My chicken is holding me back

M

Meat & Heat

Knows what a fatty is.
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Please help if you can.
My chicken is holding me back at comps:confused:. Ribs, butts and briskett are great, have placed with all but I can't seem to break through with chicken. I have tried brines, skinless, thighs, breast, whole, drumsticks, and numerous differen't rubs and sauces but can't seem to get a call. Everyone I ever cook for says it's great but at comps it's not good enough. Any secrets to great comp chicken.
Any help wolud be great.
Thanks
 
I wish I knew. I'm getting close to subcontracting chicken to someone else. The day we get a chicken call in a decent-sized field, I might have a heart attack.
 
Since we started using a brine, ours has gotten us a walk in every contest except 1(and that is when my dad had a great idea of making cupcake chicken...never again..lol)
 
what is your method? that way "we" can try to help. share and share alike..what is your best catagory? share and share alike.
 
Smokin Gnome

We have tried injection with apple juice and spices, brining as long as we could with a simple salt brine, [came out way jucy] I have tried hot and fast, slow and low, lots of smoke, little, smoke, rub inside and out, rub with lots of mopping, ect. The chicken tastes good but for some reson we can't get a call.

Best catagory right know woul be ribs and pork butt.
Ribs are easy, smoke @ 200-215 for 2 1/2 hrs then wrap with some brown sugar and more rub, return to the pit at 275 for the next 2 hrs or until done.
 
1st, how long did you run each recipe before changing?

2nd, what exactly are you using? what rub, sauce, wood, etc....
 
We will cook a recipe at least three times befroe we change. We use a custom built stick burner and apple wood with mesquite charcol.
Rubs have been everthing from brown sugar sweet rubs to more of a lemon pepper poulrty rub.
Just can't seem to dial it in and it's bugging the s*** out of me.
 
YankeeBBQ said:
Doubt it. Mesquite Charcoal is good, it's really dense. Have you ever used it ?
Click to expand...

i agree to stay away from mesquite charcoal. just use non mesquite lump and lots of fruit wood. weird that chicken is one of my better category. my brisket suck now...
 
Not to start a regional battle here, but mesquite is not well regarded for BBQ this side of Texas. Grilling, maybe, but for barbecue, not so much.

This is not to say that it couldn't fare well in Western Colorado, but it would definitely be a problem at comps in the South.
 
I would suggest taking a hard look at your score sheets. Are you consistently losing points in taste and tenderness? Be brutally honest with your numbers. If you are getting 6's,7's,and 8's, something needs to change. Regardless of the feedback you get from others, it is the judges opinion you are after at a contest. If you are getting primarily 8's and 9's across the board, you will walk. Google bite through chicken skin. Personally, I would stick with thighs, they are relatively forgiving and the most common turn in. How are your appearance scores? People eat with there eyes first, you may want to post some turn in box pictures here for input. I would be curious to see some of your scores, if you don't mind posting them.
Cook often, take good notes, try subtle variations of your recipes and techniques side by side for comparison. Once you can consistently cook tender bite through chicken, you stand a fair chance of getting a call.
Good luck.

Matt
 
Try replacing the mesquite with hickory. Hickory and apple is a good combination.
 
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