Cornell Chicken Thighs

Gulfcoastguy

Well after the earlier thread on Cornell chicken I decided to give it a whirl. I put 4 pounds of chicken thighs on about a half hour ago. I think I won’t baste the last time that I flip them brush on raw chicken and raw egg you know. A pic to follow later.

Gulfcoastguy

marysvilleksegghead

looking good!

Gulfcoastguy

Very good but a bit salty for me. Next time I will cut the salt by a third.

GregW

After reviewing the recipe for Cornell chicken. I have decided to do it with the thighs I have on hand.

I see a number of variations of this recipe online. Some marinate for up to overnite, and some only bast during the actual cook.

Should I marinate, and if so, how long? or simply baste?

Gulfcoastguy

I marinated 18 hours, probably longer than needed. You pays your money and you takes your chances. Like I said a bit salty to me but marinating less or using less salt would probably work. I used my grocery stores in house poultry seasoning . Just basting would mean that all the seasoning is on the outside in my opinion. 

GregW

Thank you @Gulfcoastguy

I have reduced the salt to 2Tbs, maybe a little less. ( My recipe called for 3 Tbs)

Did you notice any texture issues from the long marination? Vinegar can sometimes denature the protein resulting in a weird texture.  

Gulfcoastguy

I don’t know, I’m not as picky as others on this site. I mostly noticed the salt issue because my Mom has a blood pressure issue and we were raised lower salt. 

Mattman3969

After reading more on this I bet it would be an excellent choice for a low n slow chicken.  Less than a 1/2 bowl of lump with some oak running about 225-250 raised high in the dome.  Protein as far from the heat as possible.  

The article I read talked about Dr Bakers cinder block pit design that was really long so you could place the chicken fire away from the heat source.  

GregW

Mattman3969 said:

After reading more on this I bet it would be an excellent choice for a low n slow chicken.  Less than a 1/2 bowl of lump with some oak running about 225-250 raised high in the dome.  Protein as far from the heat as possible.  

The article I read talked about Dr Bakers cinder block pit design that was really long so you could place the chicken fire away from the heat source.  

I'm having trouble deciding how to cook the chicken thighs.

The options are:

(1) direct over charcoal.

(2) indirect charcoal

(3) Indirect on the pellet smoker

(4) Indirect on the pellet smoker- with a hot finish on the charcoal grill (direct)

And what cooking temps for each method would be best?

Gulfcoastguy

I did direct raised over charcoal. Since you baste and flip every five to ten minutes it is alright to have the temp up a bit. Mine started high and I had to struggle to bring it down.