Chicken Skin


 
J

JimboR

New member
Not sure how to correctly word the following so please forgive me if I do not use the right terminology. Today I smoke chicken quarters for the first time and notice that the skin pulled away from the meat. In preparing the chicken for smoking I brined it overnight then rinsed and dried it prior to putting on the smoker. I smoked them at 250 until my internal temp was 165. What would cause the skin to pull away from the meat or is that normal?
 
Its normal. The water in the skin evaporates, and the skin shrinks. Just about everything that you cook is going to shrink.
 
That's what I was thinking but was not sure because you see pics of others or at a restaurant and the skin is fully intact so did not know if I was doing something wrong
 
I think the 250*F temp did it in. The subcutaneous fat did not get hot enough to cook the skin. IMO you have a choice with poultry: either crank up the heat for crisp skin or go low n slow with the knowledge that the skin will be less than spectacular. Either way the flesh will be awesome.
 
Next time I will try to crank it up to what 325*F ? but you are right the meat was awesome great taste and juice with awesome smoke color..... I guess it's always a good cook if you learn something from it
 
I try to never cook poultry - chicken, turkey, etc. at less than 325 degrees in my smoker. They take less time to cook and the skins is always crisper.

best,

Jose
 
Jose Suro said:
I try to never cook poultry - chicken, turkey, etc. at less than 325 degrees in my smoker. They take less time to cook and the skins is always crisper.

best,

Jose
Click to expand...

+1

I just foil my water pan and run the old girl as hot as I can get her. I usually add one full lit chimney evenly on top of the non lit stuff and run all the vents wide open. This typically gets me close to 325-350. Crispy smoked chicken skin is the best! ...now I'm hungry for chicken!
 
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