Chicken skin on a pellet smoker - what am I doing wrong?

[sudsandswine]

I have a Traeger Pro 34, my first and only pellet smoker. I noticed that the surface of any type of meat I put on there seems to be "dryer" than say, what I'd see on a Weber Smokey Mountain. For larger hunks of meat, I have been using a spray bottle to hit the surface every 45-60 mins, wrap once I hit 160*, etc, and there's been no issue. I will usually put a bowl of water in there on longer cooks as well. I assume the convection and air movement from the fan is probably to blame.

But chicken skin....it doesn't come out gelatinous or chewy....it's straight dry and leathery tough. Maybe I need to change my technique somehow, but I've been leaving it on "smoke" (gets me ~170 degrees) for about 30 minutes and then I'll kick it up to 325* to finish. Perhaps that's my problem, but I try to use a lower temp initially to get a little more pronounced smoke flavor since it's already light. I know others often start out chicken thighs in a pan with some sort of liquidy goodness but I felt like that would mask an already mild smoke profile.

How are you doing chicken thighs on a pellet grill? Been trying more "competition style" and the skin is killing me. I've scraped the fat off the skin with a paint scraper, I've left the fat on, tried Moo Gloo (not that I thought it'd help with the leathery skin aspect), and nothing. Don't have this problem on WSM's. The meat underneath is great, but the skin is inedible.

[tom b]

Higher heat will crisp the skin, for chicken I run 350-375. Never used a water bowl before

[mattmountz94]

I have the same issue on my yoder at any temp. Skin is like 1 big sheet of leather. Whether i cook at 250 or 375. I usually turn to the kettle to cook my chicken for this reason. I only buy chicken from one source though. Maybe mixing up brands would do the trick? Not sure

[IamMadMan]

Higher heat will crisp the skin, for chicken I run 350-375. Never used a water bowl before

I agree, the higher temperatures will render the fat and crisp the skin. early in the cook.

Also don't rely on the Treager control for a reliable temperature, use your own temperature probe on the grate.

[Burnt at Both Endz]

How are you doing chicken thighs on a pellet grill? Been trying more "competition style" and the skin is killing me. I've scraped the fat off the skin with a paint scraper, I've left the fat on, tried Moo Gloo (not that I thought it'd help with the leathery skin aspect), and nothing. Don't have this problem on WSM's. The meat underneath is great, but the skin is inedible.


You may need to steam the chicken in a pan for some of the cook to get competition skin.

The dryer environment of the pellet grill is a result of convectional cooking, they have fans that move air through out the smoker.

[Jrogers84]

I cooked chicken for the first time in my traeger last week. Went 350 the whole time, didnt put the chicken on until temps were stable. Came out nice and crispy

[sudsandswine]

I agree, the higher temperatures will render the fat and crisp the skin. early in the cook.

Also don't rely on the Treager control for a reliable temperature, use your own temperature probe on the grate.

Yeah I have a wireless thermometer setup I use to fact check the Traeger. At higher temps 300* and beyond the unit thermometer is pretty accurate and temps are very consistent end to end. On lower settings for BBQ, the right end near the smoke stack is usually a good bit higher and the unit thermometer reads low overall.

[sleebus.jones]

In the past I've buttered the skin, placed it skin down and cooked at 350° straight through. , no flipping. Seems to give me the best results with the skin, but the chicken is meh. I now just cook at 250°, chicken is great, skin is not so great but I'm ok with that.

[IamMadMan]

Check out Smoke Ninja's Post
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3425102&postcount=1

[cfrazier77]

Check out Smoke Ninja's Post
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3425102&postcount=1

I agree with Smoke Ninja that Mayo works the best. It is what I use.

[Cuelio]

Wow. Gotta try the mayo next time.

But my chicken cooks on the Traeger have all been consistent high heat, and the skin is thin, crispy and delicious.

[Fwismoker]

Regardless of the grill the conduction heat from the grill grate will help....But there's a caveat. The skin has to be touching the grate! lol Flip you skin down whether that be a spatchcock or a thigh. Skin on both sides then flip you meat.

[sudsandswine]

I agree with Smoke Ninja that Mayo works the best. It is what I use.

Thanks for the info - may try that out next time. I switched to mayo from butter for grilled cheese and it was great. :clap2:

Also, saw that he was using a rotisserie basket for those thighs. I have a rotisserie for my Weber kettle and it by far produces the best chicken, whole or parts, of any method I have. Rolling all around in its own fat and juices MmmMMm. The skin is almost like it's fried.

I actually did a spatchcock chicken on the Traeger last week, and only cooked it on the 325ish setting - no initial smoke setting. I flipped it a couple times per side and it came out pretty good. Not "charcoal rotisserie" good, but better than the "competition style thighs" I've been trying, at least as far as skin is concerned. Didn't really taste "smokey" though.

If I don't use the "smoke" setting I can barely taste any smoke (it's already relatively light, IMO, even using the smoke setting). But it appears that may be contributing to the skin issue, so I dunno. Maybe next time I'll just throw them on in a pan with some sort of slurry at *325 and use the smokin' tube to hopefully add some more smoke flavor.

Luckily thighs are cheap so I can afford to experiment a bit. :thumb:

[tom b]

Ya maybe try the tube dude if you need more smoke, I get plenty of smoke flavor on mine for chicken running hotter 350-375