A Friendly Competition...

[jcnaz]

A community where my son and I spend a good part of our time is having a series of fundraisers to build a new fire station. The next one that is scheduled (September 3rd) will be an outdoor "smoking/grilling contest"  where the contestants pay to cook and the public pays to judge (eat). the votes will be money stuffed in a coffee can at each contestant's table, the one with the most $$ gets the bragging rights and maybe a ribbon. The organizers are suggesting a minimum of 25 samples from each contestant, but obviously, the more samples that you have the more potential votes you have. Serving is to begin at 5:00 pm. I won't be able to start early enough for a long smoking session, so I am probably going to go with pepper stout beef for my entry.

My son Derek, who is just turning 16 wants to participate, not as a team, but with his own entry. This is great news because he has not been very interested in my charcoal habit up to this point. He does have a knack for cooking in general, so I hope that this will jumpstart some kettle love! He has been cooking a beer can chicken recipe that uses a Guinness glaze that is pretty good. I suggested that he may want to grill chicken thighs and use this glaze. I will help him experiment with this over the next month and teach him how to use the kettle that he chooses for the contest. I will also be seeking advice from the WKC from time to time in this thread.

My first question for you all, and especially for those who have done "real" comp BBQ, is where do I find chicken thighs that are consistent in size? When I buy packs of thighs at the grocery store they will range from puny to Damn, that was a big chicken! I also am looking for tips on trimming and prepping thighs prior to grilling.

[Geezer]

Sounds like a good event.  Keep us posted and pictures would be nice.

[Travis]

@swamprb

Good luck , man. Sounds like a great thing to be involved with and to have your son wanting to get in the mix is cool.

[varekai]

Awesome, Good Luck to both of you!! 

[swamprb]

Here in the Northwest the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association (PNWBA) sanction 1 day "Light" BBQ Events for the benefit of communities or organizations to test the waters without committing to a full on 2 day 4 meat sanctioned BBQ contest. Many of these one day events have gone on to be long running and highly anticipated events and American Royal, Jack Daniels and World Food Championship qualifying events.
 
These events usually have 4 proteins and are basically grilling contests-example: Sausage, Chicken, Tri-Tip and Ribs are most common, but there have been Seafood and Mystery meats depending on the organizers.

All can be cooked in @ 6 hours

Personally I would suggest Tri-Tip Sliders instead of PSB, and Wings or Legs over Thighs. But thats just me. People love to wander around with food with a handle!

But if you absolutely have your hearts set on thighs, I've found Smart Chicken is usually pretty consistent in size, I used them a few times but CBJ's don't give a shit if its free range, non GMO, organic, air chilled, $3.75 #, etc. or not, so go for a few Family Packs of Foster Farms thighs that look somewhat consistent.
I usually buy 2 packs 10-12 pieces on average to get at least 16 to cook at a comp. I don't care for the Foster Farms blister packs from Costco, they are OK quality, but you can never tell how many are in the bubble bags.

Probably the most comprehensive online Competition Chicken tutorial was from Paul Ostrom, who had the Pickled Pig Forum - the Forum is no longer, but here are links with a Word document that details selection, trimming and the cooking process:

http://www.ironpigbbq.com/links.html

So this fundraiser is basically a People Choice contest, so think Bacon! Moink balls, ABT's stuff on skewers etc. Utilize what grilling space you have.

Good Smokin' luck!

[jcnaz]

Brian, you are right. I think that keeping the entries in the "finger food" category will be the best strategy. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[DarrenC]

Have they given you a maximum number of portions you need to prepare?  Having the public do the judging is always way trickier than a table of judges who are familiar with the parameters.  Get a copy of the rules and I'll help your boy out as much as I can.  There's a heck of a lot worse ways a 16 year old can be investing his time than by getting into serious Q.  Beware though - the competition bug bites hard and the venom spreads fast.