Len Dennis
TVWBB Diamond Member
I've read the same info (different author) elsewhere. It's because of the younger chickens that are forced to market. It's only a concern from an appearance point of view, not a health issue.
Smoking Chicken: How do I get the Red out???
- Thread starter Dan Sfamurri
- Start date
I've read the same info (different author) elsewhere. It's because of the younger chickens that are forced to market. It's only a concern from an appearance point of view, not a health issue.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
It doesn't matter if I serve ribs fallin' off the bone. I still get requests from my own daughter and her roomate for a knife and fork, so don't think you can win with these citified, sissyfied, text and social media socialized kids nowadays.
Mama put a roasting hen in the middle of the table and if you snoozed you losed. Nowadays, it's B/S chicken, chicken nuggets, strips. Heck, even the wing joints have to serve boneless wings, for crying out loud.
So no, I wouldn't worry too much about some red edges in the chicken meat. If I ever noticed any raised eyebrows, I would just do my best to politely inform any ignorant diners without insulting them for their ignorance...or just keep my mouth shut and eat my chicken.
Don't get me started....
Mama put a roasting hen in the middle of the table and if you snoozed you losed. Nowadays, it's B/S chicken, chicken nuggets, strips. Heck, even the wing joints have to serve boneless wings, for crying out loud.
So no, I wouldn't worry too much about some red edges in the chicken meat. If I ever noticed any raised eyebrows, I would just do my best to politely inform any ignorant diners without insulting them for their ignorance...or just keep my mouth shut and eat my chicken.
Don't get me started....
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I cook thick, b/s chicken breasts for my Vegas client at least a dozen times a week, usually 1-3 breasts at a time. I take them to 160 so it is a very common problem for me. One just has to deal with it at the time, using whatever method best suits whatever one is going to do with the breasts once cooked.
A Cleland
TVWBB Super Fan
Maybe an old wives tale, maybe not, but an old timer taught me years ago that bringing meat up to room temps before starting the cooking process will help alleviate the problem of red meat around the bones. This is something that I regularly practice, and I do not seem to have that problem. Just a suggestion that may be worth giving a shot.
Michael L.
TVWBB Fan
On a sort of different note.. I never cook my chickens at that low of a temperature. The whole "low and slow" thing is great for large chunks of tough meat to slowly break down the connective tissue and make it super tender. But with chickens.. you're not trying to break down connective tissue. You're just trying to infuse smoke flavor to a roasted chicken.
So when I do mine, I do them at 400 degrees and I smoke them during the cook time. It's basically the same way I cook them in the oven, only with smoke. Skin comes out crispy, meat is nice and smokey, and I've never had a problem with the red.
Doing it beer can style works good to, because you have an additional heat source (the hot water) inside the bird. So you're cooking from both the inside and the outside, plus you're adding steam, plus you're adding smoke.
My .02
Good luck
So when I do mine, I do them at 400 degrees and I smoke them during the cook time. It's basically the same way I cook them in the oven, only with smoke. Skin comes out crispy, meat is nice and smokey, and I've never had a problem with the red.
Doing it beer can style works good to, because you have an additional heat source (the hot water) inside the bird. So you're cooking from both the inside and the outside, plus you're adding steam, plus you're adding smoke.
My .02
Good luck
Mike P.
TVWBB All-Star
I just smoked my 1st 2 chickens on the WSM (5th smoke). Man were they good. The wife was all over them and took some to work. It surprised me that she liked them so much.
All I can figure is that I went a tad heavier on the hickory and smoked them to 180* instead of the recommended 165*. Still juicy and done through and through. I had read somewhere that the USDA recommend doneness temp is based on the Minimum temp required to kill all forms of bacteria within a certain meat. That's a lot of wiggle room.
After pulling the birds off, I wrapped them in foil for about 30 minutes to rest.
Next time I'll bring them up to 175* internal and try it.
Maintained approximately 230 - 250* for about 3.25 hours with an OAT of about 70* and low wind. Also forgot to mention that I cut a stick of butter in half and put one in the cavity of each.
This is a good post. Learning a lot.
All I can figure is that I went a tad heavier on the hickory and smoked them to 180* instead of the recommended 165*. Still juicy and done through and through. I had read somewhere that the USDA recommend doneness temp is based on the Minimum temp required to kill all forms of bacteria within a certain meat. That's a lot of wiggle room.
After pulling the birds off, I wrapped them in foil for about 30 minutes to rest.
Next time I'll bring them up to 175* internal and try it.
Maintained approximately 230 - 250* for about 3.25 hours with an OAT of about 70* and low wind. Also forgot to mention that I cut a stick of butter in half and put one in the cavity of each.
This is a good post. Learning a lot.