Whole Chicken - Rubbery Skin

Unknown

I am new to using the Big Green Egg. We have done several things that have turned out great, but last night we tried doing a whole chicken. I put a mesquite rub inside and outside the bird and placed it on a Weber beer can roaster that has a solid metal pan style bottom that catches drippings. I put beer in the center cup and in the drip pan. We used Big Green Egg lump and smoked with pre-soaked apple chunks. Dome temp 325-350 for just under 2 hours. Skin was very dark and tough. The chicken inside was moist but the skin was not crisp, more leathery and tough than we like. [p]Any ideas on what we did wrong or what we can do next time? Did we need to baste the chicken. It was a free range chicken with no hormones or steroids.

Dover_Gal

Lynlynx1,
Same result with a chicken roasted 1.5 hours and one chunk of apple. My presumption is that we are smoking the chicken as well as roasting, and that is what happens to the skin. Plus with the extra moisture that an Egg holds in compared to a hot-air oven, the skin would not drain fat and crisp the same way. All I know is, I got the same result.

Meinbmw

Lynlynx1,
Some folks let the chicky set in the fridge for an hour or two before cooking to let the skin dry out - supposed to help the skin crisp up.[p]Also ... some folks oil the skin[p]Then ... I know from personal experience that if you bump the temp up 75 degrees or so for the last 1/2 hour of the cook the skin will crisp up nicely.

Unknown

The advice here is right on. I followed the recipe on the DVD that came with the Egg and did the whole bird for just a bit over an hour at 350. The skin wasn't crisp but I wouldn't call it "rubbery" either. It was great but I'm not quite used to having chicken come out so moist. It'll be a happy discipline though to get used to it.

billt

Lynlynx1,
before you wonder too much about your egg technique...try cooking a perdue or other "fatty' chicken the same way.. i have never had this problem and have passed up on the free range birds at the market because they looked too lean.
just a thought... also i do not add liquid. just a vertical roaster in a foil pan. good luck

Unknown

Lynlynx1,[p]Beer-can chicken comes out with skin like that -- cooking on the liquid pumps so much moisture into the chicken that the skin ends up soft and slippery.[p]Using more ordinary indirect-cooking methods, as mentioned, works better. My experience with chicken on the egg is that is stays so moist naturally that raising the temperature for 15 minutes or so at the end helps the skin. I watch the temperature and when it's 10 degrees or ss short of done I open the bottom vent wide, pull the daisy cap, and let the egg shoot up to 500, and restabilize. Ten minutes or so of that and you're done.[p]The best chicken I've ever made I slow-cooked, indirect, for about three hours at 250 dome, then finished at high temp. It was as juicy as beer-can without that slightly greasy feeling, with great skin.[p]Play around...it's fun.

Unknown

I'm sure we'll have better luck next time using your suggestions. Going to put on some Kansas City style ribs now that have been marinating all night and just did a rub on the. The Eggie is heating up. Have a great night and thanks again.