Crispy Skin

I don't remember any comp judges stating a dislike for crispy skin on chicken.Now,many cooks carried small Weber grills just to quick cook chicken that has crispy skin and grill marks.

Now some of them carry FEPG s for the same reason.

Take that thigh that has crispy skin and put it in a 9x9 foam clam shell and close the lid for 20 minutes. Take that thigh out and taste that crispy skin know, you will have your answer.

I've sat with judges who remove the skin simply because they don't care to eat it.

I'm with you Padre, crispy, well rendered chicken or turkey skin is da bomb.

Maybe I am just confused. I am reading blogs about competitions and turn ins and what people are trying to achieve with "bite through skin." To me, bite through skin, has the consistency of well...skin. Yuck.

I think I understand what you mean Cal. So, it's not going to be crispy anymore after sitting in a clam shell? I just see so many teams taking a lot of time to prepare that skin. For a judge to remove it seems a waste. I think I will go to a couple of competitions and see if I can have everybody's skin...."You gonna eat that?"

Max,

Removing the skin by judges is one of the problems with judges these days. Judging rules state that you will eat what is presented to you which includes the skin!!! But the reps are not enforcing this.

EXACTLY RibDog!

I'm far from a chicken expert, but what I've found that works for me is getting the skin to bite through as if there is no tug, but leaving the fat underneath to render...fat is flavor.

My best scores are when the skin is soft and the chicken has beads of melted fat on the chicken surface. It does require some practice.

If you are serious about doing some comp cooking, you need to go judge some contests,IMHO!

Soft Skin? I mean how is that desirable. I don't get it. I would love to judge some competitions.

When you walk into a restuarant and you order chicken, do you say.."I will take the chicken, and make sure that skin is soft!!!"" MMM. Not.

It's starting to sound to me like perhaps the Judges just want to get through the skin and into the meat without getting a whole mouth full of skin. I guess. I eat my chicken skin first. And If I have seconds it's only because I want more skin! HAHA. Love the conversation guys. I really do find it interesting.

Padre. Cal may have a point with the crispy skin softening in the turn in box. Crispier skin is the best and that's why I finish my birds on the grill.

I look at it like this. 1) Rubber skin-->2) Bite thru skin--3) Crispy skin. 2 better than 1. 3 better than 2. 1 no good.

More than once while judging a KCBS comp I have taken a bite of a chicken thigh and had the entire skin come off. This is usually crispy skin.

I chew and chew to get it down my gullet, not wanting to influence (or gross out) the other judges by spitting the excess skin in to a paper towel.

I am a big fan of crispy poultry skin, but I prefer bite through when judging a comp.

I have judged about a dozen KCBS contests. (Including last week where our favorite butcher David Bouska won GC out of 68 teams!) Reps do often remind us we must taste the skin, even if we discreetly spit it out. There is no rule for "bite through" chicken skin. But as a practical matter, I don't want to have to fight it either.

So if a comp cook can achieve bite through crispy skin, is that the holy grail of chicken turn ins?

But if it's impossible to keep a skin crispy in a clam shell? It's a losing battle?

Hmm, besides brisket, it sounds like Chicken might be the toughest thing to get right in a competition.

Bite through may be the best you can hope for.

Agreed Pags....which is why many teams painstakingly scrape the fat off the skin and use Transglutaminase (meat glue) to adhere it to the meat.

Jacardi the hell out of the skin then glue it back on the chicken. While the skin still may get soft, the jacardi holes help with the bite thru