Boneless chicken thighs texture

Powak

I’ve been grilling boneless chicken thighs for years and for the most part they come great. I usually cook them till they have a good color and are nice and crisp. When they’re like this, I’ve thrown the thermapen at them and they’re usually around 200-209°. I’ve tried cooking them to the usda thigh spec temp of 175 and they’re wet, sometimes slimy and just kinda nasty especially where they’ve been deboned. I’ve found lately though that they can be kind of nasty if the fat hasn’t been rendered and they’ve been cooked over too much direct hot coal. I’ve also found that if I remove them between the 180s and 200 and they look nice and crispy and the fat has rendered that they still could have that wet, slimey texture internally. Is there a way to cook/prep these to prevent that? So far only making sure I cook them all over 200 has been the only way. I’ve got buddy at work that makes this chicken pollo asado recipe with boneless thighs. He grills them till they look good, lets them cool, slices into strips and refrigerates them over night. Then he reheats them in a crock pot on low and they’re amazing. Same texture as chicken breasts. So I don’t know if possibly the crockpot time works it’s magic or what. 

My other thought is that maybe since the pandemic the quality of storebrand thighs have gone down, so maybe I need to try Bell and Evans? Any thoughts?

4TheGrillOfIt

I like to trim off most of the excess fat on boneless thighs.  Kitchen shears work great for this purpose. 

GregW

I've never been satisfied cooking the chicken thighs for the reasons you have mentioned. I do believe that cooking to the higher temps greatly improves the texture. It does seem that the chicken thighs are highly regarded in the BBQ competition circuit- they apparently know a secret to cooking them.

Botch

I'd always been a breast man until about ten years ago.  I've made undercooked thighs as you mentioned and they're a turn-off, but soon learned I've never overcooked a thigh; I'll cook them until the outside looks good, and sometimes temp them and sometimes not.  Haven't dried one out yet.
I also like stir-frying with them, don't worry about overcooking them at all (usually go into the wok with the onions up front, even before the garlic).  
I still can't debone a raw thigh cleanly, usually pay a bit more to buy them boneless/skinless.  

FrostyEgg

Agreed with @Botch, they're damn near impossible to dry out unless you're trying to make them into jerky. 

GregW

I have a long history of jumping to conclusions and finding out later I was wrong.
I will add chicken thighs to the list of things I need to try again.
Anyone have a suggested internal temp to shoot for?

Wooderson

We've always liked our chicken 10-20 degrees higher than normal ( 175 white,  185 dark).  Cook to what you prefer. It's all good

nolaegghead

I'm totally fine with the texture cooked around 175/180.  If you're pulling meat for another dish or making something that needs pulled chicken, yeah, I cook the bejesus out of them.  Doesn't taste better to me though, just easier to pull off the bone and incorporate into other dishes as an ingredient.

Legume

The only chicken I ever temp the breast, never thighs or legs or wings.