First cook not ideal


 
Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown

New member
Hello all. I did my first cook last night on my 18” WSM and was amazed at how easy it was to control. I did a whole spatchcocked chicken with a simple rub for ~2hours at 250. I then finished it by throwing it on a grate right over the coals to crisp the skin. The flavor was amazing! The only downside was that the meat seemed almost steamed. I’m guessing that I put too much water in the pan. Does anyone have advice or experience with this? I’m thinking of little to no water next time but I’m unsure if that’s a good idea either.
I know I’m new and making mistakes! Just excited to learn from others experience!
 
Hi Ryan!! Congrats on your first cook!! When you say almost steamed, what do you mean? Are you talking about rubbery skin? I doubt that a full water pan would do that. What you’ll find is that some of us use water in the pan and some don’t. It’s totally a personal preference thing. (I use water, just never have tried it without.) I’d try both and see what works for you!
 
You will find that when poultry is cooked involving smoke is it is extremely hard to achieve a skin that not chewy/leathery. Its just the nature of the beast - at least for me. You can cheat that a bit and make the skin a bit more edible by combining one part baking powder with three parts kosher salt and put that on the bird. But it you still won't achieve the crackle crispiness/non leathery of a skin of poultry cooked at high temp or directly over the coals. Wet or moist skin will not yield a crispy skin.
 
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I have a WSM 18" "Classic" but I prefer the texture and taste of Chicken grilled on my 22" Weber Performer Deluxe(WPD).

I set-up my WPD with my SlowNSear Plus with no water and DripNGriddle Pan to catch most of dripped grease; light-up a Large Weber Chimney-full of Weber Bluebag Charcoal; place 4 or 5 medium-size chunks of Weber Hickory inside the SlowNSear and then pour-over the chimney-full of lighted charcoal. Using this set-up I am able to maintain a 350F plus temperature for more than one(1) hour along with the Weber Hickory chunks smoke.

I cook the chicken on indirect heat at around 350F for around forty(40) minutes or when chicken reaches internal temperature of 160F; then, place the chicken over direct heat for around three(3) minutes each side; then, place chicken back on the indirect side to add some BBQ Sauce for around two(2) minutes each side and final temperature of the chicken will be around 175F when pulled-off the Grill. I let the chicken rest for around 1/2 hour before biting-into..

Appears that you did alright on your first cook!
 
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I agree with Richard, the higher temperature on the kettle gives the desired crispy skin, a combined cook, Smoke then, to the higher heat finish. Skip the water too.
 
I agree on running the pan dry. Crispy skin on chicken takes practice, trial and error, and higher heat. I was just reading thru Aaron Frankin's "Meat Smoking Manifesto". Mr Franklin doesn't have a chicken recipe in there, but there is one on Turkey, and his recipe calls for removing the skin before smoking @ 265F.

I think to get crispy skin over indirect heat, you need to be between 350 and 400F. I've had some luck getting crispy skin using the beer can method. Maybe on the 18 WSM, beer can style & 350F would help crispify that skin? BTW, I use empty cans, I read somewhere that having liquid in the can doesn't help. I tend to agree, it's just a burn hazard when you're taking the chicken off the grill in my opinion.

I also think some of the difference we see in chicken skin is the bird itself. I can't prove it, but I think some chicken has thicker more rubbery skin by nature.
 
John K BBQ said:
I agree on running the pan dry. Crispy skin on chicken takes practice, trial and error, and higher heat. I was just reading thru Aaron Frankin's "Meat Smoking Manifesto". Mr Franklin doesn't have a chicken recipe in there, but there is one on Turkey, and his recipe calls for removing the skin before smoking @ 265F.

I think to get crispy skin over indirect heat, you need to be between 350 and 400F. I've had some luck getting crispy skin using the beer can method. Maybe on the 18 WSM, beer can style & 350F would help crispify that skin? BTW, I use empty cans, I read somewhere that having liquid in the can doesn't help. I tend to agree, it's just a burn hazard when you're taking the chicken off the grill in my opinion.

I also think some of the difference we see in chicken skin is the bird itself. I can't prove it, but I think some chicken has thicker more rubbery skin by nature.
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We’re loving Franklin’s MasterClass right now! It was what pushed me over the edge to get the WSM. (Even though he seems to prefer an offset)
 
These are great replies everyone! Thank you! When I threw the chicken on the grate right over the coals it crisped up some. The real problem I’m trying to solve for was that the actual meat seemed rubbery. I’m describing it as steamed but my wife says it’s like it was boiled. I’m going to try less (or no?) water next time.

But, tomorrow I’m going to try pork butt! 🤞
 
I am not versed on high altitude cooking on a WSM .
But I personally do not use a water pan , Chris has link to a steel pan on the home page that works great . But no cook is a bad cook I learn on every one I do. Adjust and see the next one comes out, add the advice you will get here , enjoy.
 
Welcome Ryan, you'll like it here, great people here. It takes higher temps to get crispy skin. Have you seen/read Chris's Hot & Fast Chicken technique in the poultry cooking topics over on TVWB? It's my favorite way to cook chicken! And also take a look at the Roadside Chicken thread, some of the best yardbird you'll cook!
 
What was the internal temp on the chicken? sounds like it may have needed to go a little longer , never had rubbery meat even when I had rubbery skin, good thing about the skin is it will help hold moisture in and prevent drying out the breast meat .
 
MikeCantell said:
What was the internal temp on the chicken? sounds like it may have needed to go a little longer , never had rubbery meat even when I had rubbery skin, good thing about the skin is it will help hold moisture in and prevent drying out the breast meat .
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The temp was 165 in the breast but I admittedly started late and wanted it to come to temp so may have rushed. 😊 I will keep trying!
 
I'm going to try Chris's hot and fast chicken recipe - that looks killer. Hate to sound like a broken record but the rubbery texture could be a the chicken itself. I recommend trying different stores/brands of chicken, or maybe brining the chicken. The brine recipe on the side of the Morton's kosher salt box offers a good starting point. I usually just brine in salt and sugar, sometimes I put in some mashed garlic cloves and peppercorns. If you do wet brine, then patting dry and putting in the fridge for a half hour or so could help with getting the skin dry before you grill. I understand starting with dry skin and a light coat of oil or butter would likely help with crisping.
 
Ryan, glad the first cook went well (other than the rubbery chicken.) Lots of good tips above to investigate, but I wanted to throw one thing out there..... sometimes, you just get a tough, rubbery bird! It's happened to me (rarely, thank goodness), but it does happen.

R
 
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