Chicken Catering Question

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chichas01

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I'm putting together my menu for a BBQ catering business I'm starting. Wife and I were discussing the pro's and cons of boneless skinless chicken thighs vs. skin on bone in thighs. My wife pointed out that skin on-bone in may not present as well and the skin may not be so nice after going into a covered pan for some time before it is eaten and if customers pull the skin off, the seasoning goes with it.
What do your customers tend to prefer?

Thanks!
 
I don't have any real experience with it, but if I'm ordering pieces of chicken I'd much prefer to get a bone in, skin on thigh. I'd also look into chicken quarters, I think they look more impressive on a plate.
 
I agree with you. I'd rather see a nicely done skin on bone in thigh. I guess I need to do a test cook to see what works.
 
100% boneless skinless thighs is the perfect way to go for BBQ chicken. Skin-on is a huge challenge because you'll likely need to hot-hold for even a short period of time, and that skin goes rubbery very quickly...especially so if you add BBQ sauce.

Another poster suggested chicken quarters but those are so hard to eat and keep yourself clean. I had a ton of customers who would show up to my BBQ food truck wearing very nice clothes, so I had to ensure they could eat my food and still go back to work clean. This is why I ended up doing boneless skinless thighs and serving it as pulled chicken. People loved it and it's a very easy cook...plus it hot holds very well.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
100% boneless skinless thighs is the perfect way to go for BBQ chicken. Skin-on is a huge challenge because you'll likely need to hot-hold for even a short period of time, and that skin goes rubbery very quickly...especially so if you add BBQ sauce.

Another poster suggested chicken quarters but those are so hard to eat and keep yourself clean. I had a ton of customers who would show up to my BBQ food truck wearing very nice clothes, so I had to ensure they could eat my food and still go back to work clean. This is why I ended up doing boneless skinless thighs and serving it as pulled chicken. People loved it and it's a very easy cook...plus it hot holds very well.
Click to expand...

So basically, need a 150 deg oven to hold them in? Covered? Uncovered?
 
chichas01 said:
So basically, need a 150 deg oven to hold them in? Covered? Uncovered?
Click to expand...

I used a pre-heated Cambro...you can buy ceramic discs which fit inside the Cambro to pre-heat the entire box. Put the discs in the oven at 350° (or the smoker) for 15-20 minutes, and they keep food hot for 6+ hours.

For all my food I let it come down to about 175° and then would wrap it in a foil pan, and cover with foil, and then into the Cambro. I mostly did a lunch service so hot holding only lasted 2-3 hours max.

If you have a holding cabinet that is obviously the easiest way to go, but those are pricey compared to a $300 Cambro.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
I used a pre-heated Cambro...you can buy ceramic discs which fit inside the Cambro to pre-heat the entire box. Put the discs in the oven at 350° (or the smoker) for 15-20 minutes, and they keep food hot for 6+ hours.

For all my food I let it come down to about 175° and then would wrap it in a foil pan, and cover with foil, and then into the Cambro. I mostly did a lunch service so hot holding only lasted 2-3 hours max.

If you have a holding cabinet that is obviously the easiest way to go, but those are pricey compared to a $300 Cambro.
Click to expand...

Where do you get the discs? I’ve always used boiling water reheated 2-3 times over a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes but obviously can’t leave it in the cambro.
 
kurtsara said:
Where do you get the discs? I’ve always used boiling water reheated 2-3 times over a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes but obviously can’t leave it in the cambro.
Click to expand...

Boiling water worked just fine as well, but I was running a food truck so I hated how it would slosh all over the place inside the Cambro when I was driving. The discs are called CamWarmers....a bit pricey but they did work better than the boiling water.

https://www.amazon.com/Cambro-1210P...527451&sprefix=cambro+camwamer,aps,172&sr=8-3

It really just depends on how long you plan on hot holding. In my experience up to 4 hours pre-heating with boiling water worked just fine. The CamWarmer's would usually allow me to extend my hot holding time to 6-8 hours. This was very useful when I was doing multiple events on the same day.
 
I do half chickens then quarter them before delivery or on site..they hold up well in hot box ..most customers want both white and dark meat so doing half chickens gives an equal amount
 
billm said:
I do half chickens then quarter them before delivery or on site..they hold up well in hot box ..most customers want both white and dark meat so doing half chickens gives an equal amount
Click to expand...

Liking that idea.
 
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