Chicken skin help.

[cardsfan]

When I smoke chicken thighs, they are skinless and boneless, and wrapped in bacon! Awesome every time.

So today, I decided to smoke some wings and thighs with skin and bones. They turned out delicious, but the skin is inedible. So tough, I can't chew through it. I thought it was crispy, but no. What did I do wrong?

 

[pc farmer]

How did you prepare the chicken and what temp you smoke at?

 

[chilerelleno]

Smoked fowl is notorious for rubbery, chewy skin with poor bite through consistency, there are several things you can do to improve it. You may not get crispy crunchy, but you can get a nice bite through with a Pop!

Thoroughly air dry the skin for 12-24 hours and cook at higher temps to render the skin, temps of 350°-375°.

Or

Rub the skin generously with a 1:3 mix of baking powder:salt, then thoroughly air dry in the fridge for 12-24hrs and cook at higher temps of 350°-375°

If your smoker can't attain the higher temps, you can smoke long enough to get color/flavor, take it to an IT of maybe 145°-150° and then finish under the broiler or at 450°-500°.
The preheated skin will crisp very quickly.

Birds can also be moved to a blazing hot grill and finished there to crisp the skin with direct heat.

 

[cardsfan]

How did you prepare the chicken and what temp you smoke at?

Smoked at 250 for about 3 and 1/2 hours.

 

[cardsfan]

Smoked at 250 for about 3 and 1/2 hours.

Prepared with butt rub.

 

[cardsfan]

Thanks Chili. Good advice. I am smoking on a Fast Eddy by Cook Shack. Can get as hot as I want.

 

[pc farmer]

Chile has great advice. Smoke hot, dry the skin.

 

[KHert]

When I smoke chicken thighs, they are skinless and boneless, and wrapped in bacon! Awesome every time.

So today, I decided to smoke some wings and thighs with skin and bones. They turned out delicious, but the skin is inedible. So tough, I can't chew through it. I thought it was crispy, but no. What did I do wrong?

Yes, I have don’t room temperature and make sure I pat everything dry with towel.

But I do have a question for you. What is your recipe for the thighs wrapped in bacon. Very interested in trying it, if you don’t mind.

Kevin

 

[texomakid]

Man I have tried multiple ways to try and improve my chicken skin. Hot & fast multiple times with various temps, Baking powder (turned out like boot leather), 24 hours drying in fridge with covered with salt to dry brine (it was terrible) - I think it's pellet grill related I don't know. Seems like the less I mess with it the better it is but that's not good as well. Too rubbery. At least the flavor of the meat is always excellent!

 

[chilerelleno]

K KHert
Season both sides of your boneless/skinless thighs.
Wrap in thin cut bacon, pin bacon with toothpick.
Set smoker up at 275°-300° with favorite wood.
(I like a cherry/hickory mix for chicken)
Smoke until either bacon is fully rendered and/or chicken IT is 185°.
The bacon can be further crisped if desired by finishing on a screaming hot grill or 400° oven.

If you want to really liven these up, season with Mexican spices and then roll the thigh around a Jalapeno chile stuffed with cheese.

 

[schlotz]

While there maybe an elusive solution to obtaining crispy skin, I've yet to experience it. To that point, I've reverted to using the gas grill with a tube smoker. Using both does produce a smokey bird and crispy skin with the grill running at 350º.

 

[cardsfan]

Yes, I have don’t room temperature and make sure I pat everything dry with towel.

But I do have a question for you. What is your recipe for the thighs wrapped in bacon. Very interested in trying it, if you don’t mind.

Kevin

Kevin,

Quite frankly it is the easiest thing I do, and it is by far the most popular, most requested thing I do. Almost fool proof!

I take boneless, skinless thighs, and put butt rub on both sides. I then half or quarter jalepenos (depending on how hot they are), and wrap the thigh around the jalepeno. Then take your favorite bacon (I prefer Safeway hickory smoked) and wrap a piece around each thigh. I saw above where someone suggested a toothpick, but it isn't necessary if you wrap them right the bacon will lay just fine, and after 1.5 hours the bacon will stay formed around the thigh. I then smoke at 250 to 275 for about 3 hours turning them over half way through. At 3 hours, I brush on some BBQ sauce, and set them back upright. Turn the heat up to 300-350 just until the sauce caramelizes. They are awesome!! I usually serve with my wife's homemade coleslaw. They will make you famous...;-)

Chili's recipe sounds good too, but this is how I do it, and like I said, no brain damage. I.T. will be fine. Also, no jalepenos is fine.

 

[KHert]

Kevin,

Quite frankly it is the easiest thing I do, and it is by far the most popular, most requested thing I do. Almost fool proof!

I take boneless, skinless thighs, and put butt rub on both sides. I then half or quarter jalepenos (depending on how hot they are), and wrap the thigh around the jalepeno. Then take your favorite bacon (I prefer Safeway hickory smoked) and wrap a piece around each thigh. I saw above where someone suggested a toothpick, but it isn't necessary if you wrap them right the bacon will lay just fine, and after 1.5 hours the bacon will stay formed around the thigh. I then smoke at 250 to 275 for about 3 hours turning them over half way through. At 3 hours, I brush on some BBQ sauce, and set them back upright. Turn the heat up to 300-350 just until the sauce caramelizes. They are awesome!! I usually serve with my wife's homemade coleslaw. They will make you famous...;-)

Chili's recipe sounds good too, but this is how I do it, and like I said, no brain damage. I.T. will be fine. Also, no jalepenos is fine.

I will have try these 2 recipes. We have only don’t quartered so far. Has been great. So far we have smoke 2 sets of chicken quarters and St. Louis ribs and haven’t been left down. Not sure how that relates to what others might call good, but we like them.

Need to learn how to make some good beans and Mac. Then we can have a party, haha.

Think I might try wings this upcoming weekend. Have to see if I can find some good advice for them.

So is the name as in the St. Louis Cardinals?

Thanks again for the help.

Kevin

 

[bregent]

I am smoking on a Fast Eddy by Cook Shack. Can get as hot as I want.

I'm guessing you've got a PG500/1000? Generally, pellet grills are not the best at cooking chicken skin, especially thighs that have a lot of fat. That's because you have to run really hot for at least part of the cook to render the fat under the skin and most pellet grills have their fire pots under the drip tray - the tray will get very hot and can easily start a grease fire. But the Fast Eddy PG's are different in that the fire pot is not directly under the drip tray, so I don't think you'll have that problem. Another reason I'd like to get a PG500 one of these days :)

I've recently reverted back to the Weber for skin-on-thighs, running really hot at first but with the lid on to control flareups. It does a better job than my Memphis. I can get crispy skin if I want, but lately I'm finding I like soft bite-through skin better.

 

[cardsfan]

I will have try these 2 recipes. We have only don’t quartered so far. Has been great. So far we have smoke 2 sets of chicken quarters and St. Louis ribs and haven’t been left down. Not sure how that relates to what others might call good, but we like them.

Need to learn how to make some good beans and Mac. Then we can have a party, haha.

Think I might try wings this upcoming weekend. Have to see if I can find some good advice for them.

So is the name as in the St. Louis Cardinals?

Thanks again for the help.

Kevin

Yep! Go Cardinals!!

 

[cardsfan]

I'm guessing you've got a PG500/1000? Generally, pellet grills are not the best at cooking chicken skin, especially thighs that have a lot of fat. That's because you have to run really hot for at least part of the cook to render the fat under the skin and most pellet grills have their fire pots under the drip tray - the tray will get very hot and can easily start a grease fire. But the Fast Eddy PG's are different in that the fire pot is not directly under the drip tray, so I don't think you'll have that problem. Another reason I'd like to get a PG500 one of these days :)

I've recently reverted back to the Weber for skin-on-thighs, running really hot at first but with the lid on to control flareups. It does a better job than my Memphis. I can get crispy skin if I want, but lately I'm finding I like soft bite-through skin better.

Yes, I have the PG1000. Love it. I think I will just stick to my skinless boneless thighs. I know I did legs one time and didn't have this problem, so I'm not sure what I may have done different. So, do you go high heat, and then cool it down for smoke? Also, how do you keep soft skin? Sauce?

 

[tallbm]

Chile has basically covered all your options.
I smoked at 325F and usually don't have issues with most chicken parts. I use a heavily moded electric smoker and the AMNPS tray so I generate heat and smoke separately to have max control :)

For wings I like to smoke really low temp for about an hour and 45 min for smoke flavor then I throw them on a hot grill and cook them that way. Wings have so much more skin that this helps get it all done well without overdoing the wings. This is basically the same idea as reverse sear on a steak :)