First FBA contest, question about chicken

cpw

cpw

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So my team is entering our first FBA Comp in Jesup, Georgia this September. We did a practice cook on some chicken this weekend, and couldn't figure out how the heck to get 8 or 9 pieces of chicken in a box.
I've attached our first attempt, which we didn't clean up the box, but we had a heck of a time getting the pieces to fit.

Any thoughts?ImageUploadedByTapatalk1344292682.197073.jpg
 
Trimming the chicken in a uniform fashion and having the box presentation in mind before you start cooking helps alot. You may also want to consider shingling the thighs and that will help you get them all in the box. Good luck and if we can be any other help with getting ready for your first FBA contest, please let us know.
 
Put a 1" bed of chopped chicken in the bottom, raising the pieces and giving you a slightly wider box to work with. Probably see you there!
 
Rub said:
Put a 1" bed of chopped chicken in the bottom, raising the pieces and giving you a slightly wider box to work with. Probably see you there!
Click to expand...

That may do it. It seemed the pieces would fit if we had just a bit more room.

We haven't officially signed up yet, but plan on it ASAP.
 
Sauced! said:
Here are pics (near the bottom of the 1st page) from our first FBA event. We put pulled on the bottom and 9 thighs on top of that. Took 1st place with them.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126090


btw, i thought the FBA event in Jesup was in October?
Click to expand...

Those look good! I remember seeing that thread but I guess I didn't notice the Pulled chicken underneath.

And you're correct, Jesup is in October.
 
Just did another practice cook. Did the thighs a little bit differently this time, and used a bed of pulled chicken to raise up the thighs a little bit. Please let me know what you think appearance wise. (I know the box needs to be cleaned up a bit more)
Thanks!
45fe4130-3050-9820.jpg
 
Measure the bottom of the box and practice laying them out on a piece of paper marked to size. I think the first box might have fit by changing a couple of pieces. Your second box has a little shingling I think and that always works.

A word of caution using pulled chicken. The judges will also sample the pulled chicken so it has to be as moist and have excellent flavor. Don't taste your practice meat until at least 10 or 15 minutes past the hour assuming you're practicing on hour intervals. Pulled chicken certainly improves appearance but if it impacts your other 2 scores it can really hurt you.
 
With the truly slanted sides on the box in the picture, I would think you are using a non-standard brand of container...

I'm gonna take a wild shot at this one...

Check with the organizer about the manufacturer of the styro boxes they will be using...

The Hefty brand boxes, carried at Sam's Club, are the best boxes with a larger inside presentation footprint...

Your difficulty of presenting nine thighs should diminish using a Hefty brand box if the organizer is using them...
 
In this case, the pulled chicken came from the leftover thighs so it should be just as moist as the rest of the meat in the box.

I also never even thought about there being different box types. It certainly seemed that there was more room in this box than the on I used for the last practice run.

Thanks for the input!
 
Judges Try it All

Make sure you don't think of the pulled chicken as only a bed to raise the "real" turn in pieces. As a 5 year judge, I promise you, if it's in the box, it will be sampled and have the scores merged with the thighs. I've heard many judges say," They would have got a much better score if they would have left that out of the box." So make sure it is as good as the "real" turn in.
 
Tipsy Pigs BBQ said:
Make sure you don't think of the pulled chicken as only a bed to raise the "real" turn in pieces. As a 5 year judge, I promise you, if it's in the box, it will be sampled and have the scores merged with the thighs. I've heard many judges say," They would have got a much better score if they would have left that out of the box." So make sure it is as good as the "real" turn in.
Click to expand...

Definitely. The thought was to use the chicken from the thighs that don't match the other's size as the bed, so technically, it should be just as good. If we can get the thighs to fit without using the pulled chicken at all, we'll do that.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jesup is a GREAT contest

I was in Jesup helping my friend Forrest Dillmore teach a class this weekend and had the pleasure of seeing the Grand Champion trophy. To the 2012 Grand will go a Gloden Boy Henry Presentation Rifle. And Damn was it COOL. This has got to be the most over the top trophy I have ever seen. Best get your entries in because this is going to fill up.
 
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