TxQGuy
Full Fledged Farker
Hey y'all. I have been doing a LOT of vertical grilled whole chickens lately. My father-in-law absolutely loves them, swears it's the best chicken he has ever had. Cooking up a chicken or two on a Sunday for my FIL to take home for the week is a way for me to play with my pit/enjoy a few beers with not only permission from, but the express full-on blessing of my dear wife. :clap2: Naturally, I do this as often as possible, and both she and I ignore the fact that she is, and always will be, much smarter than me and fully aware of what I am up to. :laugh:
I won't say I've perfected it, because that would be untrue and boring and not allow me to keep spending money and time on new rubs, techniques, and BBQ Brethren threads. But I will say my chicken is pretty darn good. Anyhow, the process for me is pretty simple. Dry brine the bird overnight, then prop it up vertically and indirect grill it for around 90 minutes to temp. It turns out juicy, tender, and with a deep smoke flavor from the mesquite/apple chunks.
But, in the interest of refining technique (and because we eat with our eyes first), I have become unsatisfied with the appearance of these birds. The skin on the breast side in particular sometimes shrivels up, exposing the meat. And now and again, despite me putting little foil "booties" on both the drumsticks and wingtips, the tips of both will kinda get a bit too crispy.
Observe, dear Brethren.
Here we have one standard chicken. He has been taken from the comfort of his home in the meat section of H-E-B, dry brined, dressed in foil booties, and placed upon my Old Smokey in a standard 2-zone grilling configuration for your consideration. So far, so good:
After almost an hour, we are coming along very nicely. Nice color, that skin is looking pretty tasty! Been basting it every 20 minutes or so with some garlic butter, because garlic butter makes everything better:
Nooooooo! What could once be described as "gorgeous" or "purdy" is now in the dreaded "well, he has a really nice personality" territory. The skin has split, and that far side wing is a crispy critter. :doh:
I thought I controlled the temp fairly well...running a medium-hot fire with no flares that I could see. Is this just a matter of cooking too hot? How can I prevent this from happening? It doesn't happen every time, but this is like the third or fourth time and I don't like it! Any suggestions?
I won't say I've perfected it, because that would be untrue and boring and not allow me to keep spending money and time on new rubs, techniques, and BBQ Brethren threads. But I will say my chicken is pretty darn good. Anyhow, the process for me is pretty simple. Dry brine the bird overnight, then prop it up vertically and indirect grill it for around 90 minutes to temp. It turns out juicy, tender, and with a deep smoke flavor from the mesquite/apple chunks.
But, in the interest of refining technique (and because we eat with our eyes first), I have become unsatisfied with the appearance of these birds. The skin on the breast side in particular sometimes shrivels up, exposing the meat. And now and again, despite me putting little foil "booties" on both the drumsticks and wingtips, the tips of both will kinda get a bit too crispy.
Observe, dear Brethren.
Here we have one standard chicken. He has been taken from the comfort of his home in the meat section of H-E-B, dry brined, dressed in foil booties, and placed upon my Old Smokey in a standard 2-zone grilling configuration for your consideration. So far, so good:
After almost an hour, we are coming along very nicely. Nice color, that skin is looking pretty tasty! Been basting it every 20 minutes or so with some garlic butter, because garlic butter makes everything better:
Nooooooo! What could once be described as "gorgeous" or "purdy" is now in the dreaded "well, he has a really nice personality" territory. The skin has split, and that far side wing is a crispy critter. :doh:
I thought I controlled the temp fairly well...running a medium-hot fire with no flares that I could see. Is this just a matter of cooking too hot? How can I prevent this from happening? It doesn't happen every time, but this is like the third or fourth time and I don't like it! Any suggestions?
