Wow! We made it through another Memphis in May BBQ.  

And I don't care how prepared you think you are for this contest; there's always new obstacles to overcome. This year we had a new location due to the MS flooding and unseasonably hot weather for the first few days. Then we had a storm system that brought the coldest weather we have ever had here in May.



But all in all, we had a great contest.

Thursday we entertained a group of 50 to rave revues and on Friday we started our shoulders for the contest. And to be honest, I don't think that I could have cooked a better shoulder. We finished 14th overall and we were pretty disappointed, but there is absolutely nothing I would change. Our goal was to make the main stage, but we'll get 'em next year.

I have to give a big shout out to my buddies at Brown Chicken Brown Cow. These guys are a top notch team. BCBC made finals in shoulders and took home 2nd place overall. They've been on a roll and I guarantee that they'll be one of the top shoulder teams in the MBN bbq circuit this year. Keep up the good work guys!

Besides doing a ton of cooking, I managed to met a lot of new friends. I had the pleasure to talk to the Pork Barrel Bbq guys. Heath and Brett are two great guys that share the same passion for bbq as I do. These are the great minds behind the www.bbqbackyard.com website… and if you haven’t checked it out… it's fast becoming the best place to find bbq information on the web.  

I also did a live webcast with Richard Wachtel from www.grillingwithrich.com. You can watch this webcast at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14675835  

We also recorded lots of video at MIM – you can watch all these videos at:

HowToBBQRight YouTube Channel

Killer Hogs YouTube Channel

Now that Memphis in May is behind us, it's time to get into KCBS mode. I have back-to-back contests coming up the first two weeks in June. And for me, that means it’s time to start practicing chicken and brisket… and that’s exactly what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks.
 

Bite-Through Chicken Skin

There's been several questions from you guys about KCBS chicken. And the majority of the questions are how to get the skin to turn out "Bite Through".  

In fact, this is the number one question I get about chicken.  

But the truth is that there really is NO SECRET to getting perfect chicken skin… but it does involve 3 very important steps.  

The first step starts with proper chicken trimming.  
When I buy chicken thighs, they're usually large and have a lot of fat that has to be removed. KCBS thighs have to be trimmed down to uniform size. Buy a family size pack of thighs and sort them out. First you want to look for the smaller pieces that have skin completely covering the meat. Then you want to use these smaller, “perfect” pieces as a guide for the large pieces. Not every thigh in the pack is going to be contest worthy and sometimes I even buy two packs just to find 12 perfect pieces.

But once you have them sized, you’re ready to remove the fat.
Using a sharp knife, carefully trim the sides of the thigh – BUT DO NOT cut the skin. You want to end up with a piece of squared chicken that fits in the palm of your hand. Now you want to flip the skin back and remove all of the fat from the underside. Scrape the fat with the edge of the knife, but take care not the tear the skin. This takes a little practice, but it's not that hard once you get the hang of it.

The last important step in cooking KCBS thighs is to control the heat on your smoker. I cook thighs at 275 the entire time because it will take high heat to render the thighs. The combination of trimming, fat removal and high heat will make the skin "bite through".  

I've tried doing thighs at lower temps, and they just don't turn out. You can find my procedure at  http://www.howtobbqright.com/bbqchicken.html

If you follow these trimming tips and cook the thighs at this temperature, I guarantee you that they'll give you the "Bite Through" skin that all the judges are looking for.