Boneless Skinless Chick thighs ?

Ashmont, Yes. I have seen them in a few contests that I have judged. Not that often, and I would never score less for it.

That being said, I am an FBA judge in Florida, so you should check with the org that is sanctioning the contest.

I do not change score based on presence of bone or skin. In fact, you are told that chicken can have skin or not have skin, same with bone, so anyone who judges down for either is being an ass-hat. So you should be able to turn them in just fine. You do run the risk of getting ass-hat judges though.

I just cooked some last weekend, fantastic and I trimmed all the fat I could. They were great and I am planning to do more this weekend. In TX at comps we turn in a fully jointed 1/2 a chicken.

I think the problem with turning in skinless thighs is that a judge might assume that a mistake was made and the skin discarded. He or she might also believe that it takes more skill to achieve tender, bite through skin than to take it off.

True or not, that could effect the score. I realize that skinless thighs are in complete compliance with the rules and should be judged on their own merits, but judges are human, and preconceptions are hard to eliminate no matter how good the training.

that is my preferred meat now. I have cooked them every way imaginable(my imagination) and they turn out awesome.

I see these "now and then" in competition (KCBS) but bone-in thighs still make up 90% or more of the entries. As a judge I could care less whether the bone and/or skin is there -- its the balance of good cooking, rub and sauce that ultimately comes together or not to produce a great entry.