Do Most Not Eat Chicken Skin?

[darita]

I've watched a ton of vids on how to smoke chicken. Most times, the skin is not even addressed. When it is, it's just a side note and almost never talked about in the final product. It's sliced and eaten and they talk about how juicy and tender the meat is, but the skin...not a peep. I know good skin is hard to get, so it seems like it gets ignored.
Im a huge fan of good skin, crispy or not, it's got to be soft enough to bite through and enjoy, To me, it's like pork or beef fat...it's where all the flavor is, especially if it's seasoned and rendered right. I've even make chicken skin taquitos, with left over chicken and boy...are they the bomb! So to me, if I can't get the skin right, I might as well toss the bird. I don't know...maybe it's just me.

[GVDub]

I'm with you on this 100%. Especially since a rub over chicken skin doesn't really penetrate enough to season the meat so much. Which is a good reason to marinate chicken, then rub before cooking, I suppose, to get flavor everywhere.

[dadsr4]

I eat it on chicken parts, on whole birds it mostly goes to the dogs. Either way, I put the rub under the skin.

[Joshw]

You have to season under the skin, for good chicken. Skin is my favorite part. I would say the vast majority of people are convinced the skin is bad for them, to begin with, then you a have some that don't know how to cook it properly, so they don't like it.

[Rusty Kettle]

Really it depends on the cook if skin is good. Spatchcock chicken the skin is always perfect. Plain toss on a smoker and smoked until done is well better tossed out. Smoke ruins chicken skin. There are ways around ruining skin but then your messing with competition style bbq recipes.

[Rusty Kettle]

http://blog.gatewaydrumsmokers.com/basted-competition-thighs/

I used this recipe but it was hit or miss for me but when it hits its awesome skin.

[legendaryhog]

Smoked 9 whole birds this weekend. Skin is great when the bird is nice and hot. After cooling the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. Skin gets a bit rubbery.

Now grilling over high heat? Skin is the best part man! Wings? Are you kidding me? Perfect skin to meat ratio.

[darita]

I'll tell you right now...the only way I've been a able to get consistent crisp or bite through skin, is to spatch, then place in my Primo at 330*, with no chunks. If I add any wood for smoke, the skin gets more chewy with the amount of smoke added.
On my MAK, well, forget it. I've yet been able to get crispy or bite through skin. Mind you, this is not for comp. This is for good eating only.

[charcoalwilly]

Hard to beat chicken skin when grilling over direct heat or rotisserie. Nothing like loading up a Meadow Creek BBQ 42 chicken flipper. Skin is sizzling about 18” alway from the coals. I flip the basket about once every 5 minutes. Beautiful crispy carmelization
Like this guy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PxLDXVvw5Qk

[HOBONICHOLBBQ]

Mrs Hobo doesn't like chicken skin. Since I mostly cook for just us, it's just easy to just buy boneless skinless thighs and call it a day. Probably a poor excuse but that's how we roll currently.

[jimbotx]

Hard to beat chicken skin when grilling over direct heat or rotisserie.


Rotisserie is my fam's favorite as far as that crispy skin goes. Still season under the skin though.

[blake]

Skin is the first to go when I cook birds. I grill (with wood chunks so plenty of smokiness in the meat) around 375. I like salting (and seasoning) several hours beforehand. Also leaving the bird uncovered in the fridge for several hours to overnight helps dry out the skin, making for crispy bite through. Whole birds (aka beer can but with no can) or quarters for me, makes no difference.

[16Adams]

Great thing about full wings. One side meat one side skin. For whatever reason I don’t “plan” chicken. Like steak, Ill start thinking about steak 3-5 days out. Chickens?? A chicken sounds good let’s look for a bird. Which means, I seldom ever brine a bird. Probably should but I don’t. My favorite yardbird seasoning (as well as Brides Bunco Group) is Plowboys Yardbird. It’s good. I cook my birds to a higher temp than the minimum rec. skin is usually crispy seasoned and tasty. Not just chicken, but most things the Brethren cook can be seasoned afterwards. I don’t do that, I enjoy the prep theatrics- patio theatre- the feeling of being involved.

[EyeBurnEverything]

When you make chickens this good, you don't need to eat the skin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPM7jGD4t9s

[Badjak]

I love chicken skin as long as it is crispy :thumb:

[Sid Post]

Like pork cracklins', crispy chicken skin is yummy. :icon_smile_tongue:

Soft rubbery chicken skin is a 'no go' for me. :hand:

[Happy Hapgood]

I'm going to run off the rails here but when it comes to chicken and turkeys I only go one way. Oiless turkey fryer. The Big Easy to be exact. I've tried smoking birds and grilling birds. Skin always came out like rubber.


Have deep fried birds for many years in peanut oil. That's the way to go but expensive. Then I found TBE. I will not do a bird any other way outdoors.


Here's a thread I normally post around the first week of November for anyone looking to up their bird game.



http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200865


It ain't BBQ but it's Goood.

[Twisted T's Q]

pbc chicken skin is perfect every time , crispy and bite threw

[darita]

pbc chicken skin is perfect every time , crispy and bite threw

Is it because the PBC is more direct than indirect, because of no diverter or is it something else you're doing?

[TedW]

I love the skin. It's a special treat that the chicken offers.

High heat at 390+ is needed to get the oil under the skin hot enough to "fry" the skin. I've roasted well over 100 birds in the oven at 450-465F for 1 hour with great success. Under 400f and the skin is rubber.

If the skin is exposed to the open flame or coals (IR wavelengths), it'll crisp better. That's why I love my 007 drum.

If the skin is dried (even after wet brining) for a few hours, the skin will be drier. This means less time spent in the heat boiling off skin water, and more time heating up that chicken fat to fry that skin.

[Beentown]

In my experience most people pull the skin, well cooked or not.

[CarterK]

I always eat the skin first. If I am smoking a bunch of thighs for chicken salad, I will keep the cooked skins and crisp them up in some bacon grease. Outstanding topped with pimento cheese, ala HUSK in Nashville/Charleston.

[Big N Hot]

Skin down on a RF Offset works well. The plate gets nice and hot.

[KingRanch450]

As long as it's done right I love it

[CarterK]

This thread prompted me to cook up some thighs for lunch, just so I could eat the skins. Nicely done, OP.

[darita]

Good skin must be a real mystery for many, like it is for me, as far as smoking goes. I can get it, but without using chucks for smoke, in my Primo. In the pellet smoker...forget it, without doing some kind of direct cooking.

[jacobp]

I always eat the skin first. If I am smoking a bunch of thighs for chicken salad, I will keep the cooked skins and crisp them up in some bacon grease. Outstanding topped with pimento cheese, ala HUSK in Nashville/Charleston.

I do the same thing, sans the bacon grease. love it.

[Pedro7]

I used to until I started doing competition and saw the amount of fat that we scrape off of it. Kinda takes the "healthy" out of the chicken.

[EdF]

I'm big on skin, and so is the bride. This one is spatchcocked, dry brined uncovered overnight, veggie oil under the skin and pepper. Done on the KBQ at ~330. Light smoke, bite through (crispy) skin.

[Cook]

I've never eaten skin-on chicken and not eaten the skin.

[darita]

Funny...I'll go one further...as kid, around the dinner table, I'd collect my sister's chicken skin, just so I would have a bite of skin with every bite of meat.:icon_smile_tongue:

[Eujamfh]

Chicken skin is awesome...but not healthy. We smoke, pull the skin and add a season after cooked. Fried chicken..well thats a splurge on the diet. I agree seasoning birds before smoking doesn't do much.

We use commercial rubs and make our own to shake over cooked and skinned remove birds - chicken and turkey.

[Bubblehead]

When we do smoked chicken, we take the skin off, double skewer it to help hold it flat and grill the smoked chicken skins for a nice snack!