The Next Installment in the Quest for Crispy Roti Bird

[John Sp]

Hello All,

Today I stepped back into the batter's box to take another swing at perfect rotisserie chicken skin. I have come tantalizingly close but as of yet have failed to fulfil the quest. This time around I did some research and learned about using baking powder in the rub and poking holes in the skin to improve crispiness. I also wanted to try dry brining but did not have the time this weekend to do it. My family really enjoyed the green pesto chicken I did a while back so I decided to reprise that with the new rub idea. Below are a few pics of my latest attempt.
<a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb1_zps4ju4obor.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb1_zps4ju4obor.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br>
<strong>Chickens Prepped with Basil Pesto (under the skin) and a 50-50 mixture of Scarborough Fair rub and Baking Powder and Poked with Holes<br>
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</strong><a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb2_zps2pglegf1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb2_zps2pglegf1.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><strong><br>
Spinning Up a Few Minutes into the Cook (Vents at 20%)<br>
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</strong><a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb3_zps8orx2a5q.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb3_zps8orx2a5q.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><strong><br>
Mid Cook - Looking Good - Opened Vents to 70%<br>
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</strong><a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb4_zps57ammpvj.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb4_zps57ammpvj.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><strong><br>
Near End of Cook - Opened Vents 100%<br>
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</strong><a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb6_zpss94whfct.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb6_zpss94whfct.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><strong><br>
Carving After 15 Minute Rest<br>
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</strong><a href="http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/johns1959/media/rb7_zps0pjxkpby.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg496/johns1959/rb7_zps0pjxkpby.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><strong><br>
Plated with Kari's Roasted Paresean Asparagus and Garden Green Beans</strong></div><br>
This was closer to the mark. The bird had great flavor, moistness, and color. The skin was definitely crispier (a lot more fat rendered this time) but it was not yet as crispy as I would like (you can see that it did not behave properly when I carved in the pictures). I pulled the bird at an internal of 175 at the thigh and 170 at the breast (a little later than I would ordinarily pull it in an attempt to achieve the skin texture I am looking for). I think another 10 minutes would have perfected the skin but I would have lost the moistness if I had kept going at high temp. Next time I am going to try it with the vents wide open the whole way and with a dry brine. Anyway today advanced the state of my art and the family enjoyed the product. That is a failure I can live with. Thanks for looking,<br>
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Regards,<br>
<br>
John

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Can't see the pic's John.

 

[ChuckO]

Your photos need work. If you got crispy skin in your wsm, you rock

 

[JRAiona]

I can't see you photos either John.

 

[Craig Alumbaugh]

No photos here either

 

[Dave from Denver]

Fixed your tags for you John.

 

[Dave from Denver]

These ones didn't fit above. Some of the image links aren't direct links so they look like you'd need to fix it.

 

[Barb D]

Those are some awesome looking birds John, color is outstanding. I'll take a plate full of that for sure.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Great looking birds John. I've never got that super crispy skin on any of my cooks either.