4-H Chicken BBQ Cookout Contest

The 4-H Chicken BBQ Cookout Contest is a great opportunity for young people to gain an understanding of the chicken meat industry while showcasing their grilling, leadership, and presentation skills.

Who Can Participate?

Both junior (ages 8–13) and senior (ages 14–18) 4-H’ers can participate at the state level. 4-H age is determined by the contestant’s age as of January 1. No more than four contestants from a county (two juniors and two seniors) may be entered.

The winning state senior participant may advance to the National Chicken BBQ Contest at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

When and Where?

North, south, and state cookout contests will be announced by the state specialists each year.

The typical run of show is as follows (but is subject to change)

9–9:30 a.m.

Registration

10 a.m.

Contest begins

Noon

Submission deadline

12:30 p.m.

Awards

Contest Rules

It is important that contestants read the national contest rules (see the Resource section). The state contest will follow the national rules, with these exceptions:

• BBQ grills will not be provided.
• There will be no oral presentations.

National score sheets will be used for the state contest.

• Cooking skills = 70 points
• Sensory evaluation = 80 points
• Total overall = 150 points

Items Provided by Contest Staff

• Four chicken thighs for each contestant
• Lighter
• Lighter fluid
• Charcoal
• Container and aluminum foil for chicken presentation to judges

Items Provided by Contestants

• Grill (no sharing is allowed)
  • The recommended grill is the Americana Walk-A-Bout charcoal grill.
  • No gas or electric grills are allowed. Charcoal only.
• Table to prepare meat for the grill. Contestants are allowed to dress up their table with a theme.
• Sauce ingredients (if desired)
• Recipe cards
  • Contestants should provide the judges with three copies of the recipe.
  • If a sauce is used, provide the recipe and sauce ingredients.
• Thermometer
• Completed Form 166 for contest staff

Contestants will use their grilling skills to prepare four bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs within the 2-hour time limit. A warning will be given when 15 minutes remain in the contest.

Contestants will present three of the four chicken thighs to the judges at the conclusion of cooking.

Contestants will be evaluated on their grilling skills and will be asked questions by the judges, such as about the processes and techniques they used to prepare their meat or how they determined the proper doneness of the product.

The three submitted thighs must be consistent—all three bone-in or all three boneless. No garnishes, sauces, or additional items are allowed on the submission plate.

No assistance is allowed. Cell phones or other electronic communication devices are not permitted during the contest.

All steps will begin after the start of the contest:

• Preparing the grill
• Lighting the fire
• Distributing the chicken for grilling (marination before the contest starts is not allowed)

Not Allowed

• Parboiling. Do not place the meat inside a metal pan while on the grill. Meat must be directly on the grill.
• Deep-frying
• Enhancing meat by piercing, injecting, or inserting any fluid, sauce, or additive into the meat except for directly beneath the skin layer
• Self-starting charcoal or automatic fire-starter blocks
• Any ignition of fire outside of the grill (this is a fire hazard)
• Excessive non-charcoal combustible fuel
• Spits, augers, or forced draft
• Electricity
• Rocks, sand, or other dense material
• Visible labels. If a commercial sauce is used, cover the label.
• Any devices to support, contain, or cover the meat during cooking

Allowed

• Deboning the thighs. Seasoning and/or sauce may be inserted in the area where the bone was removed; however, it may not be injected into the meat.
• Heating the sauce on the grill. Do not put the meat in the pan. Only the sauce may be heated in the pan on the grill.
• Using your own charcoal and lighter fluid; however, self-starting charcoal or automatic fire-starter blocks are not allowed.
• Using chimney-starters; however, contestants are not allowed to burn materials outside the grill, so chimney-starters must be ignited inside the grill and removed before grilling the chicken.
• Using a commercial sauce or homemade sauce. If homemade, you must provide the sauce ingredients to the judges.

Recipes

Recipes must include the following information:

• Contestant’s first and last names
• Contestant’s age division (junior or senior)
• Contestant’s county
• Sauce ingredients
• Ingredients added to the turkey meat
• Cooking instructions (consider special cooking techniques)

Awards

Judges will award all contestants blue, red, or white ribbons based on their level of excellence. The senior state winner will advance to the national contest.

State Contest

1st place $75 & a trophy

2nd place $50

3rd place $25

North and South Contests

1st place $50 & a trophy

2nd place $30

3rd place $20

Resource

https://national4hpoultry.ca.uky.edu/content/chicken-barbecue

Judge’s Score Card Sample

Contestant No. _______ Judge’s Initials _______ Date _______

State 4-H Chicken BBQ Sensory Evaluation

Criteria (Circle appropriate statement.)	Points Scored	Comments
Appearance (point value 15) Color: (too light, moderate, too dark) Uniformity: (not uniform, moderate, uniform) Burnt or blacked: (severe, moderate, none) Speckled with ash: (severe, moderate, none) Skin or surface tear: (severe, moderate, none)
Degree of Doneness (point value 20) All thighs: (undercooked, done, overcooked) Certain pieces: (undercooked, done, overcooked) Note: If the product handed in is severely undercooked and the judges deem it unsafe to eat, and/or judges observe food safety concerns, sensory evaluation will end here, and zeros will be given to the remaining categories.
Texture (point value 15) Texture: (tough, chewy, tender, mushy) Rubbery: (much, moderate, none) Juiciness: (dry, moist, wet)
Flavors (point value 25) Chicken: (poor, moderate, good, excellent) Sauce: (too strong, OK, weak, none) Off flavor: (too strong, OK, weak, none) BBQ flavor achieved: (none, weak, excellent, excessive)
After Taste (point value 5) (strong, moderate, weak, none)
TOTAL POINTS (80 possible)

Contestant No. _______ Judge’s Initials _______ Date _______

State 4-H Chicken BBQ Cooking Skills

Criteria (Check or circle appropriate statement.)	Points Scored	Comments
Equipment and Utensils (point value 5) Practical? ___ Efficient? ___ Complicated? ___ Timely? ___ Appropriately arranged? ___ Cleanup of work area and equipment? ___ Contestant furnished appropriate recipe card? (yes, no)
Appearance and Cleanliness (point value 5) Person and equipment: Initially: (inappropriate, marginal, appropriate) While cooking: (inappropriate, marginal, appropriate) Apron/Attire: (inappropriate, marginal, appropriate)
Starting Fire (point value 10) Was skill demonstrated in starting fire? (yes, no) Was method of lighting safe? (yes, no) Was extra fuel needed to start fire? (yes, no)
Controlling Fire (point value 15) Was skill demonstrated in controlling fire? (yes, no) Was there excessive smoke or flames? (yes, no) Fire and heat control: (too hot, appropriate, too cool) Excessive heat required control measures? (yes, no) Excessive ash dust stirred up? (yes, no, NA) Was charcoal added properly? (yes, no, NA)
Preparing Chicken for Cooking (point value 10) Demonstrated overall food handling skills? (yes, no) Safe use of utensils? (yes, no) Handling uncooked product: (inappropriate, marginal, appropriate)
Skills in Barbecuing (point value 25) Was chicken turned to prevent burning? (yes, no) Was product torn or stuck to grill? (yes, no) Was sauce uniformly applied? (yes, no) Was excessive charcoal used? (yes, no) Were food safety issues observed (cleanliness, contamination, handling, checking for doneness)? (yes, no)
TOTAL POINTS (70 possible)

---

The information given here is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products, trade names, or suppliers are made with the understanding that no endorsement is implied and that no discrimination against other products or suppliers is intended.

Publication 4038 (POD-10-24)

By Tannah Christensen, Extension Instructor, Poultry Science.