Why are my birds always so black skinned

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cmwr

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How come every chicken or yesterdays turkey are always so black on the skin instead of golden brown like all the others I see? They are always juicy and flavorful. The injection is doing it's stuff. But they look so burnt in appearance. I don't get it. This is yesterdays turkey and everyone loved it. It was juicy. But it looked burnt and charred. :confused:

 
Once I got the temp where it needed to be (you can search my original post from yesterday) I was able to cook around 300-350. But I am not sure how accuracte me weber thermometer is. Bottom line is too hot and too fast or too low and too slow the culprit?
 
I was always afraid when I first built a UDS that having the meat right over the top of the fire would do this sort of stuff. One wing was good and one wing was like a potato chip but the breast and thighs were juicy as could be.
 
I will say my wireless meat thermometer and my weber digital do not agree. My handheld said the meat was at 159. I had the probe in a drumstick not touching a bone. Good thing I checked when I did my weber said it was 180+ everywhere I probed (breast thigh ect). I was worried but still when I cut the bird juice rolled out. I am still learning how to measure temps and it is tricky. I learned from a member yesterday that I had to add 50 degrees on cause my weber digital was measuring near the drum wall not the center.

Sorry for all the posts. I keep thinking of stuff to say after I post lol. Lots of good advice here!!!
 
I have not read Your previous post but if I run My keg that hot for a complete cook and have a rub that is high in sugar content I get a much darker product . I believe if You lower the temp about 50 degrees and or adjust Your rub You will obtain the lighter bark .
 
ncstan said:
I have not read Your previous post but if I run My keg that hot for a complete cook and have a rub that is high in sugar content I get a much darker product . I believe if You lower the temp about 50 degrees and or adjust Your rub You will obtain the lighter bark .
Click to expand...


Ah ha Ok now we are getting somewhere....:doh: I always used a KC style rub I whip up which is alot of brown sugar.. Would that do it even if it is just sprinkled over the skin but rubbed under the skin?


I was advised by many here to cook a bird around 325 to 350 instead of below 300. Go for the hotter faster approach on poultry instead of the low n slow
 
From what you are saying you have a rub with high sugar content. If you have high sugar content and cooking at 325-350 degrees the sugars will burn which is why you will get a black skin. One way to help avoid this is to cut back on your sugar, or use cheese cloth or foil over the bird once it gets to the nice golden brown color you are looking for.
 
Sugar turns a lot darker when cooked at high temps. You can still get good skin texture at 275 -300 max and avoid darker colors of meat . That being said some prefer dark bark but not Me .
 
UDS i'm thinking a combination of two things... One is when i cooked at 400 degrees my birds were a little darker but still good which means your gauges could be off.

Secondly sometimes if you don't have adequate exhaust the smoke/drippings get trapped around the bird which contributes to the dark.
 
Oh yea sugar in the rub is another contributor at high heats. I don't ever use sugary rubs on birds except toward the end of the cook if i'm putting sauce on.
 
Dang that bird looks like a meteor lol! Sorry man couldnt resist.

Looks like a classic case of burnt sugar to my eyes. Try ditching the sugar altogether and use a simple SPOG rub instead and keep your temps as is and you'll be good to go.
 
Well guys that I believe solves it then. All my birds have had a beer/butter/onion,seasoned injection so thats why the meat has always been so juicy. But they have also always had this rub on them. I think the simple solution is to find another rub. I am not 100% sold on this rub. My favorite Texas style rub has much less sugar but everyone in the family thinks it is too dang spicy grrrrr lol.
 
J-Rod said:
Dang that bird looks like a meteor lol! Sorry man couldnt resist.

Looks like a classic case of burnt sugar to my eyes. Try ditching the sugar altogether and use a simple SPOG rub instead and keep your temps as is and you'll be good to go.
Click to expand...


Yep. I posted right after you did.
 
cmwr said:
Well guys that I believe solves it then. All my birds have had a beer/butter/onion,seasoned injection so thats why the meat has always been so juicy. But they have also always had this rub on them. I think the simple solution is to find another rub. I am not 100% sold on this rub. My favorite Texas style rub has much less sugar but everyone in the family thinks it is too dang spicy grrrrr lol.
Click to expand...

Try a simple homemade rub that is inexpensive to make.

Here is what I use on my poultry when I want to taste more roasted than bbq. I rub butter between the skin and the meat, and then apply the rub between the skin and the meat. Then lightly sprinkle the rub over the skin of the meat. Be careful to not over rub the bird as you don't want it to be too salty.

By Weight
1 part Table Salt
1/2 part Fine ground pepper
1/2 part Dried Thyme
1/2 part chopped dried Rosemary
1/2 part Granulated Garlic powder
1/2 part Onion powder

I also bolster the aromatics by roasting with fresh thyme and rosemary inside of the cavity of the bird.
 
I believe sugar starts to turn amber around 320*. It starts to brown around 340* and burns at 350*. You might try switching from brown sugar to turbinado sugar, lowering your temps to 325* and tenting with foil when it starts to turn golden. Just be sure to keep an accurate temp on your IT for safety.
 
To much smoke will make 'em look like coal miners at midnight and to many drippings hitting the fire will too. Turkeys at least every one I ever cooked gave off a plenty of 'em, good reason to do whole birds in a pan.I usually break mine down to white & dark meat( no segregation jokes)since they cook at different rates and finish at different temps.
If you take aawas rub and mix it in a cup or so of mayo and paint it on a dry bird skin it'll make you a buzzard rockstar.
 
It isn't just the sugar in the rub. Too much rub - think shake and bake layer- can also do this. On pork butts and everything. Medium layer so you can still see the meat is the way i've learned to do it now.

I did a bird last year with just kosher salt and course pepper like Franklin does in hisbPBS his pbe video and loved it. I'll hopefully be doing another next weekend. I don't like BBQ rubs on poultry. I like traditional. Give it a shot.
 
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