another ibca chicken question

spring chickens (baby chickens), flattened and cooked / smoked

try this marinade but adjust the amounts to the amount that is needed .... this marinade is enough for 2 chickens ....

after marinading, use the left over as a mop in the final stages when finishing it off

this is based on a portugese recipe that originated in Mozambique, but that is popular in south africa (similar to Nandos chicken)

2-6 birds-eye red chillis (adjust spice level to your taste....2 will be mildly spicy whilst 6 will be very spicy)
1 big red capsicum/bell-pepper
1 lemon's juice
2 tbsp. paprika powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. dried oregano (crushed)
½ tsp. red chilli powder
½ cup sunflower oil (or olive)
5 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp. brown vinegar
1 tsp. black peppercorns (crushed)

blend the whole lot together, and marinade the chicken for at least 12 hours before cooking on moderate direct heat,

or smoke on your weber (for smoking, I smoke chicken at approx 210 -230 degrees F and I smoke chicken for 1 hour per pound of chicken) .... a spring chicken weighs approx 2 pounds, so smoke on a low temp for approx 1 1/2-2 hrs then finish off on direct heat while using the remaing marinade as a mop

each person gets either a whole chicken or a half .... I've seen people even eating the bones (but that could be because they had too much beer) :shocked:

You may also want to try some parkay/rub paste under the skin. I've never tried those seasonings but I've used HC with some success on chicken. You don't need crispy skin either. I would also go for a nice smooth look for appearance, in my experience the judges don't like course spices on the outside. Your luck may differ though.

I've won IBCA chicken before. From a flavor perspective we treated them same as ribs (ribs won too). Exact same rub, butter, and apple juice spritz.
The rub was simple: equal parts brown sugar and salt, paprika, season salt, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne. Sweet & hot.

We didn't smoke it though. Grilled over 350* charcoal with some cherry wood.

We like IBCA chickens as close to 4lbs as we can find them. We brine, inject, use a doctored rub and finish with our own glaze. Depending on the judging level, a saucy yardbird has been hit or miss for us. Less experienced judges tend to score the sauced up chicken higher as opposed to more experienced judges. Well, IMO anyways.

I butcher 3-4 pound yardbirds to halves, cutting the backbone completely out and sometimes the keel bone in the breast too. This makes 2 mirror half chickens. I brine with a basic 4 Tbs sugar, 2 Tbs salt to 1 cup water mix. I put seasoned (with chicken seasoning) butter slices on the breast under the skin. Smoke them for 2 hours, then cover in pan in sauce & chicken broth bone down for 30-45 minutes. Glaze then set the sauce 15 minutes, then turn in.

I don't cook many IBCA contests, but the technique above got 10th at the Cowtown Speedway in 2009. I was the only foreign (non-Texas) team there!