Boneless Chicken Breasts

[quarters69]

Wanted to see what everybody thought about turning in boneless chicken breast instead of the typical thighs. I guess it is not against any rules is it?? Let me now your thoughts.

[Buster Dog BBQ]

Good luck with that. I suppose it can be done but I wouldn't. Especially at a large contest where you have potential for it to try out if it sits longer.

[LGHT]

I have never judged a breast, but I can only guess that most people don't cook with them because it's a lot more difficult to get a breast tender. If done correctly I think it would have just as much if not more flavor as thighs, but not sure how tender it would be. I suppose that's why more teams don't use anything outside of thighs. I can only assume that's the same reason why some teams turn in pulled pork instead of cut or chopped pork.

[quarters69]

I was wondering about the tenderness myself, when i make them at home, you only have a small time in there until it starts to dry out a little, but in a comp it could be sitting awhile then dry out completely and you would be s.o.l.

[Bigmista]

I did them earlier this year. Got great appearance scores but taste bombed. My fault. I was experimenting. I also turned in the raspberry ribs two weeks before pitmasters. Got 10th out of 57.

[quarters69]

The chicken looks good. Was it 2 dry or just no taste. What were your apperance scores on chicken and ribs??

[davidh9946]

I am still kind of a rookie when it comes to judging KCBS events (23 events in 2.5 years) but if it is any help, I have only seen 6 entries of chicken breasts. 5 generally received scores of 6's and 7's because they were dry. 1 was actually pretty good but those are long odds. I must say though that I would have scored Bigmista's turn-in an 8 or 9 on appearance because I know how hard it is to do the breasts which makes me lean on the plus side for scoring. (They still have to taste good and be moist)

[Jonny Rotisserie]

Originally Posted by Bigmista

I also turned in the raspberry ribs two weeks before pitmasters.

I don't mean to hijack but Bigmista, those ribs look phenomenal! Save me one for when I come through LA later this winter!

Back to chicken, it seems like everyone discourages the use of breast meat because it is hard to get them to hold the moisture up to the time the judges taste it. I kinda like how they do it in the Jack where they want you to turn both white and dark meat. I think it says that much more about the winner's ability to cook chicken.

I'll also add we experimented with wings in Yakima and the judges hated them.

--Jonny Rotisserie

[burnt end jayhawk]

We have turned in breasts with thighs in KCBS events. The problem with this is that either the thighs or the breast will be a beter product, so the judges may score you lower based on the one that is of lesser quality. If you cook breasts practice with them and make sure you taste them after the same amount of time they would sit in a box before the judges taste it.

[Bigmista]

Originally Posted by quarters69

The chicken looks good. Was it 2 dry or just no taste. What were your apperance scores on chicken and ribs??

Wasn't dry. Experimented with Mango. Didn't go over well.

[Jeff Hughes]

Originally Posted by LGHT

I have never judged a breast, but I can only guess that most people don't cook with them because it's a lot more difficult to get a breast tender. If done correctly I think it would have just as much if not more flavor as thighs, but not sure how tender it would be. I suppose that's why more teams don't use anything outside of thighs. I can only assume that's the same reason why some teams turn in pulled pork instead of cut or chopped pork.

You are just full of uneducated opinions and assumptions aren't you?

[Candy Sue]

Once upon a contest, I trimmed breasts down to thigh size, brined them and cooked them up. Looked just like thighs. I messed up and left them in the brine too long and they had a real lunchmeat texture even though they were plenty juicy and flavorful. Hit about the middle of the pack in scoring and I've not had the guts to try it again.

I think that white meat once cut drys out fast, especially when placed on the judging plate. This hurts the last 3 boxes for sure (experienced first hand last weekend at Jack where teams must turn in white meat).

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hughes

You are just full of uneducated opinions and assumptions aren't you?

I've played with some white meat over the years for a certain contest. To say that breast would have as much flavor as a thigh isn't right. If anything, breast meat has no flavor. Thighs have fat, which equals flavor. Now if you are talking about brining and injecting, that is a whole other animal.

So I guess you were spot on with the comment Jeff. Hope all is well down in OK.

[indianagriller]

Brined, seasoned and smoked 5th place Benton,Ky at my first competition...


They were moist,flavorful and excellent tenderness...highest finish after that was 12th so i went back to thighs.

[carlyle]

In the breast meat entries I have judged, dryness and lack of depth of flavor are the
most frequent problems. The uneven shape of the breast makes consistency a problem
when it is cut and distributed to the 6 judges at the table. Each judge may score accurately for their sample. But because the pieces varied, the whole table score
may look inconsistent. Is that making sense?

The fat content and fairly uniform shape of the thigh pieces makes it easier to get a
consistent table score.

As others have said, fat is flavor.