Chicken turn in box

[Mo Smoke]

Decided to get in a comp coming up a few weeks from now. Question about the chicken turn in tho. Rules say chicken must be cooked as a whole bird, half, or quarter. Contestants cannot individual pieces. But we must turn in 8 pieces minimum for judging. Obviously I will have to cut and slice whatever I cook, but What do you guys suggest in terms of what to cook and how to build my box?


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[Big T]

In my area we have kcbs and bca event's. In the kcbs we cook legs or thighs and you have to build a box with greenery. In bcs you have to cook and turn in half chickens on tin foil. If you can separate the pieces after they're cooked, I would cook quarters and turn in legs. They're easy to build a nice box with and most judges seem to like them. If you have to use greenery I would use kale, it fills up the box fairly quick without any big gaps.

[Mo Smoke]

The rules for this one say nothing in the box except the meat. So I don’t have to worry about Kale, but seems to me that means more meat will be needed to build a full looking box and to keep pieces from moving around during transport to judges table.

So In BCA you turn in half chickens? How many? I was thinking about cooking half chickens and slicing them into pieces since cleaning leg quarters is so much work. Btw… where do you clean and wash the meat at a comp? Especially if you don’t have a good trailer or whatever.


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[Big T]

You turn in 1 box with a half chicken in it, fully intact. You can cut the wing tip off but everything else has to be in the box, including the skin. You can clean and prep the meat at home, you can't season or inject the meat until after the onsite inspection. You may want to check the rules at your comp but that's the way it's done down here.

[Mo Smoke]

Wow. Can’t imagine turning in a half chicken. I guess the judges cut pieces off themselves to taste. That’s unique.

I just found out last night that in this comp they open the gate to the park at 7a. Once everyone is setup they will inspect meat to be in original packaging with no signs of injection or pre seasoning. Then they will tell everyone it’s ok to to light their fires and begin prepping and cooking somewhere around 8a they hope. Chicken turn in is at 11. Ribs at 12. I don’t think that’s enough time to do a good job of cleaning the meat and getting everything ready. I can cook chicken hot and fast or smoke it slow. But I always smoke ribs low and slow. But Either way I hate to rush. Cooking is something i do for fun. I put love in it. Plus my name is on the line. Not trying to just put out some half ass bbq. Got me reconsidering the whole thing.


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[Big T]

I agree that is a tight time frame for turn in's. Most of the 1 day comps that I've been a part of have given us 5 hours on chicken and 6 on ribs from the time you lit the fire.

[Mo Smoke]

These guys won’t even let you light the fire while u wait for inspection. I think it’s a dumb setup. Part of the fun for me is feeling like I have a chance to win. I would stack my product up against anyone else , but something thrown together in a rush, cooked different than my normal method, wouldn’t be my best so if I lose I won’t feel like I was truly beat.

[Dirtytires]

Yikes! I typically takes 90 min from the time I strike my match till I put meat on the pit...granted I could rush it a bit but I like to stabilize my temps before I add the meat. That would leave me 90 min to cook and turn in the chicken. Pretty sure cooking that hot is not bbq, it's called grilling!

[Mo Smoke]

And don’t forget you have to turn in the ribs an hour later so that would give you 2.5 hrs to cook your ribs. They should have called this a hot and fast grilling comp.


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[towtruck]

Those are insane times IMHO. I don't do comps and could cook my chickens in that time from a cold bbq. No way I could get a rib done in that time the way I cook. I think I would have to practice a hot and fast cook and see if it is worth it to even try.

The rules seem to be set up to make it very hard to do a good cook......to challenge the participants, make them adapt. Set yourself up one morning before the competition and and follow those rules to the T, even start at the last second so you are ready if they are running behind checking everyone first. Will they let you kick start your fire at least....use a propane torch to get it up to temps faster? Plan ahead!

[Mo Smoke]

I’m glad it’s not just me. I like to be thorough when I clean chicken. I could cook some in 2 - 2.5 hrs but cleaning it and starting a fire too.. that’s a stretch. They will let me use a torch to start the fire, but once it’s comes time to cook it’s wood and coals only. It might be a challenge to some, and I might be game one day, but it doesn’t sound like fun to me, and I’m not trying to put my name out based on an experiment.


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[Dirtytires]

Might definitely be worth going and watching tho. The fact that ANYBODY is able to turn in a product must mean that it is possible. I can see that a Webber kettle would be much better than a big offset pit and I just don't cook that way.

[JKalchik]

Sounds to me like the competition rules themselves are intended to really test the skills of the competitors. A cook where you've got 8 hours to clean, prep, and cook a couple of chickens would open the doors to a lot of people. As it is, I'd suspect a lot of people will have trouble just finishing. Something I'd definitely want to practice a couple of times first.

A buddy of mine has told me about a bowling tournament in Chicago's northern 'burbs, where the lanes are prepared rather differently, heavy oil vs light oil, the pin setters, etc. It really brings out the who the best are.

[Mo Smoke]

Yeah I’m somewhat interested but I don’t think I’m gonna compete. I got too much on my plate and not enough in my pockets to put in all that work and money knowing what I’m judged on won’t be my best. Maybe next year now that I know how they run it.


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