Cupcake Chicken

[barbqrken]

I have been kicking the whole Cupcake chicken thing and did some the other day. Did the scrape the fat thing. Butter on the chicken and even cut the ends off the bone to fit the pan. Had bite through skin and the chicken eas very tender and buttery. But the meat it's self, had no flavor. What am I missing to give it some flavor for the WOW factor.

[deepsouth]

i've been pretty fascinated with cupcake chicken since joining the forum. i've never tried it and i'm not a competitive cooker either....

to me, cupcake chicken doesn't look appetizing or like chicken. i'd love to know how it became so popular and why people like it so much. it looks pretty buh to me......

[bogyo1981]

I'm a big fan of brining my chicken. I add a lot of fresh herbs to the brine and I think it gives it a great flavor.

[glenntm]

Kosmos Chicken Soak adds great flavor.

[Porky]

Originally Posted by deepsouth

i've been pretty fascinated with cupcake chicken since joining the forum. i've never tried it and i'm not a competitive cooker either....

to me, cupcake chicken doesn't look appetizing or like chicken. i'd love to know how it became so popular and why people like it so much. it looks pretty buh to me......

The answer to your question of how it became so popular is Myron Mixon. Myron introduced it on the competitive circuit and was successful with it and others tried it and liked it and so on so on....... One reason is that by using the cupcake pan all the pieces will come out uniform in shape. I just picked up his book and he gives the entire recipe.

[Porky]

duplicate post, sorry

[deepsouth]

Originally Posted by Porky

The answer to your question of how it became so popular is Myron Mixon. Myron introduced it on the competitive circuit and was successful with it and others tried it and liked it and so on so on....... One reason is that by using the cupcake pan all the pieces will come out uniform in shape. I just picked up his book and he gives the entire recipe.

i grabbed his book as well and saw it in there. i guess (visually) cupcake-cutter chicken doesn't appeal to me. i'd rather see something that looks like chicken.

[Jacked UP BBQ]

You can get flavor by madinade or brine, or seasoning. Whatever flavors you are going for use it.

[MoKanMeathead]

Originally Posted by Porky

The answer to your question of how it became so popular is Myron Mixon. Myron introduced it on the competitive circuit and was successful with it and others tried it and liked it and so on so on....... One reason is that by using the cupcake pan all the pieces will come out uniform in shape. I just picked up his book and he gives the entire recipe.

I agree Myron made it popular but I wouldn't say he was successful with it. Out of 32 contests in 2009 and 2010 he got 4 top 5's and 10 top 10's (stats courtesy of bbqbug.com). I think it is more of a novelty than anything else. I don't know anyone that uses it and is successful consistently in contests.

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by MoKanMeathead

I agree Myron made it popular but I wouldn't say he was successful with it. Out of 32 contests in 2009 and 2010 he got 4 top 5's and 10 top 10's (stats courtesy of bbqbug.com). I think it is more of a novelty than anything else. I don't know anyone that uses it and is successful consistently in contests.

Wayne,
Not to be picky, but that is 44% top 10 finishes.
Since he cooks a lot of "major" events with the "big boys"--that rate would tickle me to death if I could pull it off.

I have sampled quite a bit of Myron's chicken whilst cooking near him.
I really don't think the cupcake deal is the secret.
He has killer taste and tenderness all the time.
That's what works and scores well, no matter what it is shaped like.

As a judge, I really do not like to look at FrankenChicken.
But, if the team does them in such a way that they look tempting, I give them a very good to great score on appearance.
They earned it.
Then, see how they did on taste and tenderness.

JMHO

TIM

[Greendriver]

I don't like the looks either, but if I could get em tasty and score well, I'd dang sure do it. What temps work well with this method?

[Q-Dat]

The common perception about chicken thighs is that they are too small for injecting to be beneficial.

It is common for common perceptions to be wrong.

I've said too much........

[Midnight Smoke]

No Competition here just my Backyard cook. Did these awhile back, seasoned with Butter and a few spices. Makes me want to do some more.

[glenntm]

If shape is a concern there are different shape muffin pans. They don't have to be round.

[Alexa RnQ]

Originally Posted by The_Kapn

that is 44% top 10 finishes

Doing the math, we hit 74% last year with plain old thigh-shaped chicken.

I don't think shape will give you anything magic if you haven't the taste and tenderness to back it up. On the other hand, maybe I ought to try that cupcake pan...