.

I've gotten calls on chicken without using the pan and instead making 9 small squarish thighs. They look great and taste good too. My personal issue is that, other than at a competition, nobody anywhere, ever, would prep and serve chicken this way. But you do what you have to do to win.