1st Q in a while

[sigmasmokers]

I finally found some free time and the mrs. likes that BBQ Chick so I fired up the cooker and smoked me a little chick and some brats. I used a new marinade and injection on the chicken and sat those big ole breasts on some onion, garlic and thyme. (not sure if that made any difference) than I sauced and finished on the grill over the firebox. It was the best chicken I have ever done. While the chick was finishing on the grill, I cleaned out the water pan and added some beer I had brought to a boil with some garlic and onion and put it back on the smoker and added the Brats to finish. I would definitely do that again.

For you competative cooks, I have never finished my chicken like this before and it turned out great. How does the look of this compare to chicken you have turned in at competion? I have only turned in thighs and placed 2nd once but this was much better. I have never turned in breasts but these with the marinade and the injection were the juiciest breast I have ever cooked. I also liked the legs because they are easiest to eat and still get all of the flavor in the skin. I thought about cutting up a breast in parts and then about 4 legs around for the next tourney? What do you think?

 

[Bill-Chicago]

Steve, looks awesome.

And as far as breasts at a tourney, my only comment is, be careful. I have not competed, nor have I judged, but I have taken the KCBS course on judging.

Legs and thighs are the prefered turn in meat. That is because (IMO from the class) they are both self contained units, in their own skin and juices. Closed up retaining juice, and heat until bitten by the judges.

With a chicken breast, the second you cut into it to make servings, that is when the clock starts ticking on whether your piece of meat will retain the desired moisture.

I have also smoked chicken boobs to complete perfection, that were over flowing with juice, but knew some of it would be dry if cut up for 15 min, assuming you fan out the pieces in presentation.

So my advice? Get a few styro containers, smoke some boobs, cut up and try a few different presentations. Close them, and then sit back and wait 15 minutes. Open the box, then try a sample of each piece. Did any of the "end" pieces dry out? Did one presentation work better than others?

If I recall correctly, there usually needs to be 6 visually seperate pieces in the box, so you might be limited as to how well you can present without drying out.

 

[chad]

As a judge, I'm leary of white meat. It is almost alway dry by the time it gets to the table. Also, by having to cut the breast into 6 pieces (8 in FBA) you are asking for a crap presentation.

You can buck the trend if you like (I've given good scores to white meat in the past) but your best bet - competition in and out - is thighs!

However, your mileage may vary!

 

[sigmasmokers]

DF,

I thought you just had to have 6 pieces total, so hopefully, I might be able to appeal to white and dark meat preferences. 2 more questions. INYHO, why are thighs the better choice than legs? I have always turned in thighs and scored pretty well, but I notice when I eat a thigh, I lift up the skin and pull off the meat where as when I eat a leg, I bite right into the skin to get the meat. So much more flavor in my opinion. The second question is you opinion on the appearance of the chicken I did. How did it look to you?

SC

 

[BrooklynQ]

Dave - you don't need 6 pieces of breast and 6 legs for KCBS, you only need 6 seperate and identifiable pieces of meat. You can mix breast, legs, thighs wings, etc - as long of you have 6 pieces total. At least that's my understanding as a judge. When I judged at CT, there was an entry of legs and breast meat. No one challenged that there were only 2 legs in the box.

Steve - As a KCBS judge, I am supposed to judge the meat as presented. If it has skin on it, the judge should eat the meat and the skin together, not lift the skin off and eat the meat seperately. Just as a judge wouldn't wipe the sauce off a piece of meat before judging it.

As for mixing meats, IMHO, I wouldn't do it. Only give the judges your best. From what I've experienced whenever the meats are mixed, usually one type is good and the other sucked. Why are thighs a better choice than legs? Again, IMHO, more fat to them then in the legs. More fat keeps them moister.

As for how they looked - they looked good. But they are not judged like that. Try putting them into a white styrofoam containner, with or without garnish (don't get me started, just follow the rules of the society you're competeing in) and look at them that way. Your pieces should all look good, if one doesn't you'll loose points.

Looking at the pic, if that was what was in the container, I'd say the breasts look undercooked while the thighs look a bit burnt in comparison to each other. Judging for appearance takes about 20 seconds. It all better look good or you'll loose points. Again, just my opinon. It all looks like great eats tho.

 

[The_Kapn]

I prefer thighs for competetion simply because they are basically the same cross section throughout. Consistancy :lol:
With legs, you have the meaty end vs the skinny end. Hard to get the meaty end done right without overcooking the skinny end.
Just my preference and opinion.

That is some good looking Chickie in the Pic :lol: Hungry now!
TIM

 

[BrooklynQ]

Here's the rule taken from the KCBS website...
"Each contestant MUST submit at least six (6) separated and identifiable (visible) portions of meat in a container. If meat is not presented in such a manner and the judge not having meat to taste, will judge TASTE and TENDERNESS as one (1). All APPEARANCE scores will be changed to one (1) for that entry only. This in no way will penalize the other contestants who have properly submitted their entry."
http://www.kcbs.us/kcbs_bbq_contest_rules.jsp

 

[chad]

OK.

I said "if".

Mixed boxes generally (notice "generally") don't score well.