Bone in or bone out????

[Smoke'n Ice]

Chicken

Use as small a bone-in thigh as you can buy, trim fat and skin. DO NOT OVERTRIM SKIN as you will get postage stamp skin in the end. Pin, stake, skewer, whatever the skin to the meat. Brine, cook, sauce or whatever and pick out the best 6 and plate (put in the box).

Bone equals moisture and flavor and if you take off the skin, you get jerky surface.

 

[JD McGee]

OK, I was thinking you judge the appearance of the box when initially opened as well...and that some judges would take that into consideration. I dont mean sauce on the inside of the lid, but the size and lay out of the meat, placement on the garnish, the over all box...

Thanks for your help, you are really teaching me something here. I have read and seen so much focus on the size and uniformity of the meat, and the lay out and over all appearance of the turn in box...

You would be correct to assume your above statement...we ALWAYS turn in the best looking box we can...and that includes garnish, meat symmetry, meat layout etc...that is one thing WE have control over. Every point helps and when you get 9's for appearance you've done all you can do.

 

[EatonHoggBBQ]

OK, I was thinking you judge the appearance of the box when initially opened as well...and that some judges would take that into consideration. I dont mean sauce on the inside of the lid, but the size and lay out of the meat, placement on the garnish, the over all box...

Thanks for your help, you are really teaching me something here. I have read and seen so much focus on the size and uniformity of the meat, and the lay out and over all appearence of the turn in box...

You would be correct to assume your above statement...we ALWAYS turn in the best looking box we can...and that includes garnish, meat symmetry, meat layout etc...that is one thing WE have control over. Every point helps and when you get 9's for appearance you've done all you can do.

Agreed, by all means turn in the very best looking box you can. I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea about that.
Maybe I'm the one learning something here. I didn't know that how the turn in box was assembled held so much weight in scoring on how appetizing the meat appeared to me. I just may need to revamp my judging technique.

Let's see, start at 9
minus 1 point for uneven garnish
minus 1 point for meat that is not the same size
minus 1 point for poor placement of meat
OK, now we look at and score the meat itself
minus 1 because I don't like the looks of it

WOW....looks like I'll have to give out a lot more 5's and lower.

Yeah, I know that's not how it really goes.....but sometimes it does.

 

[barbefunkoramaque]

Since no one dares take the Prompt for the Obvious



Praline: Next we have number four, 'Crunchy Thigh'.
Milton: Ah, yes.
Praline: Am I right in thinking there's a real chicken thigh in there?
Milton: Yes. A little one.
Praline: What sort of chicken?
Milton: A dead one.
Praline: Is it cooked?
Milton: Smoked.
Praline: What, a Smoked Thigh?
(Superintendent Parrot looks increasingly queasy.)
Milton: We use only the finest baby chickens, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, fondled and trimmed to perfection and then sealed in a succulent Mayonnaise quintuple smooth treble cream sauce envelope and lovingly frosted with glitter.
Praline: Well don't you even take the bones out?
Milton: If we took the bones out it wouldn't be crunchy would it?
Praline: Superintendent Parrot ate one of those.
Parrot: Excuse me a moment. (exits hurriedly)
Milton: It says 'crunchy thigh' quite clearly.
Praline: Well, the superintendent thought it was a muffined formed roll. Formed like that, people won't expect there to be a bone in there. They're bound to think it's some form of mock Thigh.
Milton: (insulted) Mock Thigh? We use no artificial brining or injection additives of any kind!
Praline: Nevertheless, I must warn you that in future you should delete the words 'crunchy thigh', and replace them with the legend 'crunchy skinned scraped Iraqi unboned real dead thigh, if you want to avoid prosecution.



Monty Python Mod

 

[early mornin' smokin']

John "eaton hog" minus one point for uneven garnish?!?! I was pretty positive that we werent getting judged on garnish, just the meat. As per KCBS rules, one point on appearance if improper garnish is used otherwise "Each judge will first score all the samples for appearance of the meat. The turn-in containers will then be passed around the table and each judge will place a sample from each of the containers in the appropriate box on the judging mat. The judge will then score each entry for taste and tenderness, before moving on to the next entry."

 

[HumboldtSmokeBBQ]

Ok, it seems easier to keep the bone in for me...less prep time. I can clean them up and make them look all pretty. I do think when i take the bone out they are cooking to quickly.
Bone in for me, and I will have the judges tell me if they dont look pretty enough at my event. If I never walk with my chicken, I will try taking the bone out and see what happens...as stated in my first post, this is my first comp...I am going be happy if my crappy comp van makes it there.

 

[Smoky River BBQ]

John "eaton hog" minus one point for uneven garnish?!?! I was pretty positive that we werent getting judged on garnish, just the meat. As per KCBS rules, one point on appearance if improper garnish is used otherwise "Each judge will first score all the samples for appearance of the meat. The turn-in containers will then be passed around the table and each judge will place a sample from each of the containers in the appropriate box on the judging mat. The judge will then score each entry for taste and tenderness, before moving on to the next entry."

I'm sure that John's comment was purely tongue in cheek. If a judge scores down because of the garnish, then he/she has no business being a judge, IMHO

 

[Born2Smoke]

Since We've switched to boneless, we've placed 3rd and 7th in chicken...Seems to be the popular choice in the Northeast.

 

[RX2006JE]

I began competing last year and did 3 contest and I did de-bone my thighs and I placed every time. 2 third places and one 2nd place. The prep time is the worst thing about it. I did it to get a more uniform size and cooking time for all the pieces. I have been working with a new method of leaving the bone-in and trimming up a bit to achieve the same results. I like the finished product with the bone out but the prep time is why I am looking to go another route. I also compete in the SouthEast not sure if that makes a big difference in the regions.

 

[landarc]

Hey Dev, PM yelonutz and chuckwagonbbq, both of those guys can key you in on CBBQA knowledge, they are both involved with that organization. John (Nutz) and Leonard (Chuckwagon) can really help you out with this.

 

[early mornin' smokin']

thanks smoky, I was really hoping this was a "tongue in cheek" comment, id hate to hear a judge scoring down a box on "uneven garnish"

 

[hilbillyinca]

OK, I was thinking you judge the appearance of the box when initially opened as well...and that some judges would take that into consideration. I dont mean sauce on the inside of the lid, but the size and lay out of the meat, placement on the garnish, the over all box...

Thanks for your help, you are really teaching me something here. I have read and seen so much focus on the size and uniformity of the meat, and the lay out and over all appearence of the turn in box...

This is a tough one imo.. and up to the judges. However, I would definitely shoot for similar size and geometry. It can only add to the overall appearance of the box if all pieces are similar in size and neatly placed.