Boneless, skinless chicken thighs

gmholler · Feb 7, 2011

I'd like some opinions on using boneless, skinless chicken thighs in competition. Hubby and I did a practice cook last night where we compared "regular" (skin-on, bone-in) thighs to the boneless, skinless variety; we found the boneless, skinless type held the brine better and had a better flavor overall, but they weren't very visually appealing - I guess because we weren't really sure how they were supposed to be shaped! The boneless, skinless thighs had a more intense flavor from the brine, but I'm not sure if this was due to their being boneless and skinless or if it was because we got them fresh, whereas the other thighs we could only find frozen and had to thaw.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Lynn.

Smokin' Hicks · Feb 7, 2011

bone in is the way to go for flavor and for general control of the chicken.....the store machines that debone and deskin or an over anxious butcher can really hack apart a chicken...as far as the skin and brine go always take the skin off before brining so the brine can penetrate the meat otherwise the skin will act as a protective barrier.....after deboning and deskining shape the thighs the way you want then with your knife otherwise they will tend to look a little ugly and uneven

Hub · Feb 7, 2011

Boneless thighs are somewhat rare in my judging experience but not unheard of. Most judges grasp the thigh by the bone ends and take a bite through the side. A few will pull meat off of the bone. All will, of course, taste the skin if it is provided. If you're getting results you like for flavor and texture, you can experiment with shaping (e.g. small muffin tin or similar) to get uniformity of appearance.

Aside from judging, where there is no requirment that it be served bone-in, I use bone-in for my "friends and family" cooks because I like the flavor and am an old "bone gnawer" from way back.

Good Luck

Ashmont · Feb 7, 2011

I am thinking for fun to do a bacon wrapped muffin chix thigh. I dont compete very much because of the cost. Thanks just wonderin.....

expatpig · Feb 7, 2011

Theres a tutorial at the pickledpigforum, for competition boneless chicken thighs, they are labor intensive but well worth the effort.

AZScott · Feb 7, 2011

Could you "shape" the boneless thighs by using skin after you brine the chicken? I have tried so many things over the past year for chicken and have finally settled on what I think is good competition chicken. Keep playing with what you're doing and you'll find out what you want to turn in.

gmholler · Feb 7, 2011

Thanks for the ideas!

Oh that's right...we should've removed the skin before brining! Why didn't we remember that! Time for another practice..!

Lynn.

Smokin Mike · Feb 8, 2011

Ashmont said:
I am thinking for fun to do a bacon wrapped muffin chix thigh. I dont compete very much because of the cost. Thanks just wonderin.....

great idea, going have to try that! probably would sell great. Thanks :clap2:

but you can't use that for comps, bacon is a foreign object,,,,,

Ashmont · Feb 8, 2011

Smokin Mike said:
great idea, going have to try that! probably would sell great. Thanks :clap2:

but you can't use that for comps, bacon is a foreign object,,,,,

Good idea and prolly would sell great! Now if you did bacon wrapped boneless skinless chix thighs for a comp and removed the bacon before boxing would that be against the rules?

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs

gmholler

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Smokin' Hicks

Knows what a fatty is.

Hub

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Ashmont

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expatpig

is Blowin Smoke!

AZScott

Take a breath!

gmholler

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Smokin Mike

is Blowin Smoke!

Ashmont

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