Competition chicken legs? Way to do this? Time management questions?

[aimcat]

My husband and I have MAYBE our first competition coming up this weekend. We have never truly mastered chicken and wanted to know a good way to do chicken legs? We want to practice some this week. What wood is best using a pellet smoker also?

Also we have a pit boss pellet smoker - we would be doing ribs and pork as well as the chicken. What is the best way to time manage this? To have it all done on one smoker?

 

[jasonjax]

It's difficult with one smoker because for me at least I like to cook my chicken higher than my ribs and other meats so I now have a dedicated chicken cooker.

For chicken I'd stick to fruit wood or pecan.

 

[Ron_L]

For wood, it's hard to beat cherry for chicken. It give the skin a nice color.

As far as time management, have the pork done and resting in a cooler or cambro before you need to put the chicken in. Do you have room for both the chicken and ribs? If not, you probably want the ribs resting as well.

Have you run a full comp cook with all meats and to the same timeline? You really need to do this.

Legs are hit or miss with judges around here. I've had good days and bad days. What I would do it peel back the skin and sever the tendons at the knuckle end of the leg and then pull the skin back up. that way the tendons don shrink and blow out at the base of the leg.

I would also brine, and possibly inject. Then cook on a rack or on the grate for a while, and then put into a pan with your choice of liquid (stock, butter, margarine, etc.) and foil tightly to finish, then dunk in a thin sauce. You can return to the cooker to set the sauce if you want to.

Does that help at all? :-D

 

[Rusty Kettle]

You might want to hold off. You need a timeline. It doesn't sound like you have one.

To figure it out cook each category. Time your process for each category. Combine those into a timeline. You have to have time to build a box.

Make sure you don't have multiple things scheduled at the same time.

Remember don't freeze. Make a decision and stick with it. Don't second guess yourself at a contest. Don't worry about what other cooks are doing once your there. Focus on your cook not theirs.

My timeline won't help you. You have to do that yourself. Cookers and processes are different.

If you compete this weekend don't be surprised if you get whooped. Just learn from it and don't let it get you discouraged.

 

[Blanton]

You might want to hold off. You need a timeline. It doesn't sound like you have one.

To figure it out cook each category. Time your process for each category. Combine those into a timeline. You have to have time to build a box.

Make sure you don't have multiple things scheduled at the same time.

Remember don't freeze. Make a decision and stick with it. Don't second guess yourself at a contest. Don't worry about what other cooks are doing once your there. Focus on your cook not theirs.

My timeline won't help you. You have to do that yourself. Cookers and processes are different.

If you compete this weekend don't be surprised if you get whooped. Just learn from it and don't let it get you discouraged.

Is that advice to the OP or a recap of personal experience:-D

@aimcat - don't know your Pit Boss size, but you would want build your timeline to run your pork overnight, wrap around 6am. That way when you are cooking ribs, your pork should be off by the time chicken goes on.

You would be cooking like this:

Pork
Pork, Ribs
Rib, Chicken

 

[Rusty Kettle]

Is that advice to the OP or a recap of personal experience:-D

Both

I have plenty of what not to do experience to share.

All things I have done.

You can learn alot from failure.

The key is to learn.

 

[jasonjax]

For wood, it's hard to beat cherry for chicken. It give the skin a nice color.

As far as time management, have the pork done and resting in a cooler or cambro before you need to put the chicken in. Do you have room for both the chicken and ribs? If not, you probably want the ribs resting as well.

Have you run a full comp cook with all meats and to the same timeline? You really need to do this.

Legs are hit or miss with judges around here. I've had good days and bad days. What I would do it peel back the skin and sever the tendons at the knuckle end of the leg and then pull the skin back up. that way the tendons don shrink and blow out at the base of the leg.

I would also brine, and possibly inject. Then cook on a rack or on the grate for a while, and then put into a pan with your choice of liquid (stock, butter, margarine, etc.) and foil tightly to finish, then dunk in a thin sauce. You can return to the cooker to set the sauce if you want to.

Does that help at all? :-D

Ron just gave about $100 worth of professional BBQ class advice in that post.

 

[pharp]

My husband and I have MAYBE our first competition coming up this weekend. We have never truly mastered chicken and wanted to know a good way to do chicken legs? We want to practice some this week. What wood is best using a pellet smoker also?

Also we have a pit boss pellet smoker - we would be doing ribs and pork as well as the chicken. What is the best way to time manage this? To have it all done on one smoker?

Are you cooking just those three meats? I would also suggest having the pork done early and in a cooler. There will be lots of variables come up that you don't know about and having a meat done and resting will free you up to deal with them. I don't cook legs, so I can't help you there. I would suggest building in an extra 10 minutes for each turn in. If you are planning to turn in a meat at 12 start working on the turn in 10 minutes before you think you need to. Good luck!

 

[ITBFQ]

When I took Myron's class, he showed us legs. The process was very similar to what Captain Ron has laid out, minus the injecting. Brine, rub, cook without foil, cook covered, dunk, set sauce, turn in.

 

[aimcat]

Matt - what brine can you suggest? Did he go a butter bath?

Hey guys thanks so much for the info. I think we may skip this weekends comp. I dont think we are quite ready. I have a question on the pork timing. We pull our butts at about 195 and rest, we find after the rest they are way over 200. Should we maybe be pulling them sooner? We did a test cook this weekend and did 2 butts. We trim and isolate the money muscle and the money muscle was done WAY too soon. I am thinking we should quit trimming and isolating it so much?
I think we need to dial in a few things - especially chicken and maybe hit up another comp the next or following weekend.

 

[bpeyton89]

Matt - what brine can you suggest? Did he go a butter bath?

Hey guys thanks so much for the info. I think we may skip this weekends comp. I dont think we are quite ready. I have a question on the pork timing. We pull our butts at about 195 and rest, we find after the rest they are way over 200. Should we maybe be pulling them sooner? We did a test cook this weekend and did 2 butts. We trim and isolate the money muscle and the money muscle was done WAY too soon. I am thinking we should quit trimming and isolating it so much?
I think we need to dial in a few things - especially chicken and maybe hit up another comp the next or following weekend.

there are all kinds of ways to do this, but most of the time the money muscle will be done ahead of time. Per KCBS pork is considered cooked at 145 degrees internal. You could separate the money muscle before/ after you wrap, and wrap it by itself. In regards to resting the pork, if you pull it off the smoker, and put it in the cambro/ cooler right away, it will continue to cook. Harry Soo did a video recently and said that the pork needs to be cooled down to 175 before it will stop cooking.

 

[midwest_kc]

Honestly, I'd do it anyways. You may not be ready, but you can go out, have a good time, and honestly, you'll learn some important lessons that can't easily be typed on a message board. Lots of little things that you'll only know after you do one.

 

[Ron_L]

Matt - what brine can you suggest? Did he go a butter bath?

Hey guys thanks so much for the info. I think we may skip this weekends comp. I dont think we are quite ready. I have a question on the pork timing. We pull our butts at about 195 and rest, we find after the rest they are way over 200. Should we maybe be pulling them sooner? We did a test cook this weekend and did 2 butts. We trim and isolate the money muscle and the money muscle was done WAY too soon. I am thinking we should quit trimming and isolating it so much?
I think we need to dial in a few things - especially chicken and maybe hit up another comp the next or following weekend.

Forget internal temp for anything but chicken. I can't remember the last time I looked at temp on butts, brisket or ribs. Cook on the grate for color, then wrap and cook until tender. When you take it out of the cooker, vent the foil for about 10 minutes (depending on the ambient temp) to stop or slow down the carry over. If the MM is done early, as it probably will be, then cutting it off and holding it separately works.

Honestly, I'd do it anyways. You may not be ready, but you can go out, have a good time, and honestly, you'll learn some important lessons that can't easily be typed on a message board. Lots of little things that you'll only know after you do one.

I agree! I would prefer to have a timeline and have run at least one mock comp, but the experience of the real thing is extremely useful.

 

[Ron_L]

Ron just gave about $100 worth of professional BBQ class advice in that post.

Bear in mind that I HATE CHICKEN! :becky:

 

[Rusty Kettle]

Matt - what brine can you suggest? Did he go a butter bath?

Hey guys thanks so much for the info. I think we may skip this weekends comp. I dont think we are quite ready. I have a question on the pork timing. We pull our butts at about 195 and rest, we find after the rest they are way over 200. Should we maybe be pulling them sooner? We did a test cook this weekend and did 2 butts. We trim and isolate the money muscle and the money muscle was done WAY too soon. I am thinking we should quit trimming and isolating it so much?
I think we need to dial in a few things - especially chicken and maybe hit up another comp the next or following weekend.

Could always cook two butts and throw the one with a better money muscle on later. Cook it for the money muscle and toss the rest. Cook one for pulled and chunks. Cook the other for money muscle and time it so the chunks and pulled and money muscle come off at similar times. Unless its the Ironman no reason you can't do that.
Considering this myself. It will simplify it.

 

[Blanton]

Could always cook two butts and throw the one with a better money muscle on later. Cook it for the money muscle and toss the rest. Cook one for pulled and chunks. Cook the other for money muscle and time it so the chunks and pulled and money muscle come off at similar times. Unless its the Ironman no reason you can't do that.
Considering this myself. It will simplify it.

Either that or just cook pork to the rules KCBS allows and cook the butt and MM to your desired tenderness

 

[Right on Q]

Honestly, I'd do it anyways. You may not be ready, but you can go out, have a good time, and honestly, you'll learn some important lessons that can't easily be typed on a message board. Lots of little things that you'll only know after you do one.

I agree with this advice. As a classic over-thinker myself, I'd go ahead and do the comp. You'll never feel "ready" to dive into it.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

Either that or just cook pork to the rules KCBS allows and cook the butt and MM to your desired tenderness

If you want to go ahead. The rules don't prohibit cooking a butt just for the money muscle. So I think I will head that direction. I have my reasons.

 

[aimcat]

Thank you guys so much for the useful advice. I have another quick question. Besides all the BBQ association sites and KCBS - is there any other place to look to find out about more "backyard" type comps? I would really prefer to do one of those types first. I dont want to go one too intense and be over our heads. The one that was coming up this weekend was a more backyard type but I just dont think we can be ready that soon!

 

[Blanton]

I have my reasons.

Is it a class secret?