whats the secreat to bite thru skin on chicken?

[Captain P.J.]

How long do you boil it?

At home I tried the pickled pig process first and liked it. You can pretty much just follow the directions there... :thumb:

 

[rookiedad]

when using a disposable razor for shaving the fat out of the chicken skin, be sure to remove the lubrication strip.

 

[thirdeye]

Steve, is this better than marinating in Italian dressing overnight? I've found the oil in the dressing definately helps with the skin some.

How long before cooking do you apply the lemon juice?

If you think a marinade or a brine is not helpful to the skin, one thing to consider, even if you don't want to get into the scraping of the fat, or removiing the bone...... remove the skins from all your thighs and stack them on a plate and refrigerate (or spread then out on a tray if you want to dry them out some).

Now you can marinate, brine, or just season the meat, and only the meat. When you are all done, put the skin back on and secure with a round toothpick and lightly season the skin.

 

[thirdeye]

Had the same problem a few weeks back.... asked the same question. Someone gave me a great tip: Rub the chicken down with lemon juice prior to putting it on and cook around 300 as mentioned. I've done it several times and will do it again today. Best chicky I've ever made!

I've used a lemon water rinse especially when the packages have a lot of liquid in them. I mix it up in a big bowl for a few pieces and in a plastic bucket if we're cooking a lot.

 

[schlangerg]

I think the trick is to put the chicken on a hot grill before putting it in the smoker. This will get the fat on the underside of the skin to begin rendering. I think this allows the fat to continue to melt while in the smoker and thus ending with a crispy skin rather than a piece of rubber on top of your chicken. After about 10 minutes over the coals move the thighs to the smoker at 250, after 20 minutes raise the heat to 300 for 20 more minutes and then finish back on the hot grill.

 

[trueque]

Awesome thread, links and pictures. Thank you.

 

[Grafixgibbs]

Sharp teeth. Always works for me.

 

[goro25]

I remove the skin:icon_blush:

 

[gtr]

Now I know what I'm doing next weekend. I'll say it again: What a great place!

 

[KnucklHed BBQ]

Mayo, 325 for 30 min and then 250 until it temps. It will be bite thru every time. You won't taste the mayo either.

 

[Dave Russell]

Mayo, 325 for 30 min and then 250 until it temps. It will be bite thru every time. You won't taste the mayo either.

That would be easy on the wsm. I could just start with skin down and direct heat. Next, I could put the water pan in and turn the chicken back to skin up. Does that make any sense?

Pardon my ignorance, but do you sprinkle the rub on after applying the mayo?

 

[KnucklHed BBQ]

That would be easy on the wsm. I could just start with skin down and direct heat. Next, I could put the water pan in and turn the chicken back to skin up. Does that make any sense?

Pardon my ignorance, but do you sprinkle the rub on after applying the mayo?

If you try using mayo, it goes on in a very thin, even coat, no globbing. Also it will look exactly the same after cooking as it did before, so if it's just glopped on or uneven before cooking it will look just as uneven after.

Keep this in mind - you can not flip or handle or sauce mayo chicken with out messing up the look of it.

I put a salty/spicy rub under the skin and a 1/2 rub, 1/2 brown sugar mix on top of the mayo. It helps to dry the brown sugar & rub combo out so that it shakes on evenly for a nice appearance.

The extra brown sugar rub on the top kinda gel's with the mayo and ends up tasting like it's been sauced.

Here is a link to a thread that I posted last year about it. There's alot of jackassery in the thread to wade through, but there's some good stuff in there too.
Essentially it boils down to this:

"Hot (350*) for the first 1/2 hour and then drop it to 225-250* until desired temp is reached. I cooked mine for a total of 4 1/2 hrs @ about 200*
This helps the skin to start rendering right away without cooking the chicken... the skin continues to render for the remainder of the cook. It will not be crispy skin, but it will be soft and more tender..."

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75043

This post shows the amount of mayo slathered on them
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1127963&postcount=78

And the finished pics of that last link. The 2nd batch turned out way better than the first...
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1128317&postcount=81


Edit: I think I forgot to brag about a 31st place finish out of 499 in chicken at the Royal (open) this past year... :becky:
Cooked on the Auspit over an open fire even! :thumb:

 

[Dave Russell]

Thanks a bunch, Knucklehead! I'm not interested in achieving crisp skin, just tender skin, so I'll give it a try. Since you need to leave the chicken alone, I'll just keep the water pan in the whole time (dry) and shut the air down on a bunch of lit lump.