Trimming Chicken thighs


 
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Rita Y

TVWBB Emerald Member
Do you trim off the two thick lines of fat on the edges of chicken thighs before smoking?

Will those lines of fat melt fully during the smoking period? Do they really need to be removed? Don't want fat chunks on my BBQ chicken.

I've been doing it with kitchen shears and then also trimming off any loose strands of skin. The thighs come with a lot of skin and I leave the skin in as large a piece as possible, knowing that it will shrink. I'll try tucking it under the edges of the thighs when I load them on the racks.

I just finished trimming 48 large thighs this way. It's a mind-numbing process, and I won't mention how long it took me!
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I'm hoping that the oversize skin will shrink to mostly cover the thigh. For smaller quantities I usually stick a couple of halved toothpicks through the skin to hold it in place. It does look nice but I'm not about to do that for all the chicken I'm doing tomorrow (48 thighs, 12 large breasts, 10 drumsticks).

I need to make the trimming process more efficient.

Anyone have any advice on just how much to trim chicken thighs? The rules seem to change when doing things in quantity because of the time factor.

Rita
 
If you were grilling those thighs then absolutely trim off that fat, it's dynamite! My family still talks about that grill fire.

I don't smoke thighs but when taking apart a smoked chicken I do not recall seeing that fat.
 
Hi Rita,

I will trim most of it. I want some fat because I start the cook direct over high heat for a few minutes. IMO, rendering the fat over high heat at the begining helps to improve the texture of the skin. Otherwise, I have not been able to produce a good bite to the skin.

Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n.... too many choices!
Gary
 
I trim excess skin, if needed, and by that I mean scraggly stuff not attached to meat. (I find a knife much faster.) I trim globs of fat, if any, from the end and underside. I do not trim the fat lines that runs along the edges, just excess skin from there, if any. Do they completely melt? Fortunately no, but I don't low/slow chicken. I've not known them to disappear entirely the few times I have but, high heat or not, the diminish.

To save time you can knife-trim those fat lines, taking the underlying skin with them but then of course you'll lose the skin. You have to decide if that's a trade-off you can live with. Or just leave them alone and do some direct cooking as Gary notes.

One thing you can do to save time, imo: partially freeze the thighs. This minimizes floppy skin, stiffening it (and any fat) so that clean cuts are easier.
 
I'm going to smoke the chicken parts today---will aim for about 300°F and will store the cooked chicken in pans overnight.

Tomorrow, before transporting and serving them, and instead of reheating in the oven, I'll put them over medium-low heat on my gasser for 2 or 3 minutes a side to heat them through and improve the skin. This method of reheating seemed to work pretty well the last time I did it and the skin was reasonably good. I have to travel with it so there is no way I can serve crisp skin.

I'll be doing this same cook fairly often, so I really need to cut down on the trimming time. I guess I'm pokey but when working with 35 pounds of chicken pieces I don't want them to sit out longer than is necessary.

One problem is transferring them between kitchen and downstairs fridge. It took 6 round trips up and down the stairs with the awkward sheet pans to get them back into the fridge. And I'm no spring chicken! ....Pardon the pun!
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Kevin, our posts crossed. I really like the idea of partially freezing the thighs before trimming. At the moment freezer space is at a premium but I'm working on that; it just takes time.

I'm leaving the skins in as large pieces as possible to allow for shrinkage but I do trim off raggedy edges. Next time I'll leave a few of the fat lines on and see how they melt or not, and go from there.
Rita
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I guess I'm pokey but when working with 35 pounds of chicken pieces I don't want them to sit out longer than is necessary. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, work on the freezer space. Par-freezing will make the work go quicker and will allow the chicken to stay out longer (not that you'll need it; you'll get faster the more often you do them
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Yup, the freezer is in my Top Ten List. Has been for some time.
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What I did, since I had all the chicken upstairs in the kitchen, is brine all 35 pounds of trimmed chicken at the same time in a big plastic tub.

Drained and rinsed them in the sink, put them on racks on 6 sheet pans, patted them dry, and sprinkled with salt-free rub. Then juggled the trays down to the fridge. I wanted them to sit in the fridge overnight to get the rub flavor into the meat better and to dry the skins a bit.

I learned to trim chicken with shears and it's become a habit; I've not given it a thought. I will definitely switch to a knife next time.

It's been interesting to observe the challenges that appear when doing day-to-day recipes in large batches. The logistics of moving that quantity of food around, pan sizes, storage, efficiency, not to mention safety, become much larger and important issues. And I love every minute of it, even if I don't get to bed until 6:30 in the A.M.

Rita
 
Good lord don't trim! Those fat bits (when cooked over HIGH heat...not low and slow...and yes I know *exactly* what you're talking about) are the best parts of a thigh! They melt in your mouth like cracklins.
 
Yup. But I have no aversion to fat.

Rita, it is fun. And it gets funner(!) as you figure out better procedures and flows.

Don't sweat the chicken-left-out-too-long thing. If you wish, drape a piece of plastic over the untrimmed chicken and then a towel that has been cold-water-soaked and wrung out over that. There isn't anything that's going to grow in the time the chicken is out that won't be taken care of during cooking.

I find shears cumbersome. You certainly might feel differently if you learned with them and are used to them. I mostly use a Japanese boning knife or a petty. You could go with a stiff-bladed fillet knife or the like. You want to be able to get in close with your knife hand. A chefs or santoku is too large for good control and speed, imo. Choke up on the handle as well.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Phil R.:
Good lord don't trim! Those fat bits (when cooked over HIGH heat...not low and slow...and yes I know *exactly* what you're talking about) are the best parts of a thigh! They melt in your mouth like cracklins. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I love you Man.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rita Y:
...It's a mind-numbing process, and I won't mention how long it took me!
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...
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I can totally relate to that .. I often buy boneless skinless thighs. I'v found I really like them for jamabalaya, greek pitas with tzatziki, enchiladas ... just about anywhere breast meat can get overdone and fall apart.

The meat is great but sure needs trimming there is often cartiledge left tucked in that got missed.

It takes me over an hour to do a 5lb pack with a paring knife. If I come up with something to expedite the process I'll report back.

As for grilling, like Kevin I tend to leave it on as long as it isn't danglin or excessively large. The fat can sort of protect the meat, flavor it and 'moisten' it.
 
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