Rubbery Chicken Skin


 
J

JohnY

New member
Hi all, I’m cooking on a WSM 18” and having an issue with my skin not crisping. I dry brined overnight on a rack to get moisture out of skin. Sometimes I do this with baking powder as well to raise ph and promote crisping (I’m new to bbq though). Then I smoked the chicken at 225 for an hourish until I hit 165F, then opened vents all the way but could only get to 285F for about another 45 min or so. Pulled chicken at around 185F. Chicken was great, great smoke, juicy, but the skin was tougher than the leather on my car seats.

I know I likely need to get the final temp up higher, but any advice or tips you guys can give me? Anything in my process that’s wrong?
 
You need to get hotter for sure. I usually run my chickens up to 375-400. Hard to get that hot on the WSM, without a ATC. I will crack open the lid with my BGE ash tool to let in the extra oxygen to make the temps climb up. Not done that on my 18, but it works great on my 22.

Charlie
 
No water pan, I was actually using the firedial. Just got one specifically for chicken.

Also forgot to mention, these were bone in/skin on thighs.

I’m thinking I could get pretty good temps with lump and a little computer fan I have. I was using KBB and pecan in this attempt.
 
C Lewis, what temp and times do you generally run chicken? Are you lower at start to render or do you hit them at 375-400 whole cook? Is that for pieces or whole birds?
 
I’ve pulled skin off when making thighs for tacos. Baked the skin in the oven pressed between 2 cast iron skillets. Put the chicken cracklings on the tacos. It was good!
 
It's hard to get decent skin in the WSM when cooking at low & slow temps. Skin will always be rubbery.

You have to cook hot, hot, hot. That will give you bite-through skin, if not crispy skin. To crisp, you need to move the cooking grate directly over the charcoal ring at the end of the cook.

Try this for better results:

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Hot & Fast Chicken - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Hot & Fast Chicken: Tender, well-rendered chicken skin worth eating is achieved using a high-temp smoke-roasting method in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
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Smoked chicken at those temps ( 225 ) is great for pulled chicken or on it's own but the skin is rubbery and most pull it off.
You might try removing the water pan and go open pit.
I've done that with Roadside or Cornell chicken and you get a nice crispy skin but your high enough to avoid flare-ups ( somewhat)
Leave the lid off for two long and you can go nuclear with all those drippings hitting the coals.
 
I've smoked at hot temps, but I've never really achieved crispy skin reliably. Bite through skin, yes. I might get the wings crispy or what not. Grilling at the end can get you there but it requires some finesse. Frying is the most reliable way to do it.
 
JohnY said:
C Lewis, what temp and times do you generally run chicken? Are you lower at start to render or do you hit them at 375-400 whole cook? Is that for pieces or whole birds?
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Whole birds, spatchcocked. I removed moisture from the bird with paper towels, then a very light coat of Pam or any spray oil to act like a binder for the seasoning. I start at 375-400 and go about an hour. I occasionally lightly mist with water, but sometimes not. One hour at those temps usually does a typical 4 lb chicken. Granted, the higher temps reduce the smoke flavor, but they get the skin crispy. You could go lower for the first half to smoke, then bump up to 400 to finish and crisp I guess, but I try to keep it simple with minimal steps. Probably doing one in the next week or so, I'll post some pics. Hope this helps.

Charlie
 
C Lewis said:
Whole birds, spatchcocked. I removed moisture from the bird with paper towels, then a very light coat of Pam or any spray oil to act like a binder for the seasoning. I start at 375-400 and go about an hour. I occasionally lightly mist with water, but sometimes not. One hour at those temps usually does a typical 4 lb chicken. Granted, the higher temps reduce the smoke flavor, but they get the skin crispy. You could go lower for the first half to smoke, then bump up to 400 to finish and crisp I guess, but I try to keep it simple with minimal steps. Probably doing one in the next week or so, I'll post some pics. Hope this helps.

Charlie
Click to expand...
Forgot to mention that I always dry brine with kosher salt the day before, and leave uncovered in the fridge. Seems to help dry out the skin surface a bit.

Charlie
 
C Lewis said:
Forgot to mention that I always dry brine with kosher salt the day before, and leave uncovered in the fridge. Seems to help dry out the skin surface a bit.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Charlie,
Try that with 1:4 baking powder to salt. It raises the Ph level and promotes crisping. I’m new to bbq, but use this trick for other culinary pursuits.
Cheers,
John
 
I used to “cheat” with my WSM. When the chicken is cooked, take the barrel off its base and place your chicken on its grate directly over the coals on the WSM. Sear that skin to develop that crisp you’re seeking. And keep the bird pieces moving so you don’t burn the skin because you’re literally on direct heat.

As others have stated, sear your birds for the first 20 mins at 400° and then go slow and low for a perfect bird every time.

Alternatively, remove the skin after its cooked and chop it up. Shred your leftover chicken pieces and mix with the skin and cook it all in a cast iron on the stovetop. The skin renders and crisps up nicely.

Hope this helps.
 
in my opinion there is a trade off between hot/fast (referencing Chris' article) and a properly smoked chicken (referencing Wiviott)

Chris' method of wide open the whole time with 'swim cap method' is A+. Personally, I start with a full ring and let it come up to max heat - gets just as hot and I like to bury my chunks/reuse. Everyone is a bit different.

I like hot/fast on the 14" and like to imagine the top grate is a perfect distance from the coals.

Every once in awhile, I will cook one low and slow because I like it that way too (even with rubbery skin).
 
This is great input all, much appreciated. I cook dinner for the guys at my gun club on Tuesday nights after skeet. I’m going to make chicken this week and I’ll take some pics and report back here. Cheers.
 
Run your smoker hot 350 + all vents wide open use your favorite seasoning and-based every 15 minutes with whatever you want to baste it with preferably some liquid butter
 

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Chicken is in the fridge with rub. I added some baking powder to it as well. The rub has sugar, not ideal, but it’s what I had and didn’t feel like making another. I’ll keep the temp <350 to make sure it doesn’t burn. Will use some butter spray as well if I see the color getting too dark.
 

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