Chicken Question

[EricH]

This past weekend I smoked some chicken thighs on my WSM. I brined them for an hour or so, then rubbed them and smoked them at around 250 for 2 hours. The meat was wonderful, but the skin was rubbery. How do I get crispy skin?

 

[K Kruger]

Cook at much higher heat. Or finish the skin by cooking directly over the coals, being careful not to burn the skin. (I do the former, cooking thighs ~ 450?.)

 

[Scooter B]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Cook at much higher heat. Or finish the skin by cooking directly over the coals, being careful not to burn the skin. (I do the former, cooking thighs ~ 450?.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Having tried to "crisp" the skin a couple times I would have to say just cook at high heat. You won't get the skin you want any other way.

I have a bunch of thin maple and apple branches so for the "smoke" flavour I just throw a 2-4 finger width 6" long branches on. They burn fast but poultry really doesn't need much smoke.

 

[K Kruger]

Yeah, for crisp, high heat is best. One can get good texture with a direct finish, having cooked low, but it's not quite the same.

 

[Craig A]

I read this in a book and decided to give it a try the last time I cooked chicken on my WSM, it worked pretty good.

Take a propane blowtorch, the kind you use to sweat pipes, and use the flame to crisp the skin. I get the torch head an inch or two from the skin, so the side jets are touching it, and move around to keep from burning. It works pretty good and it's fast.

The results are not exactly the same as high heat cooking, but they are acceptable enough that I can serve the chicken with the skin on.

I keep the torch near my BBQ equipment because I also use it to start my chimney, but that's another thread.