Practice Chicken Box

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KevinK

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What do you guys think for color of chicken? I tried the boneless thigh techique and like the idea being able to season all the meat from inside to outside. Need to work on trimming them to equal sizes.
 

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I think the color on the chicken looks fine - no issues there. The glazing looks a bit thin and uneven, although this could uneven glare from the picture itself and could be fine in person. As you said, need to work on the equal sizing. Specifically left chicken in middle row and right chicken in bottom row stick out as being very uneven (teardrop shaped and rectangular respectively) compared to the others. That's one reason to only include six that are close in shape to each other. I probably give this a 7 or 8 overall based on the issues I described.

I had a boneless thigh at comp. this past weekend and thought it was prepared very nicely.
 
More common to turn in six than nine? So sizing correctly is critical to get a good score?
 
that's a tight box. (meaning good)

i wouldn't change the color or the amount of sauce. looks just right.
 
KevinK - I'm not experienced enough to be a master judge, but from the judges I've met and how I judge consistency is important, not sizing. As part of appearance I'm looking for general consistency in the meats. I'm looking for no brisket slices to be significantly longer than the others, for no ribs to be significantly bowed out compared to the others, and for chicken to be relatively the same size and shape. I'm not looking for perfection, but those two pieces of chicken jump out to me when looking at this box.

Again, just my opinion as a CBJ.
 
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86 (get rid of) the one in the lower right hand corner, and get a piece that looks like rest the thighs and you have a winner, assuming taste and tenderness is there. You are onto something.
 
Not to derail the thread, but some were mentioning number of pieces in a box..... is 6 better than 9 or could you do 8 if they were symmetrically positioned?
 
I shouldn't have referred to 6 over 9 because it just led to confusion. What I meant by that comment was when you include more than the required six you have the possibility to add inconsistency into the box which (in my opinion) hurts the appearance. In the picture above you probably could have picked just 6 pieces that looked good and even and gotten a 9, whereas adding the additional pieces took away and (in my book) made it an 8.

I wouldn't care what the number is as long as there is enough for all judges (six) and none detract from appearance (like #4 and # 9) in the picture.
 
Looks like a definite 8 or 9 to me. But maybe I'm easy. I do try and get my pieces somewhat symmetrical but it really tough unless you do cupcake. They all look cooked evenly and all have the same appearance in terms of shine. Some judges say they don't want symmetrical pieces and some don't like if they don't all look manufactured so how can you please everyone? :loco: I wonder how many judges that don't cook have tried to make 6 pieces of chicken to look identical. Even getting them close is hard.
 
bbq.tom said:
Appears a bit yellowish to me, but I like them!
Click to expand...

I checked the image in Photoshop, and it is the photo, not the chicken, that has a slightly yellow cast. Color corrected, it looks more natural. The yelow cast is very minor, but enough to effect the appearance of the meat.

Pretty much all the turn-in boxes I've looked at on this forum have not been color correct. Keep that in mind as you critique.

CD
 
9. Looks great. I disagree with any judge that scores you down because all pieces are not the exact same shape and size. Nowhere in KCBS or FBA does it say they should be identical. Even if you trim them identical one piece may shrink more than another during cooking. That looked like an excellent box to me.
 
Ford said:
9. Looks great. I disagree with any judge that scores you down because all pieces are not the exact same shape and size. Nowhere in KCBS or FBA does it say they should be identical. Even if you trim them identical one piece may shrink more than another during cooking. That looked like an excellent box to me.
Click to expand...

Nobody is saying that they have to be identical but you can't argue the fact that pieces of uniform size and shape look better.

I agree that those 2 pieces draw my eye away from the other 7 pieces which I think look very good
 
Muzzlebrake said:
Nobody is saying that they have to be identical but you can't argue the fact that pieces of uniform size and shape look better.

I agree that those 2 pieces draw my eye away from the other 7 pieces which I think look very good
Click to expand...

To that point then would you immediately score this less simply for 2 pieces being a little less symmetrical? They stand out so much that it dictates a lower score even when they all do seem to be evenly cooked, sauced, and have a good shine?
 
fnbish said:
To that point then would you immediately score this less simply for 2 pieces being a little less symmetrical? They stand out so much that it dictates a lower score even when they all do seem to be evenly cooked, sauced, and have a good shine?
Click to expand...

Yes, but to me they also don't seem to be sauced or seasoned either. Those 3 things in combination are easily a 1 point deduction.
 
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