Chicken Skin methods

bigabyte

bigabyte

somebody shut me the fark up.
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I have been doing some searching and thought I would check and see if anyone had any other suggestions than these. I just want to know in a nutshell all of the different recommendations for crispy, or tender bite-through chicken skin.

Here's the variations I have so far:

1. High heat cooking (say 350)
2. Low heat cooking with bastes of oil, butter or mayonnaise
3. Low heat cooking then finishing on a grill
4. Low heat cooking, then sauced and kept warm in foil tent for an hour

I have also heard about drying the skin before cooking it. I'm not sure how you would safely do that, especially if you brine then chicken. Anybody have thoughts on that?
 
Number 3 for me...I cook 'em low n slow...then crisp 'em up on the grill!

JD:mrgreen:
 
All my chickens cook at 350, and have great skin. Of course, my chickens are usually judged by family. :wink:
 
2 and 4 will get you rubber skin, 3 COULD get you burnt skin (it wasn't my fault!) 1 is the best way to get that crisp skin we all long for.........:rolleyes:
 
I used to rub my chicken with peanut oil until I tried a few side by side comparisons. From my results, the oil does absolutely nothing beneficial to the chicken when cooked on a low temp smoker. I think the only solution is to smoke at a higher temp or grill for the crispy skin.

I agree with BBQ Bubba that the only way is to smoke at a higher temp or grill with extra diligence against burning.
 
Bbq Bubba said:
2 and 4 will get you rubber skin, 3 COULD get you burnt skin (it wasn't my fault!) 1 is the best way to get that crisp skin we all long for.........:rolleyes:
Click to expand...


yada,yada,yada....lol. That's your story and your sticking to it....:mrgreen::biggrin::mrgreen:
 
I'm all about the high temps with my chicken, 350-400 range. Sometimes I'll use a coating of veg/canola oil on the skin, but have skipped that step and also received excellent results on the skin. Poking some holes in the fatty deposits in the skin really helps in the crisping department.
 
I am a #3 guy, but I have found that the more fat you can get to cook off in the smoker, the less likelihood there is of burning the skin.
 
#5. Smoke an hour, tin & foil another hour and dunk into warm sauce and let set. I turn-in bite through skin and place pretty well.
 
We smoke our chicken on the top rack somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 and have always come out nice and crispy. Took a second and third this year with doing it this way.
 
bigabyte said:
I have also heard about drying the skin before cooking it. I'm not sure how you would safely do that, especially if you brine then chicken. Anybody have thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Always brine either in the fridge or a cooler with ice at below 40 F.

Take the chicken out of the brine, dry the outside with paper towels, then put the chicken on a cooling rack on a tray or pan, return it to the fridge and allow it to air dry.

As it air drys it will form a layer, (or [SIZE=-1]pellicle), if you have the time give it at least 4 hours drying time, (or over night).[/SIZE]
 
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