Has anyone tried this to get crispy chicken skin?

[StanSulli]

Will this crisp up chicken skin using a WSM?

Towards the end of a whole chicken smoke, dump a new chimney of glowing ready coals in the bowl.

When the chicken reaches around 160, remove the middle section pf the WSM, place the grate directly over the charcoal bowl and put the dome over the bowl.

I'm thinking by the time the bird hit's 165 on the breast, the skin will be crispy.

Usually, if I want to get crispy skin on a smoked chicken, I just wait until I get an internal of 162 or so and then put the chicken in a pre-heated, 450 deg. oven and watch it like a hawk.

4-6 minutes later, I have a great smoked chicken with nice, crispy chicken.

The only drawback is I feel like I'm cheating or something by putting a smoked chicken in the oven. Weird, I know.

I'm guessing a fresh chimney, or 3/4 maybe, dumped in the bowl, with the grate directly on the bowl and covered will give me somewhere around 400-500 deg. in the dome and do the trick.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Or should I just use that oven method. It really does work well.

Thanks.

 

[Daryl w]

i always come out with crispy skin.
but I cook with no water in pan just foil
cooks around 300
chicken is always nice and juicy

 

[Chris Allingham]

Done this many times with poultry, but not using a fresh chimney of charcoal. Start with a good amount of charcoal to begin with. When the chicken is almost done, carefully remove the lid and middle section as a single unit (do at your own risk, not recommended by Weber) and set aside. Gently bang the charcoal chamber with tongs to shake off the ashes. This get the remaining charcoal angry and hot. Place the cooking grate right on top of the charcoal chamber. Watch like a hawk, turning chicken often to prevent burning. No need to put the lid on, the crisping happens so quickly.

Here's a photo: http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken6_photos/bbqchicken11-1024.jpg

Good luck, post photos in the Photo Gallery of your results.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Done this many times with poultry, but not using a fresh chimney of charcoal. Start with a good amount of charcoal to begin with. When the chicken is almost done, carefully remove the lid and middle section as a single unit (do at your own risk, not recommended by Weber) and set aside. Gently bang the charcoal chamber with tongs to shake off the ashes. This get the remaining charcoal angry and hot. Place the cooking grate right on top of the charcoal chamber. Watch like a hawk, turning chicken often to prevent burning. No need to put the lid on, the crisping happens so quickly.

Here's a photo: http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken6_photos/bbqchicken11-1024.jpg

Good luck, post photos in the Photo Gallery of your results.

I've done this ^^^^

 

[StanSulli]

i always come out with crispy skin.
but I cook with no water in pan just foil
cooks around 300
chicken is always nice and juicy

Daryl,

I'm sure it's juicy. But how crispy does it come with a smoking temp. off 300? I've cooked chicken in my WSM at 350 and a little above. Great color but not very far on the crisp side.

I have never tried a foil wrapped chicken because my intuiton told me I'd end up with steamed chicken.

How do you wrap yours?

Thanks

 

[StanSulli]

Done this many times with poultry, but not using a fresh chimney of charcoal. Start with a good amount of charcoal to begin with. When the chicken is almost done, carefully remove the lid and middle section as a single unit (do at your own risk, not recommended by Weber) and set aside. Gently bang the charcoal chamber with tongs to shake off the ashes. This get the remaining charcoal angry and hot. Place the cooking grate right on top of the charcoal chamber. Watch like a hawk, turning chicken often to prevent burning. No need to put the lid on, the crisping happens so quickly.

Here's a photo: http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken6_photos/bbqchicken11-1024.jpg

Good luck, post photos in the Photo Gallery of your results.

Thanks. Chris. This will be a whole, "non-spatchcocked" chicken, so I won't be turning it and that's why I thought the lid on would aid in the crisping.

I'd prefer the lid off too so I could watch it better. Do you think a whole, uncut bird would crisp up adequately without the lid?

Thanks

 

[Dan CANADA]

Daryl,

I'm sure it's juicy. But how crispy does it come with a smoking temp. off 300? I've cooked chicken in my WSM at 350 and a little above. Great color but not very far on the crisp side.

I have never tried a foil wrapped chicken because my intuiton told me I'd end up with steamed chicken.

How do you wrap yours?

Thanks

Hi Stan,

Daryl means that he didn't use water in the water pan, but simply wrapped the water pan in foil, not the chicken. Much as you suspected, I don't think you'd get crispy skin by wrapping the bird.

Cheers

 

[Chris Allingham]

Thanks. Chris. This will be a whole, "non-spatchcocked" chicken, so I won't be turning it and that's why I thought the lid on would aid in the crisping.

I'd prefer the lid off too so I could watch it better. Do you think a whole, uncut bird would crisp up adequately without the lid?

Thanks

If cooking the chicken whole, I would cook it with the lid on as usual for most of the time, then move it directly over the hot coals with the lid off so I could watch the progress and turn the chicken often so all sides gets crisped. It happens so fast that I'd be afraid to cover with the lid.

I would agree that generally in my experience, 300*F with empty foiled water pan does not get chicken skin as crispy as I'd like. You really need higher direct temp to achieve that.

Sometime down the road you can try Hot & Fast Chicken. Leave the water pan out, cook the chicken skin-side down on the top grate over the hottest fire you can muster in the WSM. If that doesn't get the skin good enough for you, then move it directly over the coals at the end as we've been discussing.

 

[StanSulli]

Hi Stan,

Daryl means that he didn't use water in the water pan, but simply wrapped the water pan in foil, not the chicken. Much as you suspected, I don't think you'd get crispy skin by wrapping the bird.

Cheers

DUH! Thanks, Dan. Sometimes I'm not too bright. However, I have mastered that shoelace tying thing and I tell time pretty well now too.

I really thought he was talking about foil wrapping the chicken.

 

[Dan CANADA]

No worries Stan.

I like your idea though. Next time I cook a whole bird, I'm going to toss it into my outdoor oven (gasser) and crisp the skin up as you had mentioned.

I have no problems feeling like I'm cheating so I should be good on that front

Cheers

 

[Christopher H]

I always have crispy skin. I cook at 275 for chicken and I don't use a water pan. I use a foil covered clay saucer as my heat sink.

 

[BrentMc]

I have done "hot and fast" chicken on my WSM 22.5 twice and have come out with beautiful looking chicken that tastes great. Sadly, though, by the time it is served the skin goes from what appeared to be cooked and crispy to rubbery What am I doing wrong? One more thing, I haven't gotten the tenderness I want yet. I think next time I'm going to cook until the bones wiggle and not trust so much on the thermometer. Am I the only one this happens to?

 

[Serge Carbone]

If cooking the chicken whole, I would cook it with the lid on as usual for most of the time, then move it directly over the hot coals with the lid off so I could watch the progress and turn the chicken often so all sides gets crisped. It happens so fast that I'd be afraid to cover with the lid.

I would agree that generally in my experience, 300*F with empty foiled water pan does not get chicken skin as crispy as I'd like. You really need higher direct temp to achieve that.

Sometime down the road you can try Hot & Fast Chicken. Leave the water pan out, cook the chicken skin-side down on the top grate over the hottest fire you can muster in the WSM. If that doesn't get the skin good enough for you, then move it directly over the coals at the end as we've been discussing.

The "Hot and Fast" chicken link you posted is exactly how I do chicken in my WSM. Usually get it spatchcocked and run the WSM at around 325. Easy and turns out great every time.

 

[Serge Carbone]

I have done "hot and fast" chicken on my WSM 22.5 twice and have come out with beautiful looking chicken that tastes great. Sadly, though, by the time it is served the skin goes from what appeared to be cooked and crispy to rubbery What am I doing wrong? One more thing, I haven't gotten the tenderness I want yet. I think next time I'm going to cook until the bones wiggle and not trust so much on the thermometer. Am I the only one this happens to?

Rubbery skin suggests that you cooked it at too low a temp. Try increasing your cook temp.