Quest For The Perfect Thigh - Part 3

thirdeye

If you have followed my quest for the perfect thigh, you will recall I've tried a version of both the Jumpin' Jim and Pickled Pig methods, of course with a thirdeye twist..... If you are a fan of TLC Pitmasters, no doubt you have seen Myron Mixon and his now, not-so-secret cupcake chicken balls.

Anyway, several guys I know are trying this out and there is some discussion on skin-up, or skin-down in the pans when setting up the chicken

So, I did another experiment tonight ..... two skin up, and two skin down. I did scrape the fat off the skin, and removed the chicken from the pan once it firmed up. It was finished using a raised direct set-up. There are a few other twists I did, I'll get all the details into my write-up in the next couple of days.













The verdict - Taste and moisture wise, it was hard to tell the difference between the two. Both had nice bite through skin. The shape of the skin-up ones was more consistent and very round. I did notice some skin slippage on the skin-down thighs. I can see this as being a very handy method for prepping a dozen thighs ahead of time and have them waiting in the fridge. I also think the eye appeal and the easy slicing (since I de-boned them) might appeal to some guests. The downside is, these things are too easy to eat...

Hoss

BEUW-TE-FULL!great post.That darn yardbird is the most frustrating for me.I like CRISPY/not burnt skin.It ain't easy. :blink:

Spring Chicken

You've been watching Myron too much. LOL Here's what I thought you were talking about.



But those 'cupcake thighs' don't look all that bad either.

Spring "Sweet Cheeks And Cupcakes" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

Hoss

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

thirdeye

Heheee.

JLOCKHART29

It might not be perfect yet but it's awfull close! I can see how it would be easy to eat a bunch at once bonless like that. I do some stuffed with cheese and fresh sage leaf that get really easy to overload on! :laugh:

gsgentry

Those thighs look awesome!!! Great work on them!!

Lawn Ranger

Wayne:

I'd love to see the down and dirty details of the cook. Hope you get them posted soon, as I have Mom-in-Law's birthday cook here next Sunday for the Mongul Hordes. This would work well for that.

Looks great, My Friend.

Mike

NoVA Bill

Hey Wayne,

Your quest for the perfect thigh is better than an Indian Jones movie.

Good luck and thanks!

Lei'd-n-Egg

I didn'tknow chickens had balls? :laugh:

Great looking thighs. Looking forward to the official write up so I can give it a shot soon.

Mahalo
Bryan

Doug in Eggmonton

Thanks Thirdeye. That looks great, love the "downside".

Doug

Richard Fl

Nice looking dish. Would some panko on top or shake 'n bake fit into your plans?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

if myron were here i'd sk him. but he ain't, so i'll ask you.

why a round thigh? it ain't a chicken cupcake is it?
please realize, i'm asking this as a totally ingnorant skinny, pale, nasal-talking, citified yankee.

but cooking round chicken in a foil pans seems like somethin a skinny, pale, nasal-talking, citified yankee would do. :laugh:

what would happen if you cooked and served a thigh-shaped thigh? do they DQ you?

(just don't get the rationale of these contests sometimes)

Boilermaker Ben

I think I'm with you on this.
Those look chicken "balls" look pretty. They have nice color, the skin is beautiful...but they don't look like anything that would come off a chicken. At first glance, knowing there was chicken involved, I would expect that when I cut through the skin, I would find a meatball underneath.

If the flavor and texture of the finished product are superior, I'd be interested in finding out if a similar setup could be used to produce a thigh with those qualities, but that still looked like a chicken thigh.

thirdeye

I should have added the details of this cook to my write-up first, then posted some pictures. I've had a lot or requests for it....I'll get to it later today.

thirdeye

Possibly down the road .... For now, part of the perfect thigh is predictable skin. Whether it's saucy, dry or crisped up, it needs to be bite through.

Kenny 13

Well the thighs look fantastic. I have to admit that I've had the problem with getting that perfect bite through skin as well. I really think a part of my problem (not just with chicken either) has been a lack of attention to detail, and that's something I'm trying to change since I got my egg. I watched the pitmasters series and enjoyed it, and after seeing your post here I really think this cupcake pan method is worth trying.

thirdeye

One of the reasons competitors like Myron may try something like this would be presentation, uniformity between all the pieces as well as how the group would look in a comp box. Just imagine sitting at a judges table, getting to look at 6 boxes of chicken. Most will be thighs, and most will have the minimum 6 pieces in it. Let's say a box of round thighs is opened and instead of 6, maybe there will be 10 in there. All perfect in shape and color. You know it's hard enough to get 6 matching pieces in there, but 10 patching pieces might cause you to score up.




Appearance is important for me, and you have to admit they look different. But I'm also after an easy cook, even doneness, a moist & flavorful product, better than average bite through skin, and a nice presentation when they are sliced. Now get this - a bonus for me is a lower calorie thigh. Every time I do a skin scrape and remove that one huge kernel of fat hidden in thighs, I'm just blown out.

Memphistide

these look outstanding.....could you post the specifics of the cook...thanks a ton

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

i guess what i am saying (and again PLEASE understand that i maybe just don't "get it") is that if i were judging and opened the box to find ten round tennis balls of chicken, i'd wonder what part of the chicken they were, and i'd be scared sh!tless that they looked "perfect". i think they actually look synthetically perfect. like when every nugget is the same.

i'm just scratching my head. i hear how the competitors think the judges don't know anything, and yet everything is steered to please the judges, even to the point where chicken that doesn't look like chicken beats out chicken that looks like actual chicken.

thirdeye

Using the pan is not the only way to achieve good skin, but you are correct about attention to detail. Once you admit just how hard chicken is to cook well, it starts to become easier the more you pay attention to it.

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

to me, there's nothing attractive about a perfectly round thing skinned in chicken skin. they look like bladders of meat. like you said "where exactly did this come off the bird?"

and myron acting like it was a nuclear secret.

not a slam, just proving that i know absolutely nothing about how these competitions work.

it would seem just as logical to me to buy a bunch of slabs of ribs, cut out the one perfect center rib from each one, all matched to length, spackle some epoxy over the cut ends of bone to cover the unsightly marrow, lay them together shaped in a pan back into the form of an idealized rack of ribs, cook them, cut them apart, array them on a platter of greens, hire a foodstylist to finish them, and then say you cooked award winning barbecue ribs (assuming you won).

Kenny 13

Stripsteak, I have no idea what the judges at these competitions are looking for but I do know that presentation is important, whether it's a BBQ comp or restaurant, etc. People do "eat with their eyes" before they ever take a bite, and I can see how there could be something appealing about a turn in box full of uniform sized & shaped thighs. Especially if they're all cooked to the same doneness when tasted.

While they may not look like anything that came off of a chicken to us, just remember that chicken nuggets don't look like anything that came off a chicken either yet millions of them are eaten every year

thirdeye

I hear you, but judges should judge what's presented to them, not what they perceive to be the ideal example of a certain meat. Sometimes cooks are trying for a change-up just be different. You get 30 seconds or less to look and score on appearance. Once all 6 boxes are scored, then you get to score for flavor and texture.

When you see the attention to detail in those boxes, like parsley that looks like a putting green or spare ribs that have a 3 dimensional glaze on them, or the most perfect smoke ring (Oops, that is not a factor here) you wouldn't be scared of some round chicken.

All that said a couple of comp guys I know honestly don't think judges in their part of the country are ready for this.

Misippi Egger

Those look great, Wayne.

Since fat adds a lot to the flavor of meat, have you noticed any reduction of flavor by removing so much fat from your thighs?

thirdeye

This cook kind of goes hand-in-hand to bit's and pieces of other methods I use. I've already got the start of this article The Perfect thigh, and I'll be adding to it later today.

thirdeye

I've always felt that flavor in the form of seasonings, herbs, marinades, etc., can replace fat. Not all fat, but a fair amount of it. The key to many low calorie dishes is making them taste good.

I sometimes marinate chicken, but I prefer brining it. These were brined without the skin on, then the meat was seasoned, and the under side of the skin was seasoned before putting it back on. Finally a light seasoning was added atop the skin.

Even if you made a butter based injection for a real flavor bump, it might not have as many calories as the 30 to 40 grams of chicken fat removed during the prep.

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

i know we eat with our eyes, but i'm just saying i guess i am in the very small minority that thinks a chicken thigh that looks like an actual chicken thigh would be appealing. :unsure:

Kenny 13

That's why we're all different. What looks good to you might not look good to me, and vice versa. Nothing at all wrong with that. Otherwise, everyone would like all the same stuff, and that would be pretty boring.

Serial Griller

Wayne,
Thanks for sharing.I bet those boneless thighs go down like sliders.And I bet they are really moist!
Maybe i missed it but how long did you cook them in the pan before putting thm on the grate to crisp up the skin?

thirdeye

Moist on the inside and crisp on the outside. Heheee. They were in the pan for 15 or 20 minutes, but that just sets the shape and makes sure the skin stays on... they still need to be finished.

All the details have been added to the "Quest for the perfect thigh article on my site".