A big disappointment

texasfiddlefan

I have been cooking on my Lge BGE for 9 years, everything has turned out good, sometimes great.  Yesterday I was reading about brining so I thought I would try it.  I had a 5 lb. chicken that I quartered and brined for 6 hours in a pretty standard brine of 1/2 cup Kosher sale, 1/2 cup Sugar in a half gallon of water.  I rinsed it off and dried it and applied a dry rub and put it on the egg indirect at 350 to 375 deg.  In a little over an hour the leg quarters were at 180 deg plus so I pulled them and continued cooking the breast quarters for about 15 more minutes to 170 deg.  I was hoping for some very succulent, moist breast but they didn't turn out that way.  They were a little dry and tough, the thighs were also tough. What did I do wrong?

Zippylip

first, 170 is too high for breast meat, go no more than 160.  Second, thighs typically take longer, yours seems backwards - your thermometer may not be accurate.  It's tough to make a thigh tough, I'm guessing all parts were way overcooked

texasfiddlefan

I will check my thermometers. I was using the BGE thermometer for the dome temp, it has been checked in the past and has been accurate.  I used my thermopen for the meat temp and it has always been accurate but I will check it. 

These breast were really large and I wasn't suprised that they took longer than the thighs.

I have cooked spatchcocked chicken in the past at 350 dome and they were usually done in about an hour.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

6 hrs seems long for individual parts. I brined mine for 2 hrs and they were pretty salty. Wondering if that had something to do with it?

Mickey

I just bet that  5lb chicken is a tough bird. (IMO) the smaller birds ( & turkeys) work out better.

texasfiddlefan

I really prefer 3 to 3 1/2 lb. chickens but almost impossible to buy anything less than 4 lbs around here.  I guess they sell all the smaller ones to the KFC's and Popeyes etc.

nolaegghead

I agree with Mickey - the large chickens can be tough. I had a similar experience with them.  The brining should give you more leeway in overcooking without drying out.  Looks like you cooked about 10F higher than it needs to be, but I think the main problem is the quality of the chicken.  Also, consider the temp maybe rose another 5-7 F after you pulled from the egg.

henapple

These breast were really large and I wasn't suprised that they took longer than the thighs.....
It's Monday so I'll leave that statement alone. If it were the weekend....

I always spatchcock the largest chicken my butcher has...5-6 pounds but I've never brined one, just turkey. Mickey probably has something on the temp rising while resting.

U_tarded

What kind of salt did you use, 1/2 cup kosher salt is a lot less salt than table salt. I don't know if this attributed to it because you didn't mention it being salty. I was just curious.

nolaegghead

Good point U_tarded.  I always use weight.  To 1 Gallon of water I add 225 g salt and 125 g sugar.  It's not that critical, however.  And if you leave it in the brine too long because you forgot, you can soak it in fresh water and reverse the process.  Yep - it would taste too salty if there was too much salt.

texasfiddlefan

I used kosher salt, and no it didn't taste salty. I will try to find some smaller chickens. Thanks everyone for your input.

Austin Egghead

GranIL always said a big hens and roosters should be stewed.  (they were chicken farmers so I figured she knew her chickens.) When we came to visit she always killed the smaller yard hens for supper.  

Little Steven

texasfiddlefan said:

I have been cooking on my Lge BGE for 9 years, everything has turned out good, sometimes great.  Yesterday I was reading about brining so I thought I would try it.  I had a 5 lb. chicken that I quartered and brined for 6 hours in a pretty standard brine of 1/2 cup Kosher sale, 1/2 cup Sugar in a half gallon of water.  I rinsed it off and dried it and applied a dry rub and put it on the egg indirect at 350 to 375 deg.  In a little over an hour the leg quarters were at 180 deg plus so I pulled them and continued cooking the breast quarters for about 15 more minutes to 170 deg.  I was hoping for some very succulent, moist breast but they didn't turn out that way.  They were a little dry and tough, the thighs were also tough. What did I do wrong?

From your comment it seams you have produced some good chicken in the past. I don't brine and am happy with the results from the egg. Tried it back in the gasser days and thought it was OK. IMHO poultry shines on the egg just naturally.