Competition Chicken, Competing With Myself

[KrisUpInSmoke]

My two younger kids preferred the regular thighs I cooked to the Competition.
They said they like the chewier skin and more meat.
Smoked these with the competition and then crisped the skin on the upper rack of my grill.

I'm with them! I don't know exactly how competition standards came to be, but... cut part of the perfectly good meat off... remove the skin and then reattach it...make real meat look unreal... well, it just isn't right, if you ask me..lol.

But it looks good, just like meat is sorta supposed to look...:p... no, really, you did good.

 

[chilerelleno]

I'm with them! I don't know exactly how competition standards came to be, but... cut part of the perfectly good meat off... remove the skin and then reattach it...make real meat look unreal... well, it just isn't right, if you ask me..lol.

But it looks good, just like meat is sorta supposed to look...:p... no, really, you did good.

They came to be with competitors trying to wow the judges with the perfect bite of chicken.
Over time it just becomes the norm and the judges come to expect it.

 

[sauced]

Great looking chicken....I am in the sauced camp!!!

 

[chilerelleno]

Great looking chicken....I am in the sauced camp!!!

Thanks man, glad ya like it.
Never would've thought you of all would prefer anything sauced... LoL.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Super nice looking food there. Nice uniform competition birds.. :cool:
But umm...

You didn't do 25 plus threads in the last 10 days did you? :eek:

 

[Charcoal Chump]

Looks awesome, great job on the chicken and great write up!

 

[chilerelleno]

Super nice looking food there. Nice uniform competition birds.. :cool:
But umm...

You didn't do 25 plus threads in the last 10 days did you? :eek:

Thanks.

Yeah, I have, guilty as charged.
A third of it is current cooks I've done.
The other two thirds is mainly 'Side Dish' recipes that I separated out of older threads.

 

[chilerelleno]

Looks awesome, great job on the chicken and great write up!

Thanks, appreciate the compliments.

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Thanks.

Yeah, I have, guilty as charged.
A third of it is current cooks I've done.
The other two thirds is mainly 'Side Dish' recipes that I separated out of older threads.

I've been wondering about that too. You're on a roll, chilerelleno ! What sparked the barrage of recipes? I can't keep up with all the yummy.

 

[chilerelleno]

I've been wondering about that too. You're on a roll, chilerelleno ! What sparked the barrage of recipes? I can't keep up with all the yummy.

I have been cooking a lot as I've been home quite a bit.
But I was compiling a list of all my cooks/recipes into a reference thread and I pulled a bunch of 'Side Dishes' and other recipes out of the threads.
Then posted them into their own threads to make them easier to find and follow.
I've linked it in my Sig Line, Chile's Cornucopia of Cooks

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I got some boneless/skinless thighs in the freezer....I generally dislike chicken with the skin on unless I deep fry...now I wanna throw a pack on the smoker..

 

[dls1]

Nice work, Chile. The chicken thighs look perfect, and your presentation/tutorial is exceptional. Well deserving of a "Like".

Around 12 years ago a friend of mine got heavily involved with KCBS comps, and with the exception of chicken, his results were pretty good. His chicken always got high marks in every category but appearance and presentation. He started doing exactly as you've described and shown and his results, and walks, increased quite a bit. Then, there was the comp where, probably after too many adult beverages, his chicken results crashed. He forgot to remove the toothpicks.

He told me the story and I asked him if he ever considered using transglutaminase, aka meat glue, instead of toothpicks which, at the time, I knew of a couple comp cooks that used it for binding the skin after cleaning and trimming. He had never heard of it so I gave him some to experiment with. Shortly thereafter he called to ask about my source, bought some, and never looked back.

Great job, Chile.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Way to go Chile! Top notch as usual. Like! I've been wanting to try the "cupcake chicken" version. You have sparked inspiration in me yet again!

 

[chilerelleno]

I got some boneless/skinless thighs in the freezer....I generally dislike chicken with the skin on unless I deep fry...now I wanna throw a pack on the smoker..

No time like the present Tom, do it, ya know ya wanna.

Nice work, Chile. The chicken thighs look perfect, and your presentation/tutorial is exceptional. Well deserving of a "Like".

Around 12 years ago a friend of mine got heavily involved with KCBS comps, and with the exception of chicken, his results were pretty good. His chicken always got high marks in every category but appearance and presentation. He started doing exactly as you've described and shown and his results, and walks, increased quite a bit. Then, there was the comp where, probably after too many adult beverages, his chicken results crashed. He forgot to remove the toothpicks.

He told me the story and I asked him if he ever considered using transglutaminase, aka meat glue, instead of toothpicks which, at the time, I knew of a couple comp cooks that used it for binding the skin after cleaning and trimming. He had never heard of it so I gave him some to experiment with. Shortly thereafter he called to ask about my source, bought some, and never looked back.

Great job, Chile.

Thank very much dls1, very kind with your assessment, and thanks for the Like.
Yep chicken is the BBQ competitor's biggest PITA.
I've heard of the meat glue, but I just ain't that serious.

Way to go Chile! Top notch as usual. Like! I've been wanting to try the "cupcake chicken" version. You have sparked inspiration in me yet again!

Thanks BEV, appreciate the Atta'boy and Like.
I thought about doing these in a loaves pan, but I though they'd get even less smoke than they did nestles together.
I'm still thinking about some de-boned thighs (but not sculpted) in whichever pan and braise them in a butter/garlic sauce with a thin, half slice of lemon under them, perhaps followed by crisping the skin under the broiler.
Not this weekend though, the wife has a turkey thawing for me to smoke.

 

[flatbroke]

Great job. Looks like a lot of work goes in to comp prep

 

[chilerelleno]

Great job. Looks like a lot of work goes in to comp prep

Thanks.
Yeah, the chicken takes a bit of work. in the end they say it's that bite through skin.
And they say the 1st Place skin has a like a two minute window of perfection while cooking.
It was fun trying it out.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Jeeze Chile, encouraging me ;) maybe I'll throw them on when I do the fatty tommorrow! I could toss a pack on and shred em for fried rice on Saturday..

 

[nanuk]

I think that's a first for me. I've never heard of anyone who prefers rubbery skin.

Chris

while I don't like rubbery skin, I DO like it NOT too crispy.

I find, when I bake chicken (I'm just starting my smoking journey) I salt the skin fairly heavily, and that dries them pretty good, cook them at 425F for 1h15m or so, then they get crunchy, but not "Crispy" which to me is burned, and starts to taste funny.

Also, when cooked in a pan, the juices keep the lower skins uncrunchy, but rendered and biteable.

as for sauce, I can't remember the last time I used any.... but have some on hand to try in the smoker.

 

[nanuk]

Thanks.
Yeah, the chicken takes a bit of work.
In the end they say it's that bite through skin, and they say the 1st Place chicken skin has a like a two minute window of perfection while cooking.
It was fun trying it out.

Your chix look AWESOME!

I would even try the glazed ones!

But do you think the competition is turning into an Elite "Emporer has new clothes" type syndrome?
Where expectations are not the same as reality?
Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.... and most "Art" is a scam.

If they look great (but not all the same) and TASTE GREAT!, isn't that what you are after?

 

[chilerelleno]

Your chix look AWESOME!

I would even try the glazed ones!

But do you think the competition is turning into an Elite "Emporer has new clothes" type syndrome?
Where expectations are not the same as reality?
Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.... and most "Art" is a scam.

If they look great (but not all the same) and TASTE GREAT!, isn't that what you are after?

It is widely acknowledged that the competition BBQ produced is not your common BBQ, that the incredible amount of attention given to every step from picking the meat to the presentation box far exceeds any norms.

And that goes for all of it, brisket, ribs, and chicken, the quest to "Wow!" the Judge's eyes and palates it rises beyond fanaticism.

Tricks, tips and secrets abound.
And the money spent by the pro teams, damn, these guys are buying very high priced, hand picked Prime, Waygu and Heritage meats.

I'll have fun puttering around trying the methods, but I'll never compete outside of the Amateur/Backyard division, if even that.

I've done several small Chili Comps, and won several categories and a couple overall winners.
A pot of chile can cost me upwards of $75.00... Ouch! But dang if it ain't fun and delicious too.