Competition style thighs

[Sir Winston Smoker]

Hello fellow Springfielder

Team name is Team Meating - we're sponsored by Expedia! This will our first largish comp together, but 3 of us have done a lot of competitions on other teams.

Do you mean to put the thighs back on the smoker for 5 minutes after applying the agave and rub mixture?

Good to know, thank you!

 

[Roo-B-Que]

Wow it's crazy how many folks are on here from around Springfield. What's your team?

We are Roo-B-Que. We have been doing Rock N Ribs for about 5 years now.

 

[Pappy Q]

In KCBS, those will not do well in Appearance, 5 and 6 more than likely

 

[dalelovelace]

I did some more thighs today, and did some meat pops while I was at it. I tried several different injections to find the one I like best. Ended up liking homemade chicken broth plus Mexican Coke the best. The meat pops were good, but I think I'll stick with thighs for competition.

I think the appearance overall was much better, but I can still use some work on getting them closer to the same size. I got much better at getting the fat off the skin, which helped make the bite through considerably better. I tried with and without meat glue, and I do like the meat glue, I mixed it 4:1 rub:meat glue and shook it on the skin before putting it back on the meat. Other than the skin adhering nicely to the meat you would not know it was on after cooking.

Would love any more constructive criticism or tips to make them better. Thanks!

 

[thirdeye]

I think this round of experiments is improving, and I would agree you can tighten up the sizing. But don't feel like you have to fall into the clone trap. Many judges, myself included, appreciate chicken that looks like chicken.

 

[dalelovelace]

I think this round of experiments is improving, and I would agree you can tighten up the sizing. But don't feel like you have to fall into the clone trap. Many judges, myself included, appreciate chicken that looks like chicken.

Thanks much Thirdeye. What do you think of the black flecks on the skin? I suppose it's from the rub, I want to get a spice grinder and grind the rub up more to try to alleviate such big flecks.

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks much Thirdeye. What do you think of the black flecks on the skin? I suppose it's from the rub, I want to get a spice grinder and grind the rub up more to try to alleviate such big flecks.

Balance, uniformity and consistency are important in appearance judging. So for example, an even disbursement of coarser black pepper would be better than a random sprinkling. To a farther extreme example, say 2 offerings showed a much darker color, or grill marks when the others did not.

A spice grinder is a good investment, if nothing else you can make a super fine ground finishing rub. You could consider adding white pepper to your rub and eliminate the black pepper.