CSchieck
Knows what a fatty is.
I recently took the KCBS Judge Certification Class, and learned quite a bit. However, some of what I learned has me wondering about what constitutes "sculpted meat" that would rise to the level of DQ at a KCBS Comp.
Here are the facts:
Team A has devised a way of preparing their chicken entry that will (in their mind) produce 6 absolutely uniform entries with savory, bite through skin AND moist, tender meat that any judge would score as a perfect entry. Their process, all performed at the event after meat inspection, is such:
Using boneless, skinless breasts, the team cuts/trims the breasts to approximately 2" long X 2" wide X 1/2" thick squares. There is then some seasoning of the breast meat, and skin from another portion of the chicken (parts unknown) is scraped and sized/shaped to completely wrap neatly abound the very symmetrical piece of breast meat referenced above. The scraped skin is attached with "meat glue" to the chicken breasts, and the end product before (and after) cooking is an extremely symmetrical square piece of thin chicken that does not resemble (even remotely) ANY part of a chicken that could be identified with any certainty. Clearly not a breast, or a thigh, or a leg, or a wing..... In fact, it is safe to say that the entry will not remotely resemble any other entry that the judges will sample that day.
Is this meat sculpted? It is the only entry of its kind, and could make the entry identifiable to a judge as belonging to this specific competitor if the judge was aware that the competitor used this technique. I have discussed this with some other judges, and most seem to suggest that since "cupcake chicken" is an acceptable entry (even though chickens do not have round thighs) that this must also be an acceptable entry.
If it is a valid entry, how (if at all) does the fact that you cannot identify the part of the chicken an entry originated from affect your appearance score?
Thanks for any guidance you might be able to provide.
Here are the facts:
Team A has devised a way of preparing their chicken entry that will (in their mind) produce 6 absolutely uniform entries with savory, bite through skin AND moist, tender meat that any judge would score as a perfect entry. Their process, all performed at the event after meat inspection, is such:
Using boneless, skinless breasts, the team cuts/trims the breasts to approximately 2" long X 2" wide X 1/2" thick squares. There is then some seasoning of the breast meat, and skin from another portion of the chicken (parts unknown) is scraped and sized/shaped to completely wrap neatly abound the very symmetrical piece of breast meat referenced above. The scraped skin is attached with "meat glue" to the chicken breasts, and the end product before (and after) cooking is an extremely symmetrical square piece of thin chicken that does not resemble (even remotely) ANY part of a chicken that could be identified with any certainty. Clearly not a breast, or a thigh, or a leg, or a wing..... In fact, it is safe to say that the entry will not remotely resemble any other entry that the judges will sample that day.
Is this meat sculpted? It is the only entry of its kind, and could make the entry identifiable to a judge as belonging to this specific competitor if the judge was aware that the competitor used this technique. I have discussed this with some other judges, and most seem to suggest that since "cupcake chicken" is an acceptable entry (even though chickens do not have round thighs) that this must also be an acceptable entry.
If it is a valid entry, how (if at all) does the fact that you cannot identify the part of the chicken an entry originated from affect your appearance score?
Thanks for any guidance you might be able to provide.