leathery skin

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Cooked chicken wings last week -- 30 minutes indirect (350 dome) and then 4-5 minutes direct to crisp up the skin (350 dome). They turned out great. Tonight I decided to try a wing recipe from APL's "Serious Barbecue." Recipe recommended 275 as the temp indirect for one hour followed by some basting then an additional 25 minutes at 275. I kept it around 300-310. Well, the skin turned out nearly inedible. Meat tasted fantastic. I also added some baking powder to the spice rub per Dyal's post last week. I'm pretty sure the low temp gave me the leathery skin, but could I have overcooked them? Loved the wings I "winged" last week, disappointed a recipe produced these results.

ChokeOnSmoke · December 2012

I cook my wings indirect at 375-400 for about 45 minutes. You'll have crispy skin and meat will be great. No need to flip or baste. No benefit I can see to cooking them low temp.

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Thanks Choke. Really excited about this book (just checked out from library) and first recipe doesn't hit the mark. I'll keep the temp up next time.

ChokeOnSmoke · December 2012

Everybody does it a little differently. Just found that way to work best for me. Nothing wrong with experimenting... that's the fun in cooking! In general though, fatty meats should go low and slow, lean meats higher temp. Good luck!

Mighty_Quinn · December 2012

ChokeOnSmoke said:

I cook my wings indirect at 375-400 for about 45 minutes. You'll have crispy skin and meat will be great. No need to flip or baste. No benefit I can see to cooking them low temp.

I'll either do them like that or raised direct up on adjustable rig at the same temps...great results every time. nice profile pic OP, are you in Colorado?

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Mighty_Quinn said:

ChokeOnSmoke said:

I cook my wings indirect at 375-400 for about 45 minutes. You'll have crispy skin and meat will be great. No need to flip or baste. No benefit I can see to cooking them low temp.

I'll either do them like that or raised direct up on adjustable rig at the same temps...great results every time. nice profile pic OP, are you in Colorado?

OP? Yep, in C-Springs. Big Odell fan, love Isolation this time of year.

I'm hoping APL's recipe had a misprint -- he meant to say 375!

U_tarded · December 2012

you like serious bbq? i got charred and scruffed and love it but something in me is against spending over 2 bills on a book, especially since i can't sell it back and buy weed with the money like i used to do in college. also odells is great, I've been on a oskar blues kick lately. dales deviant ale and their old chubb scotch ale is my favorite right now.

Mighty_Quinn · December 2012

OP--original poster (one who started thread). I'm up in Parker. Lots of good CO brews!

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Yes, great beer here! I do like Oskar Blues and pretty much everything from the state.

I got Serious BBQ from the library (the cheapest I found it online was $70) along w/ Seven Fires this week. I've been reading Seven Fires, but just opened Serious BBQ tonight to find a wing recipe. Disappointing results, but I think the book will be great.

Skiddymarker · December 2012

Probably a stupid question, but did you thermapen any of the wings? Think they were pretty much overcooked, but without knowing when they hit 160, and the final temp, it is all just a guess.

When I do a whole chicken, I put the legs/thighs on first, 10 later the breasts, 10 later the wings, cook at <400 indirect.

nolaegghead · December 2012

Skiddy, he said the "meat tasted fantastic". I've overcooked the hell out of wings (205F) and they still rocked. They're like 25% fat and 5% connective tissue/collagen. (I'm just estimating). The skin will suck if it doesn't get maillard-ed - basically fried. I think low and slow would be fine for them but you need to blast 'em at the end for a while to "fry" the oil in the skin to make it have a crispy texture and give it the complex but tasty maillard chemicals.

U_tarded · December 2012

RickyDavisJr said:
Yes, great beer here! I do like Oskar Blues and pretty much everything from the state.
I got Serious BBQ from the library (the cheapest I found it online was $70) along w/ Seven Fires this week. I've been reading Seven Fires, but just opened Serious BBQ tonight to find a wing recipe. Disappointing results, but I think the book will be great.

You should report back what you think on that book. I'm super interested in it but I don't trust the amazon reviews I wouldn't give it a bad review after I dumped a bunch of cash on it. I grew up in CO and went to school in Fort Collins the breweries there were top notch then and everytime I go back there is a new one

JerkChicken · December 2012

I go 300-350 indirect for 1.5 hrs on all my wings. If using sauce I baste at the end and go another 15-20 minutes. Always have phenomenal results says my eaters.

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to try a higher temp next time, basically do what I did the time before. U_Tard, I'll let you know about Serious BBQ. I've enjoyed Seven Fires so far, but probably won't be using many recipes from it.

Skiddymarker · December 2012

nolaegghead said:

Skiddy, he said the "meat tasted fantastic". I've overcooked the hell out of wings (205F) and they still rocked. They're like 25% fat and 5% connective tissue/collagen. (I'm just estimating). The skin will suck if it doesn't get maillard-ed - basically fried. I think low and slow would be fine for them but you need to blast 'em at the end for a while to "fry" the oil in the skin to make it have a crispy texture and give it the complex but tasty maillard chemicals.

Missed the "meat tasted fantastic" you, Mr Science guy, are correct. It is pretty much impossible to overcook wings, it is possible to dry them out a bit - obviously not the case here, my bad. I've never had leathery poultry skin, I've had soggy skin, per the lack of "air frying" you mention, but never a tough skin. Maybe there was something in the baste....

henapple · December 2012

I haven't done wings yet. I used to mix coke and hot sauce in an aluminum pan...3 min in. 3 out. I want to try cazzy's and necessary had a recipe the other day that looked good.

RickyDavisJr · December 2012

Skiddymarker said:

nolaegghead said:

Skiddy, he said the "meat tasted fantastic". I've overcooked the hell out of wings (205F) and they still rocked. They're like 25% fat and 5% connective tissue/collagen. (I'm just estimating). The skin will suck if it doesn't get maillard-ed - basically fried. I think low and slow would be fine for them but you need to blast 'em at the end for a while to "fry" the oil in the skin to make it have a crispy texture and give it the complex but tasty maillard chemicals.

Missed the "meat tasted fantastic" you, Mr Science guy, are correct. It is pretty much impossible to overcook wings, it is possible to dry them out a bit - obviously not the case here, my bad. I've never had leathery poultry skin, I've had soggy skin, per the lack of "air frying" you mention, but never a tough skin. Maybe there was something in the baste....

I think leathery is the best adjective -- couldn't really bite through it, pulled off wing altogether. It wasn't the baste because I only basted half and the others had the same result. I did put baking powder in the rub (not included in spice mix recipe) after reading about Dyal's wings last week. I don't really think that's the problem either. My best guess is the lower temp, although I was roughly only 25 degrees below the temp that produces great wings for others (JerkChicken's post above).

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