knowing thighs are "done"

H

HorseFly

Guest
I'll be smoking/grilling chicken thighs tomorrow, about thirty of them so the grill will be full, even stacked here and there. I plan on indirect heat using mostly hickory with some cherry wood, and I plan on staying a little over 300 degrees for an hour and a half to two hours. At this point I will be wondering if they are thoroughly cooked, since I feel my first job is to not kill my guests. My instant read thermometers just don't work very well. I think I will get some of those disposable poultry thermometers. Anyone know how well those work?
 
I am not sure about how they work. I am pretty new to the forum, But I would love some information on this myself.
 
Those pop up thermometers are really not very accurate. Check out the accuracy of your instant read thermometers by immersing the stem in boiling water.
 
if the skin ain't right, they ain't done yet. you might plan for closer to 3 or 3.5 hours, assuming you are indirect smoking. you can take chicken thighs way past 180 and they will still be juicy. after 180, you are cooking to texture and rendering more fat. with that full a load, rotate the grid 180 degrees at least once. you are going to get a lot of fat dripping off that many thighs. for me, hickory is too strong a smoke for chicken and i use only cherry and lump charcoal, but that's me. :biggrin:
 
Slide a toothpick between the bone and the meat. If it goes in easy it's done, if not cook the sucker some more!
 
"Bone in or boneless?"
Bone in.
Thanks guys. All this helps a lot.
 
I would urge you to find a way to not overcrowd them, they will cook a lot better with at least some space around them. And I cook to 165 and foil while the chicken rests. 165 at the bone, it will not be pink. I never use the poultry pop-ups.
 
Saiko said:
Won't you still have some blood around the bone at 165?
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It's been my experience that at 165-170 at the bone there shouldn't be any blood or pink left. Unless the bird was near frozen it shouldn't be a problem.
 
This is just MHO. I like my chicken fall off the bone. I can get that and still have them moist and tender by cooking them around 225 - 250 for 3 to 3.5 hours. Some can get them done in a hour but you will get a different texture and flavor that way. I will kick up the heat at the end to tighten the skin up.

All that said to answer your question if you are cooking to temperature get yourself a good instant read thermo. I use one but I tend to cook my chicken by feel more than temp. I am always way over temp where most pull thier chicken like in the 175 to 180 range so I don't worry about it.

As an example my wife loves to oven roast chicken. You want to pull that at around 150 - 160 and cook it around 350. Go to a great Jamaican place and get some Jerk chicken. Jamaicans cook their chicken very well done. Then try going low and slow for a few hours and see how the texture changes. It's all good just different.

As stated before use lighter woods like cherry or pecan. Chicken can get over powered quickly. Less is more. Hope this helps.
 
I run my thighs to 180 or above to make sure there done.

I do several hundred pounds of chicken per year, im no expert but we bake it in ovens and do halfs over charcoal.
 
I cook at 250* till they are 180* internal. Usually 3 - 3&1/2 hours.
 
Rick's Tropical Delight said:
....for me, hickory is too strong a smoke for chicken and i use only cherry and lump charcoal, but that's me. :biggrin:
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I fully agree here. Hickory is great, but use it in moderation, especially with chicken. I just did a batch of thighs and got a little too much hickory in the mix and it was definitely noticeable. Cherry, Apple or another fruit wood would be better to use as the majority of your smoke. Using 25% Hickory and 75% Fruit wood would make a nice mixture. [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
There are 2 opinions to think about. Your opinion when you think the chicken is ready, and the people being served also have an opinion. Smoked chicken often gets very little color change. I have had chicken that the bones are falling out of---and someone in the food line complaining that the chicken is still pink. I tend to overcook chicken when serving the public---just for insurance. I try to run all chicken thru the hot spot on the smoker before serving----it browns up the color.
 
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