Fail-throwdown


 
J

Jo Torez

TVWBB Super Fan
I had great intentions on posting my pics on the throwdown. I bought a chicken from the grocery store this morning and prepped to cook on my otg. Tried the hot and fast by using my charcoal baskets temp was 390. This was a full lit chimney with a few. Chunks of apple wood. Water pan empty. Inserted the thermometer in the thigh and one on the grill. Grill temp was at 390 for a while then moved down to 370 The food thermeter was set at 180* (my thanksgiving turkey was undercooked too). The bird reached 170 like 45 minutes later. I thought that was too good to be true so I turned it 180 degrees and let it cook for another 45 minutes. I took it off and let it rest. I carved it and the breast wasn't done.

It did look pretty when it came off the grill. Maybe next week I'll try again. I'm guessing the bird may have been still frozen. Here's some eye candy though.





Thanks for looking
 
Not intending to knock anyone's preference for whole chicken but I have the best and most consistent results when I splatchcock chickens. In fact, I often cut them in half (easier to handle) and do "Hot and Fast" and have no problems with it all getting done at the same time.

There is no denying that the whole chicken presentation is better (yours looks extremely good) but I, personally, vote for the easier method and consistent results.

Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Jo Torez said:
I had great intentions on posting my pics on the throwdown. I bought a chicken from the grocery store this morning and prepped to cook on my otg. Tried the hot and fast by using my charcoal baskets temp was 390. This was a full lit chimney with a few. Chunks of apple wood. Water pan empty. Inserted the thermometer in the thigh and one on the grill. Grill temp was at 390 for a while then moved down to 370 The food thermeter was set at 180* (my thanksgiving turkey was undercooked too). The bird reached 170 like 45 minutes later. I thought that was too good to be true so I turned it 180 degrees and let it cook for another 45 minutes. I took it off and let it rest. I carved it and the breast wasn't done.

It did look pretty when it came off the grill. Maybe next week I'll try again. I'm guessing the bird may have been still frozen. Here's some eye candy though.
Interesting. 180 deg. in the thigh should do it.
Click to expand...

I always place the thermometer in the meatiest part of the breast and go for 162.

There's much more meat in the breast than in the thigh so it's easier to avoid putting the temp. probe against (thigh) bone and getting a "false" high for doneness.

Or maybe, as you said, it was still partially frozen. But your thermometer should have told you that when you first inserted it. Did you check the temp. initially?
 
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Jo Torez said:
I carved it and the breast wasn't done / I'm guessing the bird may have been still frozen
Click to expand...
I don't plug the top unless I'm doing a beer can chicken. By leaving the top unplugged the heat flows through, cooking the inside an nearly the same rate as the outside. When doing a beer can chicken, you plug the top to lock in the moisture escaping from the boiling beer
 
My super fast thermopen gave me 4 different readings in the breast ranging from 165 down to 140 and the maverick (inside the thigh) was telling me that the chicken was at 181.

Beer can was inside the chicken with an apple for the plug.

I'm still fairly new at this, I'm definatly going to try again, maybe next time spatchcock. I won't give up. I did wind up putting the breast in the microwave until it was fully cooked.
 
Robert McGee said:
Not intending to knock anyone's preference for whole chicken but I have the best and most consistent results when I splatchcock chickens. In fact, I often cut them in half (easier to handle) and do "Hot and Fast" and have no problems with it all getting done at the same time.

There is no denying that the whole chicken presentation is better (yours looks extremely good) but I, personally, vote for the easier method and consistent results.

Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
Click to expand...

I'm with Robert. Best results for me is spatchcock.You can hit those things at 225 or 400 (400 comes out way better.) I would check your temp gauge on the grill. 1 1/2 at 375 is plenty of time for breast meat (150ish) legs and thighs 165-70ish. #1 rule in BBQ. Throw your watch out the window while cooking. cook by temp NOT time. it never takes X-amount of time to be done. It's done when it hits your desired temp. #2 Trust your equipment!
 
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Todd Phillips said:
I'm with Robert. Best results for me is spatchcock.. #2 Trust your equipment!
Click to expand...

I prefer a whole chicken to spatchcock. I think whole chickens come out noticeably moister.

Check your equipment once in a while. Equipment is not infallible. Batteries get weak. Temp. probes and wires get damaged etc., etc.
 
I'm not sure everyone picked up on the fact that you were trying to cook a whole chicken to submit in Throwdown #27: Whole Chicken where the requirement is to cook a whole chicken because it's harder to do well than butterflied chicken. So recommending spatchcock as a method in this particular instance doesn't solve Jo's problem.

Having said that, cooking a chicken at 370*F for 90 minutes should result in overcooked chicken. If you still had 140*F in the breast, I can only assume it was stone-cold frozen. Next time stick that bird in a 2 gal Ziploc bag, submerge in lukewarm water to thaw completely, and you should be good to go. Use that Thermapen to check meat temp before cooking to make sure it's not frozen. If you have any doubts about your equipment, test for accuracy.

Good luck! Hope to see your whole chicken entry in the throwdown soon!
 
Chris;
Here is me lookin', ASHAMED:o! I entirely overlooked the "contest" aspects. I'll try to do better in the future!;)

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
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