First, I need to give credit where credit is due: some of this method comes from the way the Chinese treat duck carcases and the rest adapted from a chicken recipe in America's Test Kitchen.
Most of us are familiar with the rubbery skin we get when chicken is slow smoke-cooked, around 225 degrees or so. Here is the first installment on a partial fix.
Start two days ahead of time.
Get a really good, quality chicken. No, that does not include chickens with any kind of water pumped into them. 3.5 to 4 pound is a good weight. I like Puritan brand, as it meets my needs and is easily availble here, YMMV. Take the chicken out and cut the factory trussing off. Inspect and clean the bird, if needed--most of the Puritan birds only need a little fat pulled off.
I have my wife, who has small hands, put her hends under the skin, between the skin and the meat, and separate the skin from as much of the chicken as is possible. That includes as much as possible of the legs and thighs and you can enter the space from the gut end or from the neck end, as needed. Be careful to not tear the skin. If you tear the skin, repair the skin by stitching, before you cook it, else the smoke distribution will be uneven on the meat. Good looks do count, especially for company.
Place the chicken in the frig overnight, uncovered, so that it will dry the skin. It will look a little funny the next day, but that is just fine. 18-24 hours is needed.
Take the chicken out of the frig about 2 hours fefore cooking time and place on a rack in a pan. Leave on countertop. That is just to get good air circulation around it. Dry the chicken well with paper towels and rub the bird with a mixture of 1 Tablespoon full of Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon full of baking powder. The baking powder changes the pH of the skin so that it will brown more easily. Let it sit, uncovered. until just before cooking. You can refrigerate if, if you like, as it will do no harm.
Prick the skin of the chicken with a knife about 25 times. Just through the skin, trying not to get into th meat. This provides holes for the renered fat to drain out of while browning.
Place the chicken on an empty beer can or beer butt roaster. on a pan, in a hot oven at 450 degrees, or so. I like a convection oven, as it browns better. You can turn the chicken around once, if you like, to even out the brownomg. The chicken does not need to be dark brown, a light brown is sufficient, but suit yourself. The skin should be much improved by this time.If your wing tips come out too dark in relation to the rest of the bird, then cover with Aluminum foil or tuck the wings behind the chicken before roasing. My Puritan chickens come with the very tips of the wings removed, so I only will put a little foil at the very end of the remainign bone. If your beer-butt roaster has a drip pan, you can save the Schmaltz and use it elsewhere: it is really good stuff.
Take the bird out of the oven and let it cool some and then refrigerate over night, covered with foil.
The next day, smoke-cook at 225 degrees until meat is 165-175 degrees internal temperature.
I have only tried this with one bird, so it is a work in progress. The chicken was very good and the skin was a distinct improvement. As time goes on, perhaps the above can be simplified.
Most of us are familiar with the rubbery skin we get when chicken is slow smoke-cooked, around 225 degrees or so. Here is the first installment on a partial fix.
Start two days ahead of time.
Get a really good, quality chicken. No, that does not include chickens with any kind of water pumped into them. 3.5 to 4 pound is a good weight. I like Puritan brand, as it meets my needs and is easily availble here, YMMV. Take the chicken out and cut the factory trussing off. Inspect and clean the bird, if needed--most of the Puritan birds only need a little fat pulled off.
I have my wife, who has small hands, put her hends under the skin, between the skin and the meat, and separate the skin from as much of the chicken as is possible. That includes as much as possible of the legs and thighs and you can enter the space from the gut end or from the neck end, as needed. Be careful to not tear the skin. If you tear the skin, repair the skin by stitching, before you cook it, else the smoke distribution will be uneven on the meat. Good looks do count, especially for company.
Place the chicken in the frig overnight, uncovered, so that it will dry the skin. It will look a little funny the next day, but that is just fine. 18-24 hours is needed.
Take the chicken out of the frig about 2 hours fefore cooking time and place on a rack in a pan. Leave on countertop. That is just to get good air circulation around it. Dry the chicken well with paper towels and rub the bird with a mixture of 1 Tablespoon full of Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon full of baking powder. The baking powder changes the pH of the skin so that it will brown more easily. Let it sit, uncovered. until just before cooking. You can refrigerate if, if you like, as it will do no harm.
Prick the skin of the chicken with a knife about 25 times. Just through the skin, trying not to get into th meat. This provides holes for the renered fat to drain out of while browning.
Place the chicken on an empty beer can or beer butt roaster. on a pan, in a hot oven at 450 degrees, or so. I like a convection oven, as it browns better. You can turn the chicken around once, if you like, to even out the brownomg. The chicken does not need to be dark brown, a light brown is sufficient, but suit yourself. The skin should be much improved by this time.If your wing tips come out too dark in relation to the rest of the bird, then cover with Aluminum foil or tuck the wings behind the chicken before roasing. My Puritan chickens come with the very tips of the wings removed, so I only will put a little foil at the very end of the remainign bone. If your beer-butt roaster has a drip pan, you can save the Schmaltz and use it elsewhere: it is really good stuff.
Take the bird out of the oven and let it cool some and then refrigerate over night, covered with foil.
The next day, smoke-cook at 225 degrees until meat is 165-175 degrees internal temperature.
I have only tried this with one bird, so it is a work in progress. The chicken was very good and the skin was a distinct improvement. As time goes on, perhaps the above can be simplified.
