Still not getting crispy chicken skin

Spoon · September 2011

I did wings last night and they cam out pretty good, but I am still not getting the crispy skin that I am looking for. I didn't get any pics because it was raining and I was in a rush to feed three sick kids. Here's what I did:

Took the wings out dried them and place on a cookie sheet. I mixed in some corn starch with my rub (Texas BBQ Rub #2 for adults and Shaken the Tree for the kids) and sprinkled liberally on both sides then put the try in the fridge for a couple of hours. I set up the egg for indirect grilling with the platesetter woo3 and woo3 extender. The fire got a bit too hot while I was taking care of the kids, so it was about 500 when the wings went on and I shut the vents down a good bit. I flipped after 20 min and the temp was 350' so I adjusted the vents and it was stable at 425 and cooked for another 20. Then I took the platesetter out and the extender and cooked direct at felt level for the last 10-15 min while I sauces some with Carnivore Sweet. The skin was bite through on most, rubbery on some, but none were really crispy.

I know there was some temp flux, but nothing too low. This was the first time I have tried the corn stach trick and I think it helped some, but still not what I was hoping for. I know I can try to air chill longer, but life with 3 kids 4 and under is not too conducive to planning that far ahead. Maybe I am just expecting too much?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

~Spoon

Hungry Joe · September 2011

I do my wings direct with a dome temp at 250 on a raised grid for 2+
hours until they look right. I rotate the grid about every 20-30
minutes to keep the hot spots from over doing a portion of the cook. I
only flip them after the first hour and then as need to keep them
consistent.

For seasoning I just use Dizzy Dust. After they are done I toss them
in a hot honey sauce which is 4oz of Crystal hot sauce, 3/4 cup of pure
honey and about 1/8 tsp of ground ginger (or to taste) simmered on the
stove for about 20 minutes.

I know it seems like a lot of works for wings but they come out nice and crisp and everyone seems to love them.

Spoon · September 2011

Thanks Joe. I will try low and long next time and see what kind of results I get.

LDD · September 2011

I put the cornstarch/rub on them, light the egg, and then throw them on. either indirect or raised direct.

perhaps a little more cornstarch? Might be worth tossing them in a bowl with the rub/starch

Flashback Bob · September 2011

I have found the definition of "Crisp" is subjective.

I can get crisp skin on chicken cooked in a rotisserie or oven but not on the egg.

I did get crisp skin on a duck once, that I cooked at 250 for a few hours and then cranked it up to about 400 to finish. best skin I got was following thirdeye's recipe for thighs where you remove the skin, then scrape off the fat, then replace the skin.

Spoon · September 2011

Flashback Bob said:

I have found the definition of "Crisp" is subjective.

I think that may be the case with me. I am looking for the type of skin you get on a rotisserie chicken, and have not been able to attain that on wings, thighs, or whole chickens yet. I will keep trying and the experiments taste good, just not 100% of what I'm looking for yet.

Grillin Guy · September 2011

Chicken skin gets crispy when you render the fat out of it. I cook all my chicken at 350 direct on a raised grid, turning occasionally until the skin is crispy. It's pretty simple.

CrazyHarry · September 2011

I've cooked chicken wings only once on my Egg but they came out pretty crispy. Here's a picture:

My wife was using some kind of sauce on these and I ended up cooking them for awhile at a lower temperature and then "crisping them up" at a higher temp.

On my old Weber I used to make chicken wings by just rubbing them with salt and pepper and tossing them on the grill, turning them frequently. I knew they were done when the outside was brown and crispy looking (but not black). If they browned up too quick I would move them to a cooler spot to finish cooking.

When they were finished I would bring them in and give them a bath in a Bobby Flay Chipotle hot sauce. They were addictively good!

EggSimon · September 2011

3 things that are inho neccesary for cispy wings:

- dry em. Wash the wings 1 day before cooking. Dry em very good with paper towels and keep them in the fridge over night also wrapped in paper towels or on a grid in the fride (for good air circulation).

- preheat the egg to 450 F, indirect setupt.

- 10 Minutes before cooking take the wings out of the fridge, put them in a bowl and add olive oil. Add a dry rub (the Texasbbqrub that u use is imho very good approriate for birds) to the bowl and mix with your hands all very good so that every part of every wing is covored with olive oil and a rub.

- start cooking, Take a look at the ceramik also that it is hot ! You can have 450 F in the egg just from the lump (just a few minutes after lighting the egg), but you want at heat source lump and the ceramic. If the ceramic is also hot, you are ready to egg the wing. Temp will drop to approx 400 F after adding the cold wings. No worried, 375 - 400 is good. Cook it for 45 minutes w/o changing temp, flipping...

You will get very nice, juicy, crispy wings

so, what are the 3 tings ? :-)

- dry wings

- cover with olive oil

- temp frame between 375 - 400 F

Flashback Bob · September 2011

CrazyHarry's wings are a good example (they look delicious, btw!) I've seen lots of pictures of chicken cooks with "crispy" skin. I have cooked chicken that looked exactly the same but the skin wasn't what I wanted (or the chicken in the pictures were what I would consider "burnt" and didn't want to cook 'em like that anyway.)

usually the skin will look great but will still be tough even if it makes a crunching sound when you bite it.

Beernuts · September 2011

I season mine in dry rub overnight - having them out of hte package overnight definately helps

SmokeyPitt · September 2011

I think it really helps to get them as high up in the dome as possible. I prefer going raised indirect. I think cooking them high up indirect creates a convection effect that makes the skin pretty crispy. I have the three tier rack and I like to cook them on the highest setting on the highest rack position.

<edit>

I just noticed you mentioned you were using the ps, woo3, and the extender...so you were already pretty high up in the dome

.

Cowdogs · September 2011

I have never had wings indirect that I would consider crispy. Crispy for me means crunchy like a potato chip. Always high and direct for me at about 325 to 350 with no DFMT. Drying the wings in fridge, and dusting with corn starch does help, but even without doing that, I get good results.

eggtopia · September 2011

I do them raised, indirect, 350 till they look good. There is no flour or starch, but I do get the skin pretty crispy and tender on the inside.

rsvwgriggs · September 2011

I always get a good crispy skin and deliciously juicy meat by drying the chicken well with paper towels and then slathering a mixture of butter and dry rub between the skin and the meat. I don't season the outside of the chicken at all. Cook on indirect heat in the Egg for 1 hr at 350 degrees for a spatchcock chicken less time for pieces.

Still not getting crispy chicken skin

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