Chicken pieces: skin on or off?


 
C

ChadVKealey

TVWBB Pro
I'm planning to do up a mess of chicken legs & thighs for Labor Day weekend. We're also having burgers & dogs (probably on my gasser...it's been feeling lonely since I got my OTG), so I figured I'd do the chicken in my WSM. I've done chicken parts before with the skin on. Cook 'em for about 1.5 hr at 275-325 and then glaze with sauce and open all the vents to bake it on, but for those that don't eat the skin (<gasp> there are people I know that don't), they peel it off along with the lip-smacking homemade sauce. So, I'm thinking of ditching the skin this time around. I figured I'd remove the skin, brine them (I often use a beer-based brine, but looking at some other apple-based recipes) for a few hours or overnight, then cook for the same time & temp. Without the skin, the sauce won't be wasted by those that don't like skin, and given it's a fairly quick cook, I don't think the meat will dry out too much without the skin to render its fat. I briefly considered brining & cooking with the skin on, then removing it and glazing, but that would at best be inconvenient and at worst be painful (trying to skin very hot chicken parts doesn't sound fun).

So, when you cook chicken parts/pieces, skin on or off? And, if off, any wisdom or tips you'd like to share?
 
Im one of those people that dont really enjoy the skin, so because of this I use boneless thighs, legs, and wings. When I cook them I do it just like a whole chicken, brine them and stick them on at 225 for 2-3 hours. This lets them keep the moisture without risking drying out the meat.
 
Skin on for me. Once the chicken hits about 155 I put them skin down on the gasser and crisp up the skin. Best of both worlds.
 
I ended up doing skin off on all of them, though not intentionally (tip: don't prep chicken until you've had your morning coffee). Anyhoo, I skinned them all and brined for 4 hours using this concoction:

4 cups apple juice
4 cups cold water
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Memphis Dust

I then drained and rinsed it, blotted dry with some paper towels and sprinkled on some more Memphis Dust (I can't find anything that doesn't taste good on) and put it into the WSM at about 225 for 2 hours. Thighs went on the bottom grate, skewered in sets of 4 to help 'em keep their shape, and the legs went on the top.

After an hour, I gave everything a flip. After 2 hours, I gave another flip and checked the temps. Thighs were at 140-150, legs at 150-160, so to help get them the rest of the way and caramelize the sauce (a mix of a homemade Memphis-style sauce, some commercial brand I had in the fridge and apple juice), I opened up all the bottom vents. Another 25 minutes and they were both "in the zone" and looked (and smelled) great.

Flavor-wise, everything was great. Texture-wise, not so much. The legs definitely got a little overdone and the out layer dried to a leathery consistency. Inside was still moist and tender, but it was tough (literally) to get past the stringy outside. The thighs were better, but still a tiny bit leathery.

Now, I've switched to using several foil-wrapped bricks in a brinkmann water pan with a couple layers of foil over top. So, maybe some water in the pan would have kept the outsides from drying out, or maybe just basting with apple juice or some other liquid a few times during the cook. Also, I used a couple chunks of hickory and a handful of apple chips; the hickory was probably too much.

So, going forward, I think I'll stick to the brine I used, but spritz with some apple juice during the cook or use a water-filled pan on the lower grate with the chicken on the top rack. I'll stick with skin off mainly because it guarantees that all that deliciously caramelized sauce doesn't get peeled off by someone who just doesn't eat the skin.
 
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