Chicken Skin

[Allan Jones]

I like to put in a load of chicken thighs when I'm doing ribs.
The skin comes out rubbery. I read a post that said to get crispy chicken skin, it has to go above 325/350*
So now I' considering putting the thighs in the oven broiler to crisp up.

Any comments if this should be done before or after smoking them?

 

[James Lake]

You could either do that or, if you have a kettle near the end of the smoke throw them on direct heat. I have taken skin on thigh and scraped the fat off from the underside of the skin and they are more crispy, but it's a PITA to do.

Putting smoked chicken into the oven broiler might/probably will give the house a smell that you might not want.

 

[Dave from Denver]

you could borrow a technique from competition - when the thighs are cooked through to about 150 or so, toss them in a foil pan with a couple cups of sauce and juice. Competition teams use margarine too in this step. Simmer that on the smoker, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Take the thighs out of the pan and either serve immediately or set the sauce with a few minutes over gentle direct heat. The skin should be cooked through and it won't be crispy but it won't be rubbery.

 

[Robert-R]

I would think that if the ribs & chicken finish up around the same time, you could remove the center section of the smoker, place the top grill on the base & direct cook the chicken to crisp up the skin. You might have to work quickly!