Ref; Smoke and fried Chicken Thighs

[TomKnollRFV]

Almost all gone before I got a picture kind of night!

We were doing a clean up of the stuff on hand and we had a frozen package of bone in, skin on thighs, so I smoked em with some hickory and jerk seasoning <Not alot> and then fried them in oil and let them sit in the oven at 350 as we got other things done.

Now I am wondering..if i had an air fryer, would you say I'd even need to add oil if I put them in that to crisp them up?

 

[pc farmer]

So you smoked, fried and baked?

 

[TomKnollRFV]

So you smoked, fried and baked?

Basically. I didn't want the chicken to go cold when I was doing up the hashbrowns, so I put it in the oven at 350f.

I mean I'm fairly certain every piece hit the safe temp after being fried, but better safe then sorry, and it turned out good. But my god, the amount of oil/fat/water that came out of these thighs was awful when frying. I wonder if the airfryer would reduce how much there was, or at least make it so it stopped sitting in pools of it!

 

[SonnyE]

Well Tom, I see we need to get you out more often... LOL!

Lookie here:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-chicken-thighs-with-crispy-skin.270987/

 

[disco]

I don't know much about air fryers but I just did a smoke of chicken thighs at 400 F and brushed them with oil for the last half of the smoke and it turned out great. The skin was crispy and they weren't oily at all.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Well Tom, I see we need to get you out more often... LOL!

Lookie here:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-chicken-thighs-with-crispy-skin.270987/

Well I feel dumb for asking now! We're really considering the air fryer in the next month I can tell you that!

I don't know much about air fryers but I just did a smoke of chicken thighs at 400 F and brushed them with oil for the last half of the smoke and it turned out great. The skin was crispy and they weren't oily at all.

The last time my MES got to 300f+ was when I had the AMNPS decide to start on fire by it self! LOL

 

[gmc2003]

Tom your chicken looks really good to me. I've gone that route a few times(minus the airfryer) as the wife and I are trying to still enjoy fried foods w/o actually using the oil. If you have access to charcoal you should be able to do it.

Here's a couple of examples:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/kfc-chicken.274515/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/chicken-fried-steak-and-sausage-gravy.275549/

Point for sure
Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

Those air fryers are an awesome addition to your kitchen arsenal.
Everything I have made on ours has been fantastic, actually better tasting than the real thing!!
Al

 

[SonnyE]

Well I feel dumb for asking now! We're really considering the air fryer in the next month I can tell you that!

No need to feel dumb, Tom. That wasn't my intent.
But several of us have one in our Kitchen Gadgets.
It's a heck of a nice tool, I recommend it.

The other day I had a small piece of Pork Loin (~1 pound) thawed out in the fridge. I read an old post of Al's about just SPOG (Salt, Pepper, Onion, and Garlic Powder) on a piece of Pork.
Well, if Al like's it, I'm gonna try it! So I have a small cheese shaker that I made a SPOG shaker when I mixed up a batch and just shook and rubbed it on the meat. Then set it in the Air Fryer and just used the Pork Chop setting at 25 minutes.
I did set a timer and turned my Piggy Piece over half way.
Came out with a delicious little Pork Roast we gobbled up! Super simple, super easy. And I believe pretty healthy.
Yan can cook. Well, so can Sonny.

They have a newest model out that also has a rotisserie in it. No turning over your meal! I'd get that one, if I was going to get one today.
Watch Walmart's "As Seen On TV" section. Good deals, no waiting. Actually, I see they carry them.
Get the big one. And enjoy.

Here's the Rotisserie one at Sam's club, for an example.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Those air fryers are an awesome addition to your kitchen arsenal.
Everything I have made on ours has been fantastic, actually better tasting than the real thing!!
Al

My biggest reason for wanting one is largely for making bacon and sausages. Since I eat some sort of breakfast meat daily and I figured the less calories the better..but some times you gotta get them crispy fries too!

Tom your chicken looks really good to me. I've gone that route a few times(minus the airfryer) as the wife and I are trying to still enjoy fried foods w/o actually using the oil. If you have access to charcoal you should be able to do it.

Here's a couple of examples:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/kfc-chicken.274515/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/chicken-fried-steak-and-sausage-gravy.275549/

Point for sure
Chris

Disco just put up his thing too! I'm really tempted to try his method on charcoal!

No need to feel dumb, Tom. That wasn't my intent.
But several of us have one in our Kitchen Gadgets.
It's a heck of a nice tool, I recommend it.

The other day I had a small piece of Pork Loin (~1 pound) thawed out in the fridge. I read an old post of Al's about just SPOG (Salt, Pepper, Onion, and Garlic Powder) on a piece of Pork.
Well, if Al like's it, I'm gonna try it! So I have a small cheese shaker that I made a SPOG shaker when I mixed up a batch and just shook and rubbed it on the meat. Then set it in the Air Fryer and just used the Pork Chop setting at 25 minutes.
I did set a timer and turned my Piggy Piece over half way.
Came out with a delicious little Pork Roast we gobbled up! Super simple, super easy. And I believe pretty healthy.
Yan can cook. Well, so can Sonny.

They have a newest model out that also has a rotisserie in it. No turning over your meal! I'd get that one, if I was going to get one today.
Watch Walmart's "As Seen On TV" section. Good deals, no waiting. Actually, I see they carry them.
Get the big one. And enjoy.

Here's the Rotisserie one at Sam's club, for an example.

We actually looked at the bigger ones, and we sort of decided we likely would get more use out of a little one. Also ahh..storage space concerns..

 

[SonnyE]

We actually looked at the bigger ones, and we sort of decided we likely would get more use out of a little one. Also ahh..storage space concerns..

Yeah, there is that as well.
My, um, tools, are spilling out onto the chest freezer. My slicer and Dehydro now hold the lid down for me. LOL!
In the bottom of one cabinet, there lives the toaster and behind it lives the Air Fryer XL.
Like most gadgets, it takes a chunk of real estate in the kitchen.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Yeah, there is that as well.
My, um, tools, are spilling out onto the chest freezer. My slicer and Dehydro now hold the lid down for me. LOL!
In the bottom of one cabinet, there lives the toaster and behind it lives the Air Fryer XL.
Like most gadgets, it takes a chunk of real estate in the kitchen.

I like the rotosserie, but we're not so likely to get tons of use out of that aspect. I would like a bigger one, like a 5 qt. The ability to do enough chicken tenders and fries at once for a few people would be nice.

Then of course I have to admit when I went to look at Kohls they had about 6 brands and I have no idea which one to even settle on LOL

 

[SonnyE]

I like the rotosserie, but we're not so likely to get tons of use out of that aspect. I would like a bigger one, like a 5 qt. The ability to do enough chicken tenders and fries at once for a few people would be nice.

Then of course I have to admit when I went to look at Kohls they had about 6 brands and I have no idea which one to even settle on LOL

Yeah, confusing isn't it.
We have the XL, 5.4 qt I think it is. I don't remember.
My wife LOVES chicken. I often get delegated to do the cooking. I think the reason she wanted to buy it was for that reason. LOL!
We buy the bigger packages of skin on thighs, and skin on drumsticks, then I repackage them as two and two in vacuum bags while still frozen. Then into the freezer for meals. (Just the two of us most of the time)

One of those bags is a meal for us. 1 leg, and 1 thigh each. The deal is, they fit the bottom of the XL just right.
I do mine with Chef Mirito's Pollo seasoning, skin side up to start. That crisp's the hide before rolling over. (I did it backwards once and all the nice skin stuck to the bottom. :mad: )
Anyway, there is one reason to think larger. I've done more, but prefer the room for the best results.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Yeah, confusing isn't it.
We have the XL, 5.4 qt I think it is. I don't remember.
My wife LOVES chicken. I often get delegated to do the cooking. I think the reason she wanted to buy it was for that reason. LOL!
We buy the bigger packages of skin on thighs, and skin on drumsticks, then I repackage them as two and two in vacuum bags while still frozen. Then into the freezer for meals. (Just the two of us most of the time)

One of those bags is a meal for us. 1 leg, and 1 thigh each. The deal is, they fit the bottom of the XL just right.
I do mine with Chef Mirito's Pollo seasoning, skin side up to start. That crisp's the hide before rolling over. (I did it backwards once and all the nice skin stuck to the bottom. :mad: )
Anyway, there is one reason to think larger. I've done more, but prefer the room for the best results.

Now if you throw cheese sticks in, will it make them come out right? That always seems to be one kind of food that never quite comes out right!

 

[SonnyE]

Now if you throw cheese sticks in, will it make them come out right? That always seems to be one kind of food that never quite comes out right!

Cheese sticks? Nope, never tried anything like that.
I've smoked a lotta cheese in my day though. Cold smoked.
Once, my pellets ran away and I got a combination of cheddar block, and string cheese.
I had cheese stalactites stringing down. Quite comical!

Do you know the difference between a Stalagmite and a Stalactite?
A Stalagmite might manage to reach up, But a Stalactite holds tight to the ceiling.
Not that it relates to cheese sticks. But it kind of distantly relates to getting your cheese too hot. ;)