Chicken Thigh Skin strategies

Stachel · Sep 8, 2006

Have a question about a skin technique described in a thread on Chicken Thighs in the competitive forum:

Here are the 2 related posts from the thread started by Jeff in KC:

jminion said:
Jeff I cook thighs at 250 or slightly higher, they stay on till I get the color I want, the internal normally will range from 170 to 175. At that point they go into a pan of sauce skin down for about one hour. During this part of the cook the skin tenderizes (not crispy). They come out of the pan of sauce and go back onto the grates to set the glaze.
The sauce is a mixture of sauce, some hot sauce, honey, cayenne, pineapple juice and a couple of pats of butter.
You end up with great looking skin that is nice and shinny. The skin you can get a clean bite without having to crisp it up.

The_Kapn said:
Jeff, Jim's recipe is very similar to what Chad and I do now.
It will score well if done correctly.
But, Jim has done this for years and we have for over a year.
This type of cooking technique has many variables.
Easy to get unreliable results till you "work up to it" and develop your own version and reliability. You will die in Comp if you are not consistant

May I suggest you establish a "base-line" of taste and texture, then move forward in complexity as you learn?
Thighs are cheap, cook times are short, and they are predictable. Easy to practice, even after "work"!

Try this to start:
Marinade some thighs in Italian Dressing for 3 hours.
Put the WSM at 240-260 degrees using KingsFord and some small wood chunks. Pecan, Oak, Cherry, Apple, and other small chunks all work fine.

Put the Chickie Thighs on the grate, skin side up, and cook for 3 hours at 240-260. Or use 275-300 for 2.5 hours. It don't matter.

Leave the darn lid closed--do not peek--do not spray--do not mop--do not go off and do other things and ignore the temp

At 3 hours (or 2.5 hours)--remove the thighs carefully (do not mess up the skin--use the sides to lift).
Apply a light coat of your favorite sauce and let sit for 15 minutes.

Sample and enjoy

We have placed well in highly competetive fields doing nothing more that this!
Now, we are doing the more complex panning technique and using advanced flavors.
But, this is to "move up" a point or two--not to get a basic product started
And, as it gets more complex, it gets easier to screw up--believe me

Do it simple--get a base line taste and texture--then modify one item at a time till you get where you want to go
FWIW.

TIM

Why do you take the thighs off the grate when putting the sauce on the skin?

jminion>> At that point they go into a pan of sauce skin down for about one hour.

TheKapn >> At 3 hours (or 2.5 hours)--remove the thighs carefully (do not mess up the skin--use the sides to lift). Apply a light coat of your favorite sauce and let sit for 15 minutes.

Do you do this to... prevent burning the sauce onto the skin?
or...
To stop the thighs from cooking?

jminion, where is your pan for that hour? Under foil at room temp?

Kirk · Sep 8, 2006

I can't answer for Tim but with Jim's method the pan stays in the smoker for the hour that the thighs are in the sauce. They go on the grate until the color's right, then they take a bath in the sauce for an hour, then they go back on the grate to finish.

The_Kapn · Sep 8, 2006

TheKapn >> At 3 hours (or 2.5 hours)--remove the thighs carefully (do not mess up the skin--use the sides to lift). Apply a light coat of your favorite sauce and let sit for 15 minutes.

Poorly worded, my fault.
The 15 minutes, or whatever time you use, is back in the heat.
Not sitting out on a counter as implied.
Sorry bout that :redface:

We have also moved the heat up--300 or a bit above.

TIM

Chicken Thigh Skin strategies

Stachel

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