Anyone really sharing secrets?

[Q-Dat]

Do you mind sharing your chicken secret with several more brethren?

OK well here it is. Like I said its nothing groundbreaking but hopefully it will help take some of the guessing out of what you put in the box.

Skin down in the butter bath(or whatever you are using) until the skin is bite through tender. How do you know that the skin is bite through tender? Well you could take a bite out of it, but that might not look good to the judges. There is a way that you can tell without biting it.

When you think they are close take both index fingers and press down on a thigh. Try to stretch the skin by moving your fingers away from each other.

If the skin stretches and then snaps back into shape, its not ready.

If the skin stretches and slowly shrinks back, its almost ready.

If the skin stretches and hardly shrinks back, or not at all, or if it starts to tear its ready. From here on you have to handle the thighs VERY gently. No tongs! I use brown cotton gloves with nitrile rubber gloves over them. I put them on the pit at high INDIRECT heat to get them to brown before saucing.

Every time I do this the skin is bite through with no scraping.

Hopefully this is not considered a highjack since it goes with the theme of the OP.

 

[timzcardz]

Thanks for sharing.

BUT the real question is, do you cook it fat cap up, or down?


:mrgreen:

 

[Outnumbered]

Done plenty without a warmer box too. You can maintain that temp by moving it from cooker to holding container. It's not that burdensome. No more so than add wood to the firebox.

Doing it at home can be achieved by using an oven.

I'm a barrel guy. Would you take it to the higher range if you dont use the warmer box?

 

[jmoney7269]

I know some people that baste in home made honey butter. Good chicken. I have put honey butter under the skin a few times at home and comps but never got any walks with it. But now, dat be a different story :becky:

 

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

I'm a barrel guy. Would you take it to the higher range if you dont use the warmer box?

I've been thinking that light metal smokers, such as a UDS or WSM could be backed off pretty quickly to 185 degrees so you could hold it right in the smoker. I am gonna give it a try next time.

 

[Gig'em99]

I'm a barrel guy. Would you take it to the higher range if you dont use the warmer box?

Yes I would! I'd take it to 210, like another poster mentioned. Then rest it for several hours in some sort of insulated container. In all likely hood it'll take several hours before it fell below 170. Plenty of time for the proper rendering to take place.

 

[Gig'em99]

I've been thinking that light metal smokers, such as a UDS or WSM could be backed off pretty quickly to 185 degrees so you could hold it right in the smoker. I am gonna give it a try next time.

Bingo. I'll often do that with my stick burners too. When I feel like an oven is cheating

 

[bruno994]

I think I finally understood a Pitmaster T post!

 

[Gig'em99]

Thanks for sharing.

BUT the real question is, do you cook it fat cap up, or down?


:mrgreen:

Both! But I don't turn it during the cook. Lately I've been going cap down. Normally I'm equally happy with the results. IMO it doesn't make a dimes worth of difference.

 

[Gig'em99]

Hopefully this is not considered a highjack since it goes with the theme of the OP.

Nope, my intent was to have either the concept itself discussed or if people want to divulge anything, there will be plenty of appreciative brethren.

I think everyone generally accepts that seasonings and flavor profiles are off limits. I'll share basics, but my competition process for seasoning and flavoring is my own too.

 

[jbrink01]

You guys hit on one of my UDS tricks. When we don't have a Cambro (yes, we forgot one once last year) we just "CrockPotted" the can. Left the big meats on and choked the heat way down (like the 180 range) and let it sit wrapped. We won pork, brisket and the comp that day.

 

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

You guys hit on one of my UDS tricks. When we don't have a Cambro (yes, we forgot one once last year) we just "CrockPotted" the can. Left the big meats on and choked the heat way down (like the 180 range) and let it sit wrapped. We won pork, brisket and the comp that day.

A Canbro, so to speak. :becky:

 

[DawgPhan]

The seasonings and sauces are the least important...timing and cooking is far more important than the rub you used.

Oakridge rubs and a homemade sauce and I dont think that I gave away a single secret.

 

[CBQ]

The vertical chamber on an offset smoker also serves nicely as a warming box. Before I went to the dark side (pellets) I used it all the time for brisket. With the smoker at 275, the vertical would have 2 shelves at 185, and 2 at 140. Warming box and hot holding.

 

[Candy Sue]

Best BBQ advice I've heard (all from top 10 teams):

"There are no secrets in BBQ."

"It's the least offensive BBQ that wins (i.e. don't mess with more than one judge!)."

"Get the texture right and don't go overboard with salt, sweet or spicy."

"Cook more contests to get better."

"Make baby step changes, unless the recipe tanks continuously."

 

[Lake Dogs]

Best BBQ advice I've heard (all from top 10 teams):

"There are no secrets in BBQ."

"It's the least offensive BBQ that wins (i.e. don't mess with more than one judge!)."

"Get the texture right and don't go overboard with salt, sweet or spicy."

"Cook more contests to get better."

"Make baby step changes, unless the recipe tanks continuously."

ABSOLUTELY. #2 holds true in any food competition. To a degree, so do the others... Anyone with hundreds of food competitions under their belt will tell you the same thing, and generally if they have the time and you're polite enough, they'll share any "secret" that you care to know about. The folks that think "it's a secret" usually haven't competed enough (to know that nothing is farther from the truth)...

 

[eap0510]

It sounds to me that we need to create a thread called competition secrets revealed.

It are these "secrets" that makes people money like Trigg and Myron.
If everyone gave away their tricks of the trade then the guys with the cooking schools would be put out of business.

-Eric

 

[Gig'em99]

ABSOLUTELY. #2 holds true in any food competition.

I'll politely disagree with this one. Maybe the type of comp is key though. I've continuously been surprised by how salty the winning briskets, ribs and chickens have been at the LSBS and IBCA cooks that I've competed in (when I've been able to taste the winning boxes). Salty enough that I thought is was terrible. But, maybe when you have tables of volunteer judges, not CBJs, after tasting 20 meats, the only way to distinguish is by adding a bunch of salt. I still refuse to make my food stand out with salt. And sometimes I place well, others not.

 

[Lake Dogs]

I'll politely disagree with this one. Maybe the type of comp is key though. I've continuously been surprised by how salty the winning briskets, ribs and chickens have been at the LSBS and IBCA cooks that I've competed in (when I've been able to taste the winning boxes). Salty enough that I thought is was terrible. But, maybe when you have tables of volunteer judges, not CBJs, after tasting 20 meats, the only way to distinguish is by adding a bunch of salt. I still refuse to make my food stand out with salt. And sometimes I place well, others not.

No doubt, the farther you get from qualified judges the more "off" things become. Also, those that win like this got REALLY lucky on their table. REALLY.

 

[Lake Dogs]

It sounds to me that we need to create a thread called competition secrets revealed.

It are these "secrets" that makes people money like Trigg and Myron.
If everyone gave away their tricks of the trade then the guys with the cooking schools would be put out of business.

-Eric

Eric,

I learned "secrets" from Myron and many other (just not Johnny, because I've not run into him personally) top competitors (many have GC'd MIM, or won an MIM category [Myron of Jacks Old South, Buster of Boggy Pond, Lonnie of Bubba Grills, Pete of Yazoos Delta Q (Melissa was very busy), and MANY others]) over the years. If they dont teach classes (and even some that do teach classes) they'll tell you straight up, and show you. The ones that teach will do that in the class. For Myron, take his class, and just ask. It's that simple.

Tendencies being tendencies, the more accomplished the competitor the more they're willing to "share" IF they have the time. Dont ask 'em a silly question when they're preparing a turn-in box, or when trying to flip a hog, etc. Catch 'em at a meeting, or out in the field, offer 'em a beer, invite 'em over to your camp for beer, etc.