Cover thighs with foil before serving... or not?

acegg77 · May 2014

I just took a dozen chicken thighs off the Egg. Am not going to serve for 2 hours. Should they be covered with foil? If so, poke pin-holes in it with toothpick?

I read somewhere that covering with foil ruins the skin? (We don't eat the skin anyway... fattening... although I know how good it can be!)

Need advice fast... because I'm an idiot for not asking earlier!

RRP · May 2014

Just wondering since you don't want to eat the skin, then why cook them that way to start with? Skinless chicken can take on an attractive patina which personally is far more appealing than an after the cook peeled piece as far as plating presentation goes. Just sayin...

acegg77 · May 2014

OK, I lied. I like the skin. I have to 'sneak' it because my wife does not want me to eat... and we all do what our wives (after 32 years of marriage) tell us, don't we?

Huh?

You mean I have an option? :-)

Also, I think the skin imparts some flavor into the underlying meat... but I could not back that up by fact.

Going to eat in 30 mins. I'll let you know how they are as this is my first attemp at thighs.

Cowdogs · May 2014

Eat the skin now, and tell your wife you threw it away.

SenecaTheYounger · May 2014

If they are being served in two hours, how are you keeping them now and reheating later?

RRP · May 2014

acegg77 said:
... I think the skin imparts some flavor into the underlying meat... but I could not back that up by fact.

I hear ya - two Thanksgivings ago I egged a beautiful 22 pound turkey that I took great pride in developing a cook-book picture perfect look with browned skin. I wrapped it oh so carefully and took it to my s-i-l and b-i-l.

After we got there I went back home to get my camera and by then the b-i-l had completely ripped the skin off that bird and it laid there on the carving board looking like some white chick from MI at the beach in Florida on Spring break! Geeezzzzz!

acegg77 · May 2014

I took the thighs (about a dozen of them) off at 4 PM and put them on a platter that had foil on the bottom of it. I covered them with foil and poked a lot of holes in the top with a toothpick. Had dinner at 6 PM. The skin was not crusty, but it wasn't soggy either. Wife won't eat the skin, but I sneaked in a piece for myself when she wasn't looking.

We each had 2 pieces. I put the rest in the fridge and we'll have them tomorrow and the following day, unless she decides to freeze the last 4 pieces.

FYI, I soaked (marinated) all the thighs in apple vinegar, a tbs. of Wesson oil, and cut up onion in a glass baking 'pan' for about 24 hours (in fridge) before cooking... turned once early this morning.

Before putting them on the grill I dried them off with paper towels, popped on some salt, pepper, a bit of dizzy pig orange stuff, and paprika (for color) on both sides.

We like the slight vinegar flavor. I cooked them raised direct (using 3 bricks on the fire-ring to hold the grill) for an hour at about 375. I added a tea cup of wet cherry wood chips when I put the thighs on. Got a lot of smoke!

I'd done spatchcock and breasts that way, but not thighs. Came out GREAT. It was a terrific dinner (with fresh green beans and homemade corn bread) and we will get 2 more.

Thanks for the comments. This is a great group... supportive and helpful to people trying new/different cooking experiments.

Griffin · May 2014

Interesting. Never heard of the vinegar before, sounds like it would be good. Will have to try that. Ya learn somefin new every day around here.

Mickey · May 2014

All sounds good. I never wet my cherry before putting on. Dry works just fine.

acegg77 · May 2014

I use dry chips when cooking a steak or chop or something short. But for a longer low/slow cook like chicken I take two handfuls of chips and put them in tea cup and fill with water while Egg is warming up for 15 mins. I figure that at 350 degrees the wet wood will last just a bit longer and give a longer 'smoke' than dry wood, but that is based on intuition, not on any scientific fact!

TexanOfTheNorth · May 2014

acegg77 said:

I use dry chips when cooking a steak or chop or something short. But for a longer low/slow cook like chicken I take two handfuls of chips and put them in tea cup and fill with water while Egg is warming up for 15 mins. I figure that at 350 degrees the wet wood will last just a bit longer and give a longer 'smoke' than dry wood, but that is based on intuition, not on any scientific fact!

I believe that the water must steam out of the wood before you begin to get any smoke so that you don't, in fact, get a longer smoke.

RRP · May 2014

It will only last longer from the stand point that it has to dry out first before it can start to smoke! In an earlier post you referred to the early smoke which actually is steam from the wet wood drying. HTH

acegg77 · May 2014

Griffin said:

Interesting. Never heard of the vinegar before, sounds like it would be good. Will have to try that. Ya learn somefin new every day around here.

I learned this method forty years ago in the late 60s. In my last year at U. of Virginia I met a girl who lived in rural area (Raphine, VA) which was a huge poultry farming area. Each year the tiny fire house had a huge chicken barbecue fundraiser. They used large outdoor rectangular brick pits (with metal grates or rebar as the grill,) They would soak chicken parts in vats of oil and vinegar and other seasons and hundreds of people came from miles around to buy their famous chicken dinner. I've never seen it done anywhere or by anyone else before.

If you want a quick and easy way to try this, just soak some parts in Newman's Own Oil and Vinegar salad dressing for a few hours and you can find out if you like the vinegar flavor on your meat.

(BTW, I've never tried white vinegar. I wonder if you can use that as well. I always use the brown apple vinegar. Does anyone know the difference in flavor?)

Oh... the girl and I went together for several years... but didn't marry. However, we've kept in touch all these years as good friends who shared a special time of youth together.

revolver1 · May 2014

Thighs - I skin them, stretch a bacon slice around them, dust with oil and no-salt seasoning. 325ish, indirect until the bacon is crisp. 75-90 minute cook.

Cover thighs with foil before serving... or not?

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