Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

3rd Christmas and 1st attempt at "competition" style chicken thighs

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    3rd Christmas and 1st attempt at "competition" style chicken thighs

    One of the most interesting parts of being married is getting integrated into a sometime fractured second family dynamic. My wife's family would be the poster child for this. A nasty divorce for her parents and quick follow up second marriages and second families yields some interesting negotiations at the holidays! On the silver lining side, it gives me yet another excuse to cook for a fun, hungry crowd This particular crew is pretty light on formality, so I decided to just keep it simple and try out some new recipes as I knew they'd be happy with this plan. After a trip to the butcher, my plan got trimmed down to 3 meat courses: 1) cracked fennel and garlic rubbed pork shoulder with a Kentucky black bbq sauce, spice rubbed whole chicken wings with an Alabama style celery seed white sauce and finally my "competition" style chicken thighs.

    It was an ambitious menu, but the wings and pulled pork were easy, I was only nervous about the thighs. After a lot of research, I decided to try a chicken brine of salt, sugar, celery, carrot, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns over night for the thighs. I let them go for 24 hours, took them out, patted dry and let set up on a wire rack in the fridge for a few hours to completely dry out (please note: this was not for an actual comp, so I didn't get crazy with trimming the thighs to size and uniformity.).

    Once dry, I placed the thighs in a disposable aluminum pan and tucked extra skin underneath to make them as uniform as possible. Once pretty'd up, I sprinkled with my house bbq dry rub and pats of butter and let them set up for an hour at room temp while I pre-heated the smoker to 375. I chose a combo of south Georgia white oak and pecan as my wood, both from our land.
    Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4301.jpg
Views:	424
Size:	185.5 KB
ID:	621072

    Once the smoker got to temp, I placed the pans on the heated side of the grill and cooked for 60 minutes. Every 20 minutes I gave the thighs a quick spray of apple juice to moisten. At the 60 minute mark, I flipped all the thighs, sprayed, and sprinkled with a light dusting of the rub and cooked for an additional 20 minutes. At the end of the 20, I flipped, dusted again and cooked for ~30 minutes until the thighs hit 180 internal temp. When they hit 180, I dipped them in my sauce and put back on the grill for 10 minutes to set the sauce.

    I can honestly say this was the first time I'd done a dedicated cook for thighs alone, but they were fall off the bone tender with bite through skin! I'd definitely recommend this process with your own tweaks for flavors as a good starting point for comp chicken. Good luck!

    Patrick

    Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4305.jpg
Views:	135
Size:	172.4 KB
ID:	621073Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4306.jpg
Views:	142
Size:	286.9 KB
ID:	621074 The fennel-garlic rubbed pork didn't suck either

    Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4299.jpg
Views:	116
Size:	297.4 KB
ID:	621075Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4300.jpg
Views:	155
Size:	156.5 KB
ID:	621076
    Happy family spread!

    Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4309.jpg
Views:	135
Size:	163.2 KB
ID:	621077Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_4311.jpg
Views:	140
Size:	150.1 KB
ID:	621078

    #2
    That sounds like a great meal. The thighs look very tasty.

    Comment


      #3
      Nice color on your cue, great lookin’ fare. Well done, you’re on a roll my friend !!

      Comment


        #4
        That looks awesome! I gotta ask though, 180 seems high for thighs compared to what i usually see here. You obviously know what you are doing so what is the rationale?

        Comment


        • tdimond
          tdimond commented
          Editing a comment
          From what I've seen/read, the dark meat should be between 175-180 to keep it from being slimy. It's certainly done at 165. I've started pulling poultry when the white meat hits 160, since carryover heating and time at temp will kill enough of the bad stuff.

        • IowaGirl
          IowaGirl commented
          Editing a comment
          Thighs cooked to around 165 F is fine -- the meat is properly cooked and juicy, but maybe a little too soft to the bite. IMO, thighs pulled at 175-180 F are a big notch better -- they can still be juicy, but they'll have a firmer texture with nice crispy bits. The grill/smoker temp needs to be hot enough so the thighs don't dry out before they get to that higher pull temp. To pull thighs at 175-180, a grill/smoker temp of 350-375 F seems to be the winner -- 250-300 F isn't hot enough, IMO.

        • grantgallagher
          grantgallagher commented
          Editing a comment
          Good to know. Ill def go a little higher and check out the difference. Thanks.

        #5
        Great lookin food, nice write up, excellent pics, Fine Job!

        I'd love to hear more bout th sauces, an rubs, if yer willin to share with us...

        Smoke On, Brother!

        Comment


          #6
          Man oh man! That kind of cooking has a way of healing the family fractures. I am sure your cooking brought the family a little closer. Congratulations!

          Comment


            #7
            Nice looking cook you got there

            Comment


              #8
              Very nice! Happy Holidays for all!

              Comment


                #9
                Oh man I am so hungry all the sudden... looks fabulous! Our family prefers legs and thighs ~180F as well, at least they make it easy on me by all being in agreement on that one!

                Comment


                  #10
                  Good looking cook, and all those spices you used in your recipes sound amazing!

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Wow - great looking food!

                    Comment


                      #12
                      Hey,

                      Thanks guys! Appreciate all the positive feedback! A few folks have asked for recipes noted above. I have really gotten into making my own spices and spice mixes lately. The store bought stuff is too packed with unhealthy preservatives, too much salt and sugar for my tastes. We are blessed to have some amazing spice markets close by here in Atlanta, so I have been buying whole seeds, peppers and fruits, dehydrating them and grinding. This is also a fun way to get creative and expand the scope of flavors for what BBQ can be. With that being said, here's some recipes! Enjoy!

                      Poultry Rub (used on the chicken wings)
                      - 1 cup sea salt
                      - 2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
                      - 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
                      - 2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
                      - 2 teaspoons ground chile de arbol
                      - 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
                      - 2 tablespoons ground sumac
                      - 1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano (whole seed)

                      Fennel Pollen Rub (used on whole chickens and our Thanksgiving turkey)
                      - 1 cup sea salt
                      - 1/2 cup ground white pepper
                      - 1/4 cup rubbed sage
                      - 2 tablespoons fennel pollen (amazing flavor and fragrance!)
                      - 5 tablespoons turbinado sugar
                      - 2 tablespoons aji amarillo (this a Peruvian pepper, similar to an ancho, with a mild spice and smoky flavor)

                      Caraway Rub (used on the stuffed pork loin I posted last week)
                      - 3 tablespoons kosher salt
                      - 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
                      - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
                      - 1 tablespoon fresh ground caraway seeds
                      - 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
                      - 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion

                      Fennel Garlic Rub (used on the pork shoulder above)
                      - 1/2 cup sea salt
                      - 1/4 cup cracked black pepper
                      - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
                      - 1 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
                      - 2 teaspoons fresh cracked fennel seeds

                      Mustard Sauce (used on pork and chicken in the pics above)
                      - 3/4 cup yellow mustard
                      - 1/4 cup whole-grain Creole mustard
                      - 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
                      - 3 tablespoons honey
                      - 1 teaspoon sea salt
                      - 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
                      - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

                      Celery Seed White Sauce (used on the chicken wings above)
                      - 1 1/2 cups Duke's mayo
                      - 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
                      - 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
                      - 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
                      - 1 1/2 teaspoons whole celery seed
                      - 1 teaspoon cayenne
                      - 2 teaspoon sea salt
                      - 3 teaspoons honey

                      Worcestershire Mop Sauce
                      - 1 quart apple cider vinegar
                      - 1/4 cup sea salt
                      - 1/8 cup fresh ground white pepper
                      - 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
                      - 1/4 cup Valentina hot sauce (or whatever you like)
                      - 8 tablespoons butter

                      Mix all ingredients aside from the butter and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, take off the heat and gradually add in the butter, whisking constantly. Use to baste your pork shoulder every 30 minutes and reserve some for the table.

                      Comment


                        #13
                        I'm sure it all tasted as good as it looks! Thanks for sharing the recipes too!

                        Comment


                          #14
                          wow. i would be impressed if served that!

                          Comment


                            #15
                            Great looking Chicken and Pork!

                            Comment

                            Announcement

                            Collapse
                            No announcement yet.
                            Working...
                            X
                            false
                            0
                            Guest
                            Guest
                            500
                            ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                            false
                            false
                            {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                            Yes
                            ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                            /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here