Help! Chicken for a Crowd

[Rita Y]

I’ve been studying the chicken discussions here for a couple of days now. Every time I make up my mind on how to proceed I read something else and change my mind. Now I’ll put it to you (-all):

I’ll soon need to cook BBQ Chicken for 35 to 40 people (men, women, and some children) and want to do a test run with just a couple of chickens.

As a cost issue, I was thinking of smoking maybe 7 whole chickens, but then thought I would cut them into 2 halves which might be easier to handle and might cook more evenly.

I can do a 4-grate cook (I have 2 BGE extender grates) if I don’t have to move the chicken around or turn it. Those extender grates are a bit unwieldy.

Then, I was plannng to:
Remove the breast meat from the bones and cut into 2 pieces, one with the wing attached or….dunno…pull the wing off maybe.
Separate the drumsticks from the thighs.
Dip into BBQ sauce to coat and store overnight in the refrigerator.
Someone else will do the reheating, either in the oven or in a microwave; I’m not sure.

1) Or should I cut the halves into quarters and put the leg quarters on the hotter racks?

2) Do I need to crack the drumstick-thigh joint?

3) Smoke skin-side up the whole cook?

4) Looks as if I’ll have to do 2 cooking sessions. Would a grate hold more than 2 halves?

5) I plan to cook at 300°F to get the skin more edible, but I don’t have enough space to let that much chicken air-dry in my refrigerator. Has anyone had any success with using a fan for up to 2 hours?

6) Has anyone tried a slow cooker for reheating BBQ chicken? I’d be afraid of “stewing” the chicken. I have a 5 1/2-quart model and might be able to borrow another one or two if that is a viable option.

Thanks,
Rita

 

[K Kruger]

Hmm.

I'm thinking about this as I go and might change my mind during or post-posting but so far:

If you can do two cooks I would. Packing in a lot opens you to airflow issues; not that you can't do it, I just don't when I have a choice.

1. Yes, I would.

2. Have to? No. Should you? Yes--more even cooking and you eliminate the potential for red-at-the-bone issues.

3.It's easier, especially if you can get your heat up high. If needed, you can pull slightly early and finish the skin on a kettle, a gasser, or in the oven, if desired. Alternatively, you can flip to skin-down during the cook, or do a dow,-up-down thing. Since you're cooking early and are not controlling the re-heat (which, depending on how it's done, can affect the final skin texture) I'd do what's easiest for you to arrive at edible, if not necessarily crisp, skin.

4. Depends on the size but generally I do 3 tops.

5. Shoot for a higher temp. I wouldn't recommend fans for two hours. Separate the skin gently with your fingers before brining (if you're brining). When you pull them out of the brine and rinse, mash some paper towels down onto the skin to absorb excess moisture. If you are using cut up chicken and have some space, you can put the pieces on cake racks on sheetpans and stack the pans one above the other (fashioning support(s) for the upper pan(s).

6. You can use them. You need some moisture in there (sauce, or just the juices from the chicken), the skin will soften, of course, but it will be edible still, just not firm or crisp. But if your plan is to dip in sauce and store, my guess is crisp skin isn't in the plan; cooked and edible though, yes?

I would not take the breasts off the bone, just halve them.

 

[Rita Y]

Kevin, thanks for the great and well thought-out reply!

I agree. I’ll need to do 2 cooks, but that’s OK. I did the crowded grate cook once….never again. By cutting the chickens into quarters, it will be easier to positon the pieces rather than the halves on the grates.

The reason that I was planning to pull the bones from the breast portions is that about 20-30% of the folks are handicapped in various ways and it might be easier for them to eat the boned pieces, or at least have that option.

If I’m going to cut the chickens into quarters and snip the leg joint, which do seem like good ideas, it wouldn’t be much more work to go ahead and cut the legs off first and separate into drumsticks and thighs. I’d still cook the breast meat on the bone for the best results, though. It’s easy to pull the bones while the smoked chicken is still warm.

Yes, I’ll be brining. It does seem like a lot of extra work to separate the skin for this much chicken (7 birds). Isn’t there a risk of the cooked skin floating off in the sauce? Do you do this for large batches?

I have 4 sheet pans with racks, maybe not enough for all that chicken. I might be able to get them stacked into the fridge if I take some stuff out and store it in an ice chest. Or ’yikes!’ maybe even clean out my refrigerator!

OK, I’ll shoot for a temp higher than 300°F if I can get it up there.

Quote: “But if your plan is to dip in sauce and store, my guess is crisp skin isn't in the plan; cooked and edible though, yes?”

Yes - reheated chicken never has a crisp skin, although grilling it comes close. But because of having to reheat it sans grill, I do want it edible, not rubbery.

Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just pull the skin off after cooking and store the chicken pieces in a little sauce until it is reheated the next day. It might be less greasy that way.

Decisions, decisions! But bottom line, I still want to serve great barbecued chicken and I’ll do what it takes to get it there.

Rita

 

[K Kruger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> The reason that I was planning to pull the bones from the breast portions </div></BLOCKQUOTE> If you can get away with doing it partially, leaving it still attached at one point (perhaps, letting whoever is doing the reheating know), they could be completely separated after reheating but just before serving, helping to keep the breast moist during the re-heat.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> It does seem like a lot of extra work to separate the skin for this much chicken (7 birds). Isn’t there a risk of the skin floating off in the sauce? Do you do this for large batches? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Kind of. Not really. And yes. I'm not that meticulous when I'm doing pieces as opposed to whole birds because it's faster and, frankly, better. I just use a finger between the skin and meat very quickly--I'm not looking to sever all of the attached membrane (lest I end up with skin floating in the sauce). I think the meat brines better and the skin cooks better; imo, anyway.

That said,
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just pull the skin off after cooking and store the chicken pieces in a little sauce until it is reheated the next day. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
might be worth considering. I love skin, but for me I want fairly firm-crisp. Many people are similar or don't like (or would rather not eat) the skin at all. It will be less greasy in the finished dish, as you say, and will allow you a bit more flexibility and probably more peace of mind.

Good luck with your cook.

 

[Rita Y]

Thanks, Kevin. You've helped clear up a lot of questions.

Re Skin: I'd rather not eat it with the best of intentions, but that doesn't mean I don't love it. It's funny...there's never any left on my plate after dinner.

What I should have asked is:

(1) Do you ever smoke chicken the day before you serve it? If so, how do you personally store it and reheat it? Are you lucky enough to have a second refrigerator?

Thanks again,
Rita

 

[Scott Hoofman]

Did you ever consider doing beer-can chicken?

 

[K Kruger]

Yes, I have a second fridge. I cannot tell you how helpful that is though I'm sure you can imagine.

Re your first question: Usually I do high-temp roast/smokes because I like the skin that way. (Occasionally I do a low-and-slow and a grill finish for the skin.) I almost always do more than chicken than I need (I generally do wholes or halves) and save the leftovers. With those I might just re-heat as is (in a pan, covered, in the oven) then do a quick high-heat thing or broiler thing to 'revive' the skin, or I'll strip the meat from the carcass, saving the skin separately, and use it in something else--enchiladas, tacos, a salad, mixed with rice and vegs as a stuffing, etc. If I want to include the skin I'll usually mince it up and sauté it to crisp it up for sprinking on or folding in.

I'm not a fan of tomato-based Q sauces with chicken. I usually make a fruit, fruit and mustard, or stock and fruit -based sauce, or a gastrique, or a salsa or condiment in place of a sauce. All off these are designed to be drizzled over (or served alongside) the chicken, so storing or reheating in the sauce isn't a possibility. But I do save the leftover sauce separately and use that in some way with the leftover chicken.