Increase WSM 14 Temp from 225 to 325 on the Fly?

[Anne M.]

@Anne M. , are you able to smoke chicken and then get crispy chicken skin with high heat after it has smoked? Please share more details if you have been successful.

I've tried and not been able to get the skin crispy after smoking without overcooking the chicken.

With chicken pieces I get something resembling an edible skin. Never as good as with grilling or on rotisserie though.
I've not tried with a whole chicken.

 

[timothy]

I think the term we are looking for is bite -thru skin. Not rubbery ( when you smoke L&S) or crispy ( when you do high heat) but bite thru when you do a combination of both.

 

[BFletcher]

With the 14, because it is light, I can lift middle section, water bowl, chicken and lid off in one go.
I place it on an old 14 inch lid as I don't want it on the ground. Chicken stays inside while the bottom section with the left over charcoal gets lots of air.
Finish of on there.

I've done this on items like a Tri-tip noted by Brett on the 14" and 18". I think I learned from the experts here that it is referred to as the hot squat. I keep an old broken down box handy to rest the WSM sections when doing this.

When I first started smoking there was a natural desire to smoke everything low and slow. Eventually, I came around and realized a high heat cook is better suited, sometimes.

 

[Brett-EDH]

that it is referred to as the hot squat.

this the number 1 reason why I bought the WSK. i was sick and tired of ghetto cooking. at 6'1", it's quite uncomfortable to cook 18 inches off the patio.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

I asked a simple question that went all over the place. I got lots answers to questions that I did not ask. I didn't ask how to cook / smoke a chicken.
Yes, you can smoke a chicken at 250 - 275 to about 140 IT and then if you can get the temp up to 325 - 350 quickly, the skin will crisp by the time you hit the 165 pull temp. I know for a fact that it will work with a chicken that has been dry brined and air dried for 24 hours after doing a hot water pour-over to shrink and thin the skin and start collagen breakdown.
I'll just work with my Signals+Billows and find the answer to my question to see if I can get a fast enough transition in my little WSM or my 18..

 

[BFletcher]

Oliver, with all due respect we're just guys and gals who make attempts to provide some input on a variety of questions. We're not paid respondents and we drift, good or bad. Sometimes we help while on other occasions we miss the mark. In the end, we hope that everyone whom joins Chris' site tolerates a little of the noise so that we can gain a new online friend.

 

[Lew Newby]

I asked a simple question that went all over the place. I got lots answers to questions that I did not ask. I didn't ask how to cook / smoke a chicken.
Yes, you can smoke a chicken at 250 - 275 to about 140 IT and then if you can get the temp up to 325 - 350 quickly, the skin will crisp by the time you hit the 165 pull temp. I know for a fact that it will work with a chicken that has been dry brined and air dried for 24 hours after doing a hot water pour-over to shrink and thin the skin and start collagen breakdown.
I'll just work with my Signals+Billows and find the answer to my question to see if I can get a fast enough transition in my little WSM or my 18..

The first response you got told you how many of us quickly ramped up the temp in our WSMs. Add hot coals. That's a simple and quick way to get it done. Other possibilities were raised but you already had the simple answer. Chris covers all of this on TVWB (link at top of page).

 

[Brett-EDH]

The goal is to get some lo & slow smoke time up to about 145 degrees IT, then ramp to finish and crisp.

you're going to have to hit the skin with direct heat to crisp the skin. however you choose to do that is your choice. ramping up the WSM with IT of 145 to done IT 165, with airflow alone will not, IMO, get crispy skin. i could be wrong. but i'll bet i'm right. i'd recco searing the skin over direct coals, as previously stated, to get an actual crisped skin.

i did LAS in my oven last night of a clucker. 285F for 90 mins and then hit the broil with IT at 155 to generate some crisped skin.

the skin was meh, as the fat layer under the skin never rendered enough during the cook so the skin wasn't crispy. i did a dry rub, with salt in it, exposed in the fridge for 8 hours.

the knowledgebase here is quite extensive and deep. from the replies posted, a lot of people are recommending direct heat for a skin sear to get close to what you want. let us know how it turns out for you. we all stand to learn from each other and that's kinda the best part of this forum.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

Oliver, with all due respect we're just guys and gals who make attempts to provide some input on a variety of questions. We're not paid respondents and we drift, good or bad. Sometimes we help while on other occasions we miss the mark. In the end, we hope that everyone whom joins Chris' site tolerates a little of the noise so that we can gain a new online friend.

I just feel like I'm coming off as the "bad guy" while trying to get specific information. I have noticed more and more here lately that it's getting harder and harder to achieve that on social media. I have spent decades on a variety of forums and boards before there was such a thing as social media, and I got into this group because it seemed more like the forums that I spent so much time on. I believe there is a great wealth of information to be found here. Personally, if I don't know a viable answer to the specific question asked, I don't comment or offer irrelevant "solutions". But, that's just me. Maybe the world has changed enough due to the influence of social media that such things aren't viable any more. I'm getting older, so things like time, energy and thought are more carefully invested these days. That's why I ask specific questions, because I have already taken the time to figure out exactly what it is that I want / need to know.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

The first response you got told you how many of us quickly ramped up the temp in our WSMs. Add hot coals. That's a simple and quick way to get it done. Other possibilities were raised but you already had the simple answer. Chris covers all of this on TVWB (link at top of page).

Yes, I saw that. I did not disregard or discard that info.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

you're going to have to hit the skin with direct heat to crisp the skin. however you choose to do that is your choice. ramping up the WSM with IT of 145 to done IT 165, with airflow alone will not, IMO, get crispy skin. i could be wrong. but i'll bet i'm right. i'd recco searing the skin over direct coals, as previously stated, to get an actual crisped skin.

i did LAS in my oven last night of a clucker. 285F for 90 mins and then hit the broil with IT at 155 to generate some crisped skin.

the skin was meh, as the fat layer under the skin never rendered enough during the cook so the skin wasn't crispy. i did a dry rub, with salt in it, exposed in the fridge for 8 hours.

the knowledgebase here is quite extensive and deep. from the replies posted, a lot of people are recommending direct heat for a skin sear to get close to what you want. let us know how it turns out for you. we all stand to learn from each other and that's kinda the best part of this forum.

I already know that the crisp skin can be achieved by finishing in the oven at Bake 350 (no Broil). One thing I do to poultry is do a hot water pour-over to shrink and thin the skin, starting collagen breakdown and then dry it off and dry brine and open air dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours. That makes a huge difference. I don't know anything about ducks, tho. LOL!

 

[DanHoo]

Hey Oliver, I hope you didn't take my comments the wrong way.

I've tried to smoke then crisp chicken a bunch of ways, and on a smoker/grill that I think is more temperature agile than a WSM when it comes to increasing temps ( specifically my large big green egg ) and never had great results.

Sometimes the side conversations bring out the best answers and we all learn better ways to skin a cat, or in this case crisp a yard bird.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

I was suggesting finish the higher heat on a kettle or gas grill.

However I'm not sure if that will or will not crisp the skin.

I usually I cook chicken with high heat the entire cook or sometimes start hot like 425 and the let the grill cool down over time to 350 or 325.

I considered finishing on the gas grill, but when the chicken is standing on the upright rack, I don't have enough clearance. I'd have to put the chicken on the bottom rack of a 14 or 18 to get enough clearance. At least on the 14, it puts the bulk of the chicken at the level of the top rack when stood up on the bottom rack. The old racks that I have aren't made any more. They are taller and they spread the cavity WIDE open to let more heat and smoke inside. getting more heat inside provides a better cook and juicier chicken. I have had those racks for about 30 years and cooked a lot of chickens in the oven on them. My kids always liked those chickens and when they were little, they used to ask, "Dad, can you make up-the-butt chicken for supper tonight?"

 

[OliverLeveritt]

Hey Oliver, I hope you didn't take my comments the wrong way.

I've tried to smoke then crisp chicken a bunch of ways, and on a smoker/grill that I think is more temperature agile than a WSM when it comes to increasing temps ( specifically my large big green egg ) and never had great results.

Sometimes the side conversations bring out the best answers and we all learn better ways to skin a cat, or in this case crisp a yard bird.

No, I found nothing negative about your comments. I think "agile" is a good word. I was trying to determine just how "agile" the WSM is. Apparently, not very, without a lot of help.

 

[Brett-EDH]

I already know that the crisp skin can be achieved by finishing in the oven at Bake 350 (no Broil). One thing I do to poultry is do a hot water pour-over to shrink and thin the skin, starting collagen breakdown and then dry it off and dry brine and open air dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours. That makes a huge difference. I don't know anything about ducks, tho. LOL!

i'd assume if you're doing this Asian prep method of hot water bath to render the skin, then it's also cooking the meat. so how much smoke is the protein absorbing once you've started to cook the protein with hot water?

i've found, in my WSK, that i can blast the heat and ramp up the smoke and do a hot smoked chicken which comes out smokey and with fully cooked skin. i'd lean in that direction, but that's how i'd do my bird.

i'll sit back and await your results. maybe i stand to learn something new here. i all ears, just not corn.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

i'd assume if you're doing this Asian prep method of hot water bath to render the skin, then it's also cooking the meat. so how much smoke is the protein absorbing once you've started to cook the protein with hot water?

i've found, in my WSK, that i can blast the heat and ramp up the smoke and do a hot smoked chicken which comes out smokey and with fully cooked skin. i'd lean in that direction, but that's how i'd do my bird.

i'll sit back and await your results. maybe i stand to learn something new here. i all ears, just not corn.

I don't know about Asian hot water bath. I learned it from Chef Jacob Burton's Youtube video on spatchcocking a turkey. It's just a pour-over. I probably don't pour more than 8 - 12 ounces of hot water on a chicken, so I doubt there's any meat cooking going on. As soon as the skin starts to shrink (which is almost instantly) I move on. It's just a quick pass. I don't have anything against just cooking / smoking it hot but I just wanted to try something different. I'll probably forget about the ramp-up and just cook at one temp till done. I do know that after the pour-over, the skin will crisp in just a few minutes if moving from smoker to oven, and smoke absorption is sufficient. Doing the ramp-up in that format yields juicy chicken. That being the case, it should crisp just fine if cooked / smoked at one continuous temp in the WSM subsequent to the hot water / dry brine / air dry. Shorter cook time should also preserve moisture well.

 

[EricV.]

Buy a kettle.....

 

[Brett-EDH]

I don't know about Asian hot water bath. I learned it from Chef Jacob Burton's Youtube video on spatchcocking a turkey. It's just a pour-over. I probably don't pour more than 8 - 12 ounces of hot water on a chicken, so I doubt there's any meat cooking going on. As soon as the skin starts to shrink (which is almost instantly) I move on. It's just a quick pass. I don't have anything against just cooking / smoking it hot but I just wanted to try something different. I'll probably forget about the ramp-up and just cook at one temp till done. I do know that after the pour-over, the skin will crisp in just a few minutes if moving from smoker to oven, and smoke absorption is sufficient. Doing the ramp-up in that format yields juicy chicken. That being the case, it should crisp just fine if cooked / smoked at one continuous temp in the WSM subsequent to the hot water / dry brine / air dry. Shorter cook time should also preserve moisture well.

Asian hot water bath chicken.

In all my years of cooking, the juiciest chicken comes from a wet brine, overnight. Or just use a kosher chicken, which is also factory brined per the kashering process.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

Asian hot water bath chicken.

In all my years of cooking, the juiciest chicken comes from a wet brine, overnight. Or just use a kosher chicken, which is also factory brined per the kashering process.

Yep. Wet brine is my favorite. I haven't cooked a turkey in years without wet brining. That may become the standard for my chicken, too. BTW, in the video I reference earlier about spatchcocked turkey and hot water, etc. the chef cooked the turkey at 450 degrees -- 5 minutes per pound. I did my TG turkey that way this year. Wet brined for 24 hours, then the hot water, then air dry for 24 hours. 14 lb turkey done in 70 minutes. People raved about the juicy white meat. I could do a 6 pound chicken in 30 minutes like that. LOL!! For the past few years, I have been putting my chickens in a covered cast iron dutch oven, then in the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and let it sit for 30 minutes, then take it out and let it rest with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Awesome stuff. I'll have to get a wet brined chicken on the smoker. I could probably do two 4 - 5 pounders spatchcocked on the top rack of the 18.

 

[OliverLeveritt]

Buy a kettle.....

Better not. My wife is already griping about the conglomeration of my gas grill, three griddles and two WSMs on the patio. I'm gonna get rid of a couple of the small griddles and keep just the 36" tho. That will ultimately make room for a WSM 22. LOL!