Will Air Drying Chicken decrease the flavor of the marinade?


 
B

Bryan B

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Hello all,

I am Q'in up a bunch of chicken thighs this weekend for a party, and I have a default marinade that I absolutely love. So far, when using this method, the flavor is great, tenderness great, but...the crispy skin is kind of hit or miss. I Q at 275-300 by the way for the thighs. I've heard air drying will get the skin crisp, but my question is, do you sacrifice the flavor of the marinade or the moistness of the chicken when you do it this way? Just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Thanks.
 
Bryan, I think it kinda depends on what ingredients are in the marinade. If there is oil in it then air drying should not affect the skin. I always air dry about 4 hrs after a brine but I don't look for crispy skin. I believe that higher cook temps in the 350-370 range will help you get crispier skin.
 
Bryan, I doubt that you would lose flavor or moistness of the meat by drying the skin in the refrigerator for 8 or 12 hours. I expect that the evaporation of the moisture on the skin will leave the salt and other flavorings from the brine on the skin, adding a layer to the flavor. That wouldn't be enough time to dry out the meat.

Some people put the bird in front of a fan for a couple of hours to facilitate drying of the skin.

Rita
 
Direct heat and/or high temp, IMO, are the keys to crispy skin. I do chicken on my kettle and always go skin side down direct at the end for nice skin. You have to watch the chicken so you don't burn it so stay put.
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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:
Bryan, I doubt that you would lose flavor or moistness of the meat by drying the skin in the refrigerator for 8 or 12 hours. I expect that the evaporation of the moisture on the skin will leave the salt and other flavorings from the brine on the skin, adding a layer to the flavor. That wouldn't be enough time to dry out the meat.

Some people put the bird in front of a fan for a couple of hours to facilitate drying of the skin.

Rita </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Rita, I've recently changed my smoked chicken prep, and your suggestion will make it easier.

I'll remove fat and brine the day before the cook, air dry overnight, and then season and oil not too long before smoking. Doing it all in one day just wasn't giving me the time I wanted in drying, and it'll be nice to have some of the work done before the day of the cook.

Thanks!
 
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