General Information and Rules

Eligibility:

Participants must be current 4-H members with an active enrollment status in ZSuite.

Each contestant must have passed their 14th birthday and must not have passed their 19th birthday on January 1 of the current year to participate in the contest or at the National level competition.

Rules:

Product Cooking and Sensory Evaluation

1. Each contestant will prepare four (4) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1.5-2.0 lb. total), provided them by the contest monitors. They will be evaluated during the preparation of their chicken by judges utilizing the chicken barbecue skills score sheet.
2. There will be a 2-hour time limit for the preparation and cooking of the chicken thighs. The chicken will not be available to the contestant prior to the contest starting time. The fire may not be lit until the contest starting time.
3. Chicken shall not be marinated prior to the start of the contest. Parboiling and/or deep-frying competition meat is not allowed. Contestants may not enhance chicken meat by piercing, injecting, or inserting any fluid, sauce, or additive into the chicken product other than immediately beneath the skin layer.
4. If the contestant desires, the thighs may be deboned. In addition, if deboned, seasoning or sauce may be applied to the area vacated by bone removal. Sauce or similar products can be placed in a small metal pan on the grill for heating, but the meat product may not be placed in the metal pan while on the grill.
5. Barbecue grills will be provided for all contestants, which they will be required to use. Each contestant will be assigned a cooking space and grill along with a work area of one half of an approximately 30-inch by 8-foot folding table adjacent to their grill.
6. Charcoal and lighter fuel will also be available if needed. Contestants may bring their own charcoal and lighter fuel but self-starting charcoal or automatic fire starter blocks will not be permitted.
7. Chimney-starters may be used, but such devices must be placed inside the grill before and during ignition and removed from the grill prior to the addition of the chicken for cooking. Fire is restricted to inside the provided grill. Burning materials outside the grills will be considered as a fire hazard.
8. The use of non-charcoal combustible fuel is to be limited. Accessories such as spits, augers, or forced draft are not permitted. Electricity will not be provided or cannot be used. Material may not be added to the grill area such as rocks, sand, or other dense materials to aid in cooking.
9. All other equipment and supplies, including sauce, must be furnished by the contestant. Sauce, if used, may be a commercial product or private recipe (description must be provided to judges on the recipe card to assist during flavor and appearance evaluation).
10. Contestants are expected to use a meat thermometer. Devices used for supporting, containing, or covering of meat during cooking will not be permitted; only aluminum foil wrap may be used.
11. Contestants must provide recipe or preparation outline cards describing sauce, rubs, or other treatments associated with the cooking of the chicken to include ingredients and special instructions if necessary, for food safety, relating to these ingredients such as keeping sauce ingredients either cool or heated. NOTE: Three (3) copies on note card stock, single 3-inch by 5-inch size preferred, containing these cooking instructions or recipe must be provided to judges - 2 copies to barbecue skills judges before starting the fire, and 1 copy to turn in to sensory evaluation judges with the cooked product.
12. Recipe cards need to include the following information:
1. Name of the recipe and contestant number
2. Ingredients and general cooking instructions
3. If special cooking techniques were used to achieve unique flavoring
13. Each contestant will present three (3) barbecued chicken thighs to the panel of judges at the conclusion of their cooking time on plates or containers provided.
14. Prior to the submission of the three (3) cooked chicken thighs for evaluation, contestants must demonstrate to the barbecue skills judges the criteria and methods they used to determine the proper doneness of their product at the time of turn-in. Judges may also independently evaluate the product at this time. Thighs may be presented either intact or boneless, however, all submitted thighs must be presented the same whether either intact or boneless. The contestant is to have turned in the product by the end of the stated cooking time. Contestants will be notified 15 minutes prior to the end of the cooking time. Cooking skills will be evaluated using the chicken cooking skills score sheets.
15. Each contestant will present three (3) barbecued chicken thighs to the panel of judges at the conclusion of their cooking time on plates or containers provided.
16. No garnishes, dips, or additional items shall be presented on the plates or submitted to the judges. Note that one recipe card or cooking outline card for the sensory judges must accompany the product. The product will be evaluated using the chicken sensory score sheets.

Oral Presentation

An illustrated presentation, including factual information about meat chickens will be made by each contestant (see score sheet). The participant is to demonstrate their knowledge in the following areas:

• The broiler chicken industry in the United States and its economic importance
• General food safety, including safe storage and handling of chicken (uncooked and cooked)
• Nutritional value of chicken meat and role in a balanced diet

Contestants will be allotted a maximum of 10 minutes for their presentation. Judges will have up to 3 minutes for questions directed to contestants. Questions may be related to statements made by the contestant during their presentation that the judges feel might need further explanation. No contestant will be allowed to have any form of identification as to name or state represented, including from the presentation content, posters, or from the tabletop graphics utilized during the oral presentation.

Easels will be provided. PowerPoint presentations using a computer and computer projector can be used. A Windows based laptop computer and computer projector will be available. PowerPoint will be installed on the computer and contestants should have their talk on a USB flash drive device. If a PowerPoint presentation is planned, the presentation is due in final form for submission at time of contestant briefing the evening before the contest. PowerPoint presentations are not to include audio. Order of presentation and contestant number will be determined at contest briefing.

* In case of a tie following tabulation of contestant scores, the tie scores of the top five contestants will be broken in descending order by:

• Highest score in Sensory Evaluation.
• Highest score in Oral presentation
• Highest score in Barbecue Skills portion.