I have a confession to make...

[Swine Spectator]

I have never cooked competition chicken thighs. I have competed in backyard comps and IBCA half-chicken comps, but in 25 years of Q'ing I have never attempted KCBS-style thighs.

Well today that changed. I clean my pit after each cook, but 1-2 times a year I give it a thorough cleaning. Today was that day. I cleaned the inside of my pit with Simple Green and pressure washed the grates. I needed to burn a fire to dry it out and making comp thighs in a pan seemed like a goof way to not waste my wood. Oh, and we have a YouTube Throwdown in progress...

So here is the YouTube video that served as the inspiration for this cook:

Smokecraft BBQ - How To Cook Competition BBQ Chicken Thighs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsztvD7vjDU

I started with a pack of thighs

I trimmed them as instructed in the video

...and rolled them up

I brined them in Oakridge Game Changer

I seasoned them with Plowboys Yardbird and put them in a pan with butter

Smoked over hickory at 300° for 1 hours, just like the video

Wrapped and smoked for 30 more minutes

I used the sauce that JimSmokes sent me in the recent sauce trade (very good BTW!)

On a rack and back in the smoker

Did I mention that I cleaned my racks?? These are 5 years old - check them out!

and here is the final product. I tried to replicate the thumbnail for the Youtube video:

These were VERY tasty. I ate two and the kids obliterated the rest. Unfortunately, I did not get a "bite through skin" pic.

I will say that making them picturesque was much harder than I thought. You comp guys will have some critiques, but I am happy with my first try.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Stingerhook]

I got dibs on the left row David.

 

[Moose]

 

[Cookb4]

The thighs look amazing, but I more impressed with how clean your racks are.

 

[long haired hippie]

"...more impressed with how clean your racks are"

I think I know her....

 

[jzadski]

Looks like I will have to go for the right side. Great cook as I have never tired them yet either. Yes equally impressive is your cleaning

 

[Itsdone]

"...more impressed with how clean your racks are"

I don't think even my 3200 psi pressure washer can get racks that clean. I am getting old and lazy so im "seasoning" my racks.

 

[SmokinAussie]

Clean racks and cleaner Chicken. Holy moley that's amazing!

Cheers

Bill

 

[pjtexas1]

Mighty fine chicken!

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[TXArmy]

I also attempted comp chicken thighs for the first time this weekend. Chicken prep was a bit tedious but not terrible, I used a Jaccard to tenderize and allow more brine to be absorbed. The trim and skin wrapping was easier than I thought it would be. I needed to trim more of the fat off of the underside of the skin to achieve a clean bite through skin (these skins didn't peel off but weren't as crisp as I would have liked). I also let the sauce set too long in the smoker as it lost some sheen and color. I will keep refining the process/product. Bone-in thighs are so cheap, compared to pork/beef, and seem to be an easy-add to the smoker while I'm cooking other stuff.

Good looking cook David. Am I reading your profile right that you in live in Northern Virginia? If so, maybe we need to collab on a cook some day. I'm in Alexandria.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

That looks fantastic to me

 

[ronbrad62]

I'm a competition cook and I do those thighs all the time, but on this site, we judge by taste and not appearance, so you won't get a bad score from me. They look like 180 thighs to me!

 

[Swine Spectator]

Those look great TXArmy!

 

[cholloway]

Nice thighs, nice rack.

 

[Fooball]

Great looking thighs David. Bet they were good.

Since nobody else has asked, I guess I'm nominated- How did you clean your racks? Oven cleaner?

 

[Swine Spectator]

Well - I keep my pit pretty clean in the first place. I paid good money for it and want it to last. I clean it after each cook.

For a thorough cleaning I spray everything down with Simple Green. It's good non-toxic degreaser and was recommended to me by David Klose when I bought my original pit from him.

Then I use 2'x'4s to prop up the racks and blast both sides with the pressure washer. It doesn't get everything off (you can see some residue in the top right quadrant). Spray with PAM and burn a fire to dry everything out.