I'm a KCBS competition cook wannabe (currently a judge), and I'm practicing every week at home. I have a couple questions, if you have time to answer:
1. Where do you get your competition chicken thighs?
2. In your opinion, is there any value in "practicing at home" with thighs from places like Publix, Sam's, Costco, etc? Or would you recommend that I practice with the same thighs I'd be using in competition?
Check the plant number next time. It will be somewhere on the package. It is listed as, "P-777" or whatever. Most will be three numbers, some have four. Get back to me. Might could tell you how long the birds are being raised. 49-52 days will give you a pretty hefty chicken with some plants going beyond that.
Grills and Smokers:
Engerbtrecht Braten 100 (wood and charcoal)
Blaze Grill (gasser)
Large Big Green Egg
Large WSM
Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett (pellet)
Webber Jumbo Joe
Webber Smokey Joe
Favorites:
Sapphire martini up (bone dry) olive and a twist
Burbon barrel stout
Jonny Walker Blue - if someone else is buying
Thanks. The thighs at my local Costco are huge, with large fat deposits all under the skin.
I would consider that a big plus. You need to trim away the fat, even if you don’t scrape the skin. You can then trim each piece to the same size and you will have plenty of skin to wrap the entire thigh. Regardless of using the bone or removing, it’s good to have a lot of skin to enclose everything.
I compete maybe once a year at regional cooks. Sanderson farm is my go to for chicken. Have been trying smart chicken lately at home. skin is MUCH thinner, and much less fat to trim. They ARE much smaller thighs though. Thinking of switching to the legs as that has a movement going on as of late.
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