# Competition Chicken



## ddog27 (Dec 21, 2005)

Ok I am officially hooked on BBQ competitions! There is another one coming up on 1/28/05. This one is ribs and chicken. Chicken is something I have struggled with! I have not been able to turn out great chicken. So I need some help! Any tips or recipes you can share would be greatly appreciated! I will be doing lots of practicing!!


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## Finney (Dec 21, 2005)

Use Cappie's... no Bruce's.....  No (it's) Stogies method.
It's on the board here somewhere.


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## Greg Rempe (Dec 21, 2005)

Dog, take my advice with a grain of salt as I have never competed...*YET*!  I am going to try my hand at it this year and i look forward to doing chicken.  My stratagey will be to smoke it maybe for an hour or so to get the flavor print on the bird and then finish it on the grill...get the skin crisp and a nice grill tatse too!  I make a good thigh on the grill so i figure I should do well in competition if a lot of people aren't using the grill and just there somkers!  Just my $0.02!


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## BrooklynQ (Dec 21, 2005)

Chicken is the hardest thing for me at comps. The skin is usually the killer. 

What you need to do is come up with a bunch of perfect chicken, then put it in  styrofoam box and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Then taste it. If the skin can come off clean in one bite, only the part you bit - not the whole thing. You've done it!


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## Greg Rempe (Dec 21, 2005)

Great post Brooklyn!! =D>


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## LarryWolfe (Dec 21, 2005)

The best way you can have perfect skin everytime is to remove it before you cook it!  Remove the skin, marinade if you wish, then smoke/grill as normal.


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## Jack W. (Dec 21, 2005)

Chicken is the most difficult of the meats to compete with.   The skin is the defining point.  If you can get crispy and/or "bite through" skin you'll score better than most with qualified judges.  To get "bite through" you either have to cook it fast and hot, or boil the heck out of it.  There is a layer of fat that hides just beneath the skin and is held on with a membrane.  That's your foe.  

Choose fresh, never frozen chicken.  Frozen chicken will always produce a red bone and reddened meat around the bone.  I like to use free range or organically raised.  They just taste better.  Your organic grocer will have a better quality product.  

I use thighs (12 minimum) and a Mojo Criollo marinade.  I cook with a WSM with a hot fire and the pan in place lined with foil.  Spray the skin with a canola oil spray.  Put thighs on the grill skin side down and cook for 15 - 20 minutes.  Turn 1/4 turn spray the side that is facing up and cook for another  10 - 15 minutes then flip.  You should have nice grill marks.  Spray the skin again and cook 15- 20 minutes,  flip again and start applying the glaze.   You should be approaching 165 at this point.  Choose sweet and moderate heat for the glaze.   Be sure to glaze both sides.  Keep a close eye on them, the last thing you need at this point is black chicken.   Cook until internal temp reaches at least 165.  Since we are cooking thighs they are reletively forgiving and since the pan is in place you shouldn't have a problem with the sugar burning. 

If your really brave and get good with the fire you don't need the pan.  If you make that choice you really don't need to be doing anything but cooking chicken.   I've seen many a top chicken has come off of a weber kettle. 

Best I've ever done is 5th.  If you get the key turned on the secret to 1st place chicken please contact me immediatly.      :grin:  

Good Q!

Jack


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## jminion1 (Dec 21, 2005)

Jumpin Jim's chicken thighs is a great place to start.

It explained here:
http://www.bbqsearch.com/jim_chicken.htm

Jim


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## Finney (Dec 22, 2005)

jminion said:
			
		

> Jumpin Jim's chicken thighs is a great place to start.
> 
> It explained here:
> http://www.bbqsearch.com/jim_chicken.htm
> ...



That's pretty much the method I thought was.....
Cappie's... no Bruce's..... No Stogies method.  

Now I'm really confused as to who's it is.  #-o


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## Jack W. (Dec 22, 2005)

Jumpin' Jim's is a great place to start. 

This is a good place as well.

http://www.thesmokering.com/Chicken/default.jsp

Good luck and good Q!

Jack


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## ddog27 (Dec 30, 2005)

jminion said:
			
		

> Jumpin Jim's chicken thighs is a great place to start.
> 
> It explained here:
> http://www.bbqsearch.com/jim_chicken.htm
> ...



This is great information! Thanks guys! I do have another question. If I follow this method of smoking chicken and I wanted to put some Texas Pepper Jelly on the chicken, when would I do it? Any ideas?


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## jminion1 (Dec 31, 2005)

Jelly can go in the sauce that the chiken goes into during that portion of the cook and use in glaze at end.
Jim


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## Woodman1 (Dec 31, 2005)

We took second in Ohio, without a drop of smoke on them thighs! Took really small thighs, and grilled them on a WSM! We thought they were burnt and were ready to cry. Turned out they were good? Who'da thought!


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## Thom Emery (Dec 31, 2005)

Judging at the Rose Bowl yesterday We saw box after box of lookalike
Chicken Thighs  Some smoked some grilled


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## ddog27 (Jan 10, 2006)

ddog27 said:
			
		

> jminion said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I want to follow this method but I just found out my next contest is a one day chicken and ribs contest. So I will not have the night before to marinade the chicken. Any ideas what I can do to still add that flavor to my chicken??
 :star:


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## Captain Morgan (Jan 10, 2006)

well you can marinade as long as possible.
Or you can buy the italian dressing mix and use the powder as 
a rub, but I'd try that beforehand to see how much flavor it imparts.
Could be too strong.  Also, I'd still let it sit in a vinegar oil mixture as long
as possible after that.


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## jminion1 (Jan 10, 2006)

ddog
Marinate as long as you can, get to the competition early and get meat inspected. You can trim at home night before, by KCBS rule, so as soon as they say meats ok it goes into marinade. Then start trimmimg ribs. 
Jim


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## Nick Prochilo (Jan 10, 2006)

ddog, inject some marinade into the chicken. Don't use the marinade that you soaked the bird in.


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