ChadVKealey
TVWBB Pro
I cooked up some chicken legs today to try them using the famous (infamous?) "Disney Style Turkey Leg" brine from AmzingRibs.com. I wanted to do smoked turkey legs for an upcoming scout camping trip, but decided to try it with chicken since getting 7 or 8 dozen turkey legs would be difficult and expensive.
Anyhoo, I brined them as directed and then cooked on my Performer with a pile of KBB in the middle (and a few small bits of apple wood) and the chicken in a ring around the perimeter. Temps were 325-350 the whole time.
In the end, the flavor was there, but there are textural issues. First, the skin pulled back quite a bit, and didn't crisp up at all. I'm guessing the cure is probably at fault for that. Also, where the skin pulled back, the surface of the exposed meat was very tough. Finally, inside, the meat was, well, rubbery. Not as bad as the skin, but still chewier than I'd like.
I know there isn't much you can do to keep the skin from shrinking, but is there any trick to keep the newly-exposed meat surface from turning to leather? Maybe I should just give up on legs and try the same process with some thighs. There's a better meat-to-waste ratio with thighs, and fewer other bits (tendons, etc.) to get in the way.
Anyhoo, I brined them as directed and then cooked on my Performer with a pile of KBB in the middle (and a few small bits of apple wood) and the chicken in a ring around the perimeter. Temps were 325-350 the whole time.
In the end, the flavor was there, but there are textural issues. First, the skin pulled back quite a bit, and didn't crisp up at all. I'm guessing the cure is probably at fault for that. Also, where the skin pulled back, the surface of the exposed meat was very tough. Finally, inside, the meat was, well, rubbery. Not as bad as the skin, but still chewier than I'd like.
I know there isn't much you can do to keep the skin from shrinking, but is there any trick to keep the newly-exposed meat surface from turning to leather? Maybe I should just give up on legs and try the same process with some thighs. There's a better meat-to-waste ratio with thighs, and fewer other bits (tendons, etc.) to get in the way.