How does skin on Chicken impact scores?

9/5/2012

Question

Got great feedback from my 1st question, so here's another! When going for taste & tenderness on chicken, How does the skin factor if it is bite threw or comes off in one piece?

Scott Hayes
Competition Cook & Contest Organizer
Fort Mohave, AZ

Paul/CBJ/KCBS

9/5/2012 12:51:13 pm

definitely want it to bite through, as typically a skin that comes off in the bit creates a mess, is rubbery or leathery. As such, leather and rubber is not an ideal type of tenderness adjective, so it directly impacts the score.

Skin is not required, mind you.

Well-cooked skin that bites through without being thickly fatty will contribute an additional chicken flavor to the overal taste and (if not gobbed with sauce) can help enhance your taste score.

Scraping the skin can help thin it out, but you have to remember to replace that fat for fat's sake - need something to soften up the skin. A healthy dab of butter on top of the skin can help with adding fat back in without fatty deposits. Try putting it on thin skin after you're done applying your smoke and heating it up to temperature, sprinkle a tiny bit of rub on top of that and then you're cooking!

At least, in my opinion.

Dan

9/5/2012 01:02:59 pm

skin being bite through or not is strictly a tenderness thing to me. If it's chewy, but still tastes great, it won't hurt my taste grade. But there are few things more unpleasant than trying to take a bite of chicken, and coming away with a greasy, rubbery hunk of skin draped over your chin. That would negatively impact my tenderness score

Bill/CBJ/KCBS

9/5/2012 01:15:13 pm

I want bite through skin, but most of my texture score on bird is whether it was cooked too little or too much, and usually if I give a 9 on texture it is all the above. The bite through skin doesn't change my taste score though, all that matters there is the flavor you are giving me.

John/CBJ/KCBS

9/5/2012 01:38:24 pm

Bite through will definitely improve your score with me.
A bunch of good pointers above on how to get there.
Good Luck.

Ike, CBJ/KCBS

9/5/2012 02:05:30 pm

In the perfect world all of the chicken skin would be bite through. For me personally, I focus on the meat, because afterall that is what I feel I should be judging. If the skin does come off in one bite I just focus on the taste and tenderness of the meat and whether it is cooked properly.

David/KCBS CBJ

9/5/2012 02:06:01 pm

This is the way I handle the "skin" question re chicken. KCBS doesn't teach this, this is simply how I handle it. KCBS does teach us that we are supposed to try everything in the box because the cook wouldn't have included it if he didn't want to be judged on it. Chicken with skin is not required; skinless chicken is ok. So if he uses chicken with skin, it affects the score. Bite through skin will probably get you another point, where rubbery skin or skin that comes off in one piece will get you a point deducted. Skinless chicken doesn't hurt or help you either way in my book. So the rewards of skin may be great...but so can the penalties.

Bob

9/5/2012 02:13:12 pm

I want to bite through the skin and prefer chicken with skin over skin-less or muffin chicken. If the skin is cooked completely and can be cut through with minimum effort with my teeth, the meat is almost always completely cooked (to my taste. Military chicken is NOT completely cooked unless it is canned and I paid my dues. I am real critical with chicken taste and tenderness, but I give quite a few 9's.

Mike cannon

9/5/2012 02:18:09 pm

Bite-thru skin is not that important to me. I am more concerned with the tenderness/texture of the meat. Would you eat the skin by itself?

Ron Haag

9/5/2012 02:45:54 pm

I would much rather have bite threw skin. Hate
Having the skin fall down on my chin or have the meat fall out and be left holding the skin

Tom - CBJ w/ KCBS, MBN, NCPC & comp cook

9/5/2012 02:50:00 pm

If presented with chicken with skin on (not required per KCBS rules), then it will be judged accordingly. Bite through is essential for tenderness score, not only for the initial bite, but for the chewing of the skin with the meat. I've never encountered skin that was NOT bite-through and yet was tender to chew.
Taste scores are based on flavor and NOT on whether I can bite through the skin or not.

Dick-MCBJ/CTC

9/5/2012 07:11:42 pm

Scott, As we know the skin is not required, but I prefer the chicken with the skin on. I would have to ask "how would we view chicken served in a restaurant without the skin?" If the skin is bite-thru my tenderness score will be a seven plus. I also do not like chicken where the skin has been previously removed, replaced and when I attempt to take a bite the entire skin comes off with the bite. Experienced cooks know how to replace the skin and keep it attached. I have heard a rep tell judges that since the chicken can be presented with or without the skin the judges are not to judge the skin tenderness. This is incorrect. If you are going to leave the skin on it must be tender and we must be able to take a bite and get a bite size piece of skin along with the same size bite of chicken.

Mike S.; KCBS MCBJ &,BBQ-Brethren RJ

9/5/2012 10:03:31 pm

If you are going to include the skin, then the judge should be able to bite through it. The more difficult it is to bite through, I may reduce the overall tenderness by one point.

If it comes off in one piece, I will definitely reduce the overall tenderness score by one point. Since most of the seasoning is on the skin, and it comes off in one piece, then usually that will effect your score in taste; unless the cook seasoned under the skin, and I am able to pick up some flavor on my second bite.

Doc Kenneson, KCBS CBJ, Chef link

9/5/2012 11:45:29 pm

If the skin is not bite through, I will downgrade by 1 to 2 points depending on how rubbery it is. The are steps that a cook can take to ensure bite through skin, every single time.

Bill cbj kcbs

9/5/2012 11:49:02 pm

Bite through skin is definitely a plus but not the sole factor. I am more interested in how well the meat was prepared. On the other hand though, if it is like chewing a rubber band and you finally either swallow it whole or spit it out, I do count down for that.

buzz--cook-cbj

9/6/2012 01:08:14 am

even non bite thru skin can be ok and not affect my scoring but when the skin is a big chewy hunk of goodyear inspired rubber that slaps my forehead on the way to a taste the score will be adjusted accordingly!

Tom

11/14/2012 11:06:19 pm

Are you taking a bite of chicken standing on your head??? How else can the skin "slap" your FOREHEAD???

Deb KCBS MCBJ/CTC

9/6/2012 01:11:53 am

Scott-
It really doesn't matter to me whether the cook presents the chicken with or without the skin. Bite-through skin is very important and definately affects the tenderness score (either up or down). Cooked chicken skin can either be great or simply awful. There is nothing worse than taking a healthy bite and having the whole skin come off (and be decorating your chin!), or be so rubbery that you have a hard time chewing it.

Ed KCBS MCBJ

9/6/2012 02:02:40 am

Being able to bite through skin is nearly mandatory. I don't mean leaving a half circle bite mark, just being able to bite through it.
There is NOTHING worse than taking a bite of screaming hot chicken and having the whole skin slide off and slap you right in the chin!
Remember KCBS strongly urges the judge to taste the skin, so it is a important part of your score.

Frank CBJ

9/6/2012 02:19:14 am

If presented with skin I will judge accordingly. If the skin is not "bite-through" I drop a point off the tenderness score. If the skin is tough and I need a knife to cut through it (rare in my experience) I will drop another point from the tenderness score. As many have mentioned, skin is not required. I have given a skinless breast 9s in appearance, tenderness, and taste. That said, an attractive thigh with bite-through skin is probably the preferred presentation by quite a few judges.

I can't say that the skin itself has impacted my taste scores. There would have had to have been an off flavor in the skin for the skin to have impacted the taste score. That said, if the rub/sauce was solely on the skin and it came off, it would be dificult to capture the entire flavor profile the cook was trying to achieve - this would impact the taste score.

Kev B \ KCBS CBJ

9/6/2012 04:35:12 am

If the chicken has skin on it and its not bite through I almost always score it a 7 or below on tenderness. If it is bite through then it usually gets 8 or 9 in tenderness. If your chicken does not have skin on it then I have other ways of judging for tenderness. But when you do not have skin on your chicken it makes me thing you took easy way out.

Jim H

9/6/2012 06:39:42 am

It is so difficult to get the skin "perfect" (as some define) where it is bite-through but not chewy! It if is in that condition, I am impressed and it does affect my; however, if it isn't like that, it's not an automatic detraction. It depends on other factors. So, bite-through skin can affect the scoring, but won't always be a main factor.

Gary H. KCBS mcbj / cook

9/6/2012 09:52:27 am

Bite through skin will not impact a taste score, but will bring an otherwise 9 to an 8, or 7 to a 6 for me in Tenderness. As a judge and a cook, I know it is imperative to achieve the perfect bite through skin on an entry.

Dermal fillers perth link

10/24/2012 11:31:22 pm

You start a great topic for skin care discussion and the things which is directly related with the benefits of the eating chicken. I think it is best source of protein which helps to our skin healthy.

Brett Osborne link

12/23/2012 04:23:05 am

Excellent chicken cooked with/without skin. Which gets best score? So would it be better to leave skin off?
Appreciate the comments and feed back!

Paul/CBJ/KCBS

1/16/2013 02:53:17 am

Brett,

The point is that either method can earn a 9-9-9.

If you have difficulty making the skin awesome, then go skinless or refine your technique.

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