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Thighs

K

kcquer

Guest
There's a local contest in late August I'd like to enter and I need chicken help. Only chicken I do is spinning whole birds on the gasser or boobs (split and boneless) in the smoke.

What's the 101 for thighs? Far from my favorite piece so I'm not even sure I would know a good one if I ate it.
 
Humbly I would do them as I would Wings.

I have an off set so I set them close to the firebox and flip till they are crisping up. At this point I just have salt and pepper on them. After they look like you want move them into a pan or way further back for a while and hit them with just a tad of sauce of choice.

I'll keep looking around the net for a recipie tho.

peace
 
I have a Samoan friend who does catering and everyone loves his boneless leg meat.

He soaks all of the pieces overnight in his homemade teriyaki sauce (brown & white sugar, white vinegar, fresh chopped garlic and ginger,and Shoyu (authentic soy sauce)).

Then he just grills them. This method is hard on the grates because of the sugar carmelizing but it makes great chicken!

Mista
 
To be a bit more specific, I have the two cookers, planning on doing briskets in one and butts in the other. When they are close to done or holding in the cooler, I can put ribs in with or where the briskets were and hoping chicken can go in behind the butts.

Trying to work out a timetable, approximately how long will the thighs take.

Is Pit Pirates "grill" then hold a good way to get quality skin texture, I had initially thought more of going the other way smoking til done then putting them in a hot spot to crisp up the skin and apply glaze at the last. Like I said I don't cook or eat much chicken (love fried chicken) so I'm really starting from the ground up on this.
 
Thighs go for 3-4 hours at 210-220...

For any kind of chicken. I take it to 90% cooked.. then work on the skin....

If Im cooking in the horizontal, i bring the bird or parts closer to the hot spot to crispy up the skin. If Im cookin in the Bandera, I remove the waterpan and bring the food down to the shelf that was just above the waterpan. I'f im doing parts, they go skin side down when they move to the hotter part of the chamber.

I tried the "finish" on the grill a few times, didnt like it when i finished on the propane, cause the thighs tasted like grilled chicken.. the charring kind of masked the BBQ flavor.

For chicken parts, If Im not using the hot spot, and the wife wants the skin real crispy, my favorite way is to finish them in the very top of the firebox, with the lid closed and a small amount of hot coals going down below and far away.. Really crispys the skin up nice, without charring them and getting that grilled flavor. As long as the firebox is hot, that skin gets crispy brown in under 2 minutes.
 
Thighs are the cut of choice for KCBS (at least thats what the instructor, a competitor that also runs a portion of KCBS) told Greg and I.

Use to be drummies for a while, those are still somewhat used.

Breasts are too dry (or rather dry out really fast after cutting)

So if its a KCBS, the judges might be more use to thighs.

JMO
 
oh..a nd one more thing.. BRINE DEM BIRDS!!! Always brine.. even if its just a simple brown sugar brine.. I make mine with applejuice, brown sugar, salt and bayleaf..

RemembeR for birds.. get the montra.............. BRINING IS BETTER!!!!

Yup, them first place wings at Grillkings were brined in that mixture.
 
Thighs have more fat in them (no jokes now!! I'm not talking about cellulite!) so remain moister. Also they arrange neatly in the box. I just cooked a second batch yesterday and did them about 2 hours at 250ish, foild them for about 1 hour, and then unwrapped them and started saucing -- this allows the sauce to thicken and "candy" up.

Right now I use real simple seasoning with seasoned salt and essence. I didn't brine this batch due to time but a whole batch of thighs go in a 2 gallon zip lock bag with the brine.

Soy/teriyaki marinades don't go over well for competition -- it "stains" the meat. Tastes great but without a really stand up sauce it'll look nasty. Contrary to some people's belief: you are cooking for the judges so make it look real pretty -- after all if you can lose a class because your lettuce isn't right then why screw up the meat, too.??
 
learned this about thighs, wings or legs.

clean'm
rub'm
smoke'm 3-4 hours
then, and only then, deep fry'm at 375 for 5 minutes. NO MORE, You'll kill'm.

slather with your favorite sauce. put out a bowl of sauce for dippin', heck, use the sweet stuff or the hot wing stuff. smoked bird piece and wing sauce are freakin' awesome. even the dark meat!!
 
Soy/teriyaki marinades don't go over well for competition
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, and I may very well be wrong and get corrected by Jim, but I think that you are not allowed to use teriyaki in a KCBS event. Or maybe it's the pre inhanced stuff...............
Chicken includes Cornish hen. Kosher Chicken is legal. It is acceptable to have manufacturer enhanced or injected products as shown on label EXCLUDING teriyaki, lemon pepper, and butter injected.
 
PitPirate said:
Humbly I would do them as I would Wings.

I have an off set so I set them close to the firebox and flip till they are crisping up. At this point I just have salt and pepper on them. After they look like you want move them into a pan or way further back for a while and hit them with just a tad of sauce of choice.

I'll keep looking around the net for a recipie tho.

peace
Click to expand...


For wings, i take them Far away from the firebox. with a little higher heat.. 220-230.. Cookem till they start to plump up, then flip them. Keep rotating them in position in relation to the heat. When they start to get golden, they shoul be starting to move fairly freely in the joint. Split one, juices should be amost clear.. Move them to the hot spot for finishing, Glaze them while u finish them near the heat.
 
My style is working great but I will give you the bennefit of the doubt and try the opposite and see what happens.

peace
 
Aint no opposites here..... just offerin different styles.. im sure they all work.. unless someones burnin them wings.. wouldnt recommend that style. :) You fot the silver smoker.. When I used to use my Hondo, i found wings worked best on the op shelf in the higher heat. they browned faster adn crisped up nicly. Now that I do them in the close, i do em far away from the fire and they get real fat, but dont brown, then i move them to the top to brown.
 
phil yer right when you say
" im sure they all work.. unless someones burnin"

I'm learning all the time.

THANKS!

peace
 
Is there time to actually brine chicken between meat check in and meat turn in, allowing for cooking of course, in a competition?
Click to expand...
Chicken and ribs, plenty of time. Brisket and butts not as much. Most events that I've read the schedules on allow for inspection to be done as soon as you're parked in your spot. Usually 24hrs or even a bit more before first turn in.
 
Typically not enough time for a full brine, but at least 12 hours (not 18-24 like I do). But there is still those birds with that "solution"
 
Be careful when submitting chicken with the skin still on for competetion. A hot piece of bird closed in a styrofoam box will "steam cook" until the box is opened. The steaming effect will turn the chicken skin into rubber. Remember that from the time you submit your entry until judging could be five minutes or as long as a half an hour or more. Just depends on how well the judging process is going.

Next practice run through, put some chicken in a box and let it sit for awhile. Then try it.

You can submit skinless chicken or try "pulled chicken." There is one team that submitts pulled chicken all the time and WINS. Sorry I can't remember their name.
 
Chicken includes Cornish hen. Kosher Chicken is legal. It is acceptable to have manufacturer enhanced or injected products as shown on label EXCLUDING teriyaki, lemon pepper, and butter injected.
Click to expand...

That's talking about pre-seasoned birds. You can use any freaking sauce or seasoning you want!!

MANUFACTURER ENHANCED is the key phrase.
 
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