Am I a Failure?

[sonofasmoker]

With a subject line like that, who can resist? HAHA

But seriously -I am a great chef! I went to culinary school, grew up with a southern momma that could throw down, smoking "slap yo momma good" brisket is a piece of cake. I have a terrible, terrible relationship with one smoked meat in particular. Smoked chicken with flavorful tasty skin!

I am not one for chain BBQ restaurants, but Jim and Nicks BBQ has some of the best smoked chicken I have ever had in my life! I can replicate the flavor and tenderness of the meat with no problem. The issues I run in to is with the skin. Typically my skin comes out rubbery and disgusting similar to a 5mm wetsuit. What am I doing wrong?!? I have tried different temperatures, brining, rotating grate position, different smokers, I CANT GET IT!

BBQ Warriors, I NEED YOUR HELP! Here is what I typically do:
Buy a bag of chicken quarters from the store, rinse and pat dry. From there, I apply my favorite seasoning of choice. All pretty basic. Here is where I mixed things up. I have an offset stick burner and a pellet grill. I have tried 225/250/275/300, nothing is giving me the delicate pull away skin. I spritz with water or an apple juice/ACV mixture but still not getting the results.

 

[phatbac]

Try this for S&G:
Rinse/dry/season your chicken like you normally do. Smoke for about an hour at 250 degrees. Heat up your grill to around 375-400 degrees. throw your chicken on that grill until its about 170 Degrees IT. if you like sauce on your chicken grill to 165ish and brush on sauce and let go till 170. See if that don't give you some good skin. the alternative is to remove the skin before cooking and just have skinless chicken (what my family likes).

Since this thread is worthless without pics: Here are some wings i did on my Lang

IMG_20170610_085539.jpg

• phatbac
• Jun 11, 2017

BTW: don't stress over smoking...do it to relax and enjoy it. the only way to do it wrong is to feel bad about it!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[motocrash]

Skin it.I do it all the time with brined birds.

 

[sonofasmoker]

Thanks for the tips Aaron,

I get the grill method. I dont mean this in a negative way since that yields fantastic results, but I feel grilling is almost a cop out. I want to replicate the bite through skin without having to pull skin, scrape it, put it back on....blah. I know thats the competition way of doing it.

The wings and beef ribs look awesome! One day I will step up to the Lang or Shirley realm!

 

[phatbac]

Well an alternative is if you can get your offset to 350 degrees. mine will run that hot if i let it. And it will cook fast but smoke and get bite through skin. i never do the remove and return skin method. that is just weird. if i remove the skin it gets thrown away.

thanks for the nice words on the pic. when im smoking on a budget you get beef ribs and chicken wings (two racks for about $6 and chicken wings $1.89/#)! my theory on good BBQ is taking he cheapest thing you can find and making it taste like the best meal you have ever eaten.

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[gmc2003]

Since chicken takes on smoke quickly I do it on my kettle with the vortex. Prepare your chicken peices any way you want fire up the kettle w/the vortex place a couple chunks of your favorite wood on the grill over the heat. Once it starts smoking I put the chicken on the grill as far away from the heat as possible. The vortex easily hits 350 to 400+ degrees. Simple moist chicken w/bit through non-charred skin and a smokey flavor. I don't even have to flip the chicken, once in a while I may have to rotate the grill.

Chris.

edit: not much of a choice on the poll.

 

[bluewhisper]

I wonder if some restaurants crisp with a "salamander" which is basically a broiler with no front door, always cranked to the kind of bright orange like a cigarette ember while it's hitting it. That could crisp up a skin in maybe 30 seconds.

One clue as to whether they're using something like that is, your plate arrives hot enough to actually give you a mild burn if you touch it.

 

[troutman]

I think most everyone in this thread agrees, its all about the heat. Make sure the chick is good and dry, I let mine sit in the refrig at least 12 hours before smoking then crank my smoker to 325-350*. I usually get pretty good results at those temperatures and get the cook over faster.

Here's one I just did on a WSM as described.....

 

[phatbac]

troutman... that is a good looking bird! ...i would give you points if we still had those...

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the tips Aaron,

I get the grill method. I dont mean this in a negative way since that yields fantastic results, but I feel grilling is almost a cop out. I want to replicate the bite through skin without having to pull skin, scrape it, put it back on....blah. I know thats the competition way of doing it.

The wings and beef ribs look awesome! One day I will step up to the Lang or Shirley realm!

As phatbac mentions, get that temp up on the smoker. I have found that if you smoke at 325F you can get edible skin and void the leathery skin issue. Heck you might even be able to get crispy skin!
The only issues you may run into is that chicken cooks even more quickly at these higher temps so you may not get as much smoke time as you like.
My solution? Burn 2 rows of pellets in my AMNPS to get double TBS going. If you can get more good TBS then I would recommend that for the faster cook.

Give this a try and report back on what works for you :)

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Higher pit temps will get you better results on the skin.

But drying the skin is crucial too. Mix up 1/2 cup kosher salt with 2 tablespoons baking powder. Liberally coat the bird with this mixture. Note that you will not use all of this mix. It's just the right ratio. Season with what ever else you like. Place the bird on a drying rack over a pan and place in the fridge uncovered 8-24 hours. Fire up your smoker and once preheated remove the bird and smoke.

One more tip spatchcock the bird. More exposed surface area to collect smoke on. Also the bird will cook evenly and all parts will finish at the right time. I cook my birds to 160°-165°. Rest for 30 minutes then serve.

 

[sonofasmoker]

Thats a real buzzkill that I have to crank the heat to get the skin consistency that I want. :(

 

[noboundaries]

The only way to get crispy, bite thru skin is high temp. I also spray my chickens with oil before adding the rub. At higher temps 325F minimum, 350F+ desired, it helps "oven fry" the skin in the smoker. A smoker is just a smoky oven. Whatever works in your oven will work in your smoker at the same temp.

Below are a couple different smokes of orange juice brined/injected chickens. One the temp was a bit too high, but it was still delicious. The other was just right. The pics where the chicken is partially eaten was just people picking at it before it was served.

 

[bluewhisper]

A spatchcock with a crispy skin makes a fun presentation. Then the skin is one big surface like a pie crust. Now, let's see what's under it...

 

[tallbm]

Thats a real buzzkill that I have to crank the heat to get the skin consistency that I want. :(

Higher temps for poultry really don't cause any issues. Heck higher temps on a lot of cuts don't cause much difference or issues. Look at all the guys who do their Briskets and Pork Butts hot (275F+)

Like said above if it works in an oven, it works in a smoker. With hot temps you just have to worry about finishing the cook before you hit your desired smoke level. With ribs I smoke them low for a while and then kick up the temp to finish so that I get about 4-5 hours of smoke on my ribs. If it weren't for that desired level of smoke they would be 275F the whole time :)

 

[dirtsailor2003]

When I first joined this forum everyone was low and slow, Brine, spritz, put oil on the skin, rub butter on it, scrape the fat add more oil. Skins never right. If you cook hot it will dry out the bird you won’t get enough smoke, blah blah blah.

High temp Smoking is a thing and it works. Works really good, for more
Meats than poultry.

So I made this post.

http://smokingmeatforums.com/index....low-brined-and-spritzed-is-the-only-w.142448/

 

[sonofasmoker]

Im all for higher smoking temps, but high temps for me are roughly 275. I can slide the thighs over towards the fire box and put it in a pan to keep the bottoms from burning I guess. I see youtubers all the time running their pits with wings n such in them while doing brisket and butts. I know they get the skin results they want. What are they doing I am not?

I get high temps are an easy way to do it, but its not the only way....

 

[troutman]

High temp Smoking is a thing and it works. Works really good, for more
Meats than poultry.

/

Gotta admit dirt is right. Big beef, big pork still get my low n slow nod, but thinner cuts and poultry its flash and burn baby !!!

 

[troutman]

Mix up 1/2 cup kosher salt with 2 tablespoons baking powder. Liberally coat the bird with this mixture.

That's interesting because I just saw a Kenji video where he used baking powder on oven cooked wings. Claimed the baking powder gave the chicken skin a "raised surface" to attract heat and dry up moisture. Kind of like putting granulated or coarse ground seasoning on brisket, it attracts more smoke for a better bark. Another good point dirt....you da man !!!

 

[sonofasmoker]

I can attest to the baking powder remedy. It words wonderfully on wings. Almost gives them a fried skin texture.