BBQ Competition Practice: Chicken Thighs

As I've mentioned before, this year I'll be competing for the first time at a local KCBS event.  I think I cook pretty good BBQ, but there are some things that you need to do for competition that are unique.  I've read quite a bit about the chicken category and with spring time nearly here, I decided it was time to practice competition chicken.

First, most competition teams turn in chicken thighs.  This is mainly because this piece of dark meat is more forgiving than white meat (like chicken breasts) in terms of moisture retention.  You have a larger window of opportunity to get it right for turn in.  This is a huge unknown for me, because I never cook chicken thighs.

Second I've learned that in order to score well in this category, it's important to trim the thighs to uniform size and remove as much fat as possible from the skin.  The objective is to have a moist, flavorful piece of chicken that is cooked in such a way that a single bite results in a clean bite all the way through the skin.  Skin that slides off in one piece and smacks the judge in the chin won't score so well.  I learned yesterday, that scraping the fat from the skin is a nasty business.

For my first attempt at competition chicken, I was pretty happy.  I mostly nailed the preparation & cooking on the first attempt.  I'll need to work on it some more to develop a better flavor profile, but I'm encouraged by this first practice session.

Cheers,
Braddog

Comments

[Michael True]

Congratulations on the bite thru skin. I practiced almost every weekend for six weeks to dial it in consistently using my fatboy.

[Boat-n-BBQ]

Hey Braddog, The chickens looking great :P
Ya, the trimming is a pain in the, well you know. Use the expensive, natural, no steriod type chicken thighs (like Publix Greenwise). They are smaller, fit in the box better, less fat, thinner skin and easier to trim, but I'm betting you know that by now.

Good luck competing! I know you have the skills ;)
Boat

[Braddog]

Good to hear from you Boat! Thanks for the tip on the Publix chicken. I'm looking forward to my first competition. Maybe I'll run into you on the competition trail.

Cheers,
Braddog

[Phil Davis]

Chicken looks great !! Good Job. I have been in a few events in Florida under the FBA. I have done chicken the same every time and come up in the middle of the pack everytime aswell. It is hard to find that last little niche to put you at the top. Taste and Tenderness is the most important key factor I believe.

[Braddog]

Thanks for the note Phil! I gotta work on the taste some more. I haven't found that flavor profile that makes me go "wow".

Cheers,
Braddog