Not happy with chicken on the Egg

Unknown

I'm sure it must be my technique (or lack of technique) but whenever I try chicken on the Egg it comes out rubbery, and tastes like a smoked processed meat "product".[p]I love the Egg for everything else, from Brisket and butts to steaks, burgers, fish and even pizza. Always top notch! But so far chicken has always been a huge flop.[p]Is there a secret to tastey chicken on the Egg? [p]FWTW I've usually done chicken in the 350 dome range. For a jucier ligher textured (more "grilled" tasting) bird should the temps go way up?[p]Appreciate any input.[p]Bill

AZRP

<p />Spy Car,
You didn't say if it was a whole chicken or parts. Lately I've been cooking wings and drum sticks direct on a raised grid at 350 for an hour and a half. They come out crispy and very moist. -RP

mad max beyond eggdome

Spy Car,
crispy chicken can be tough on the egg do to the moisture retention properties of the ceramics. .. .try running the temps up to 400+ for the last 10 minutes or so. . .also, try drizzling some butter or oil on the skin . .. .i like to roast birds in the 425 degree range on the egg. .. they don't need much smoke, and they come out nice and crispy on the outside, moist on the inside this way. ..

QBabe

Spy Car,[p]From the description, it sounds like it's overcooked to me. What's the internal temp of the chicken you're doing? Tell us more about the method...direct, indirect, brine, etc. How long did you cook it for? Have you checked the calibration of your dome thermo? [p]I usually do spatch'd chickens at 350, direct on a raised grid until the breast is at 165 and the thigh is at 180. Thighs and quarters I'll do a bit lower, in the 250 to 275 range to the same internal temp, sometimes direct on a raised grid and sometimes indirect. [p]Fill us in a bit more and maybe we can help...[p]Tonia
:~)

Unknown

I've done spatchcocked whole birds, and various parts in the past. Today I just did up some drumsticks that the wife had picked up to supliment some burgers.[p]This were cooked direct on the grill at stardard height (I believe in the past I've raised the height for spatchcocked). The legs were not brined or marinated, just straight and unadulterated.[p]They were not over-cooked (145 internal when I pulled them). But they were neither juicy nor crisp. Rather heavy and rubbery, tasting more like smoked pork than chicken.....and not in a good way.[p]Thanks for the help![p]Bill

AZRP

Spy Car,
145 internal is raw when it comes to chicken, you want at least 161 in the breast and I go to 190-200 in wings and legs. That is the problem, cook them longer. Pork is OK at 145, not chicken. Keep trying, you'll get it. -RP

Unknown

AZRP, Oops...mis-typed sorry. They were 165, not 145.[p]So would they get more tender cooking longer?[p]I guess chicken is one item I'd like tasting more "grilled" than "smoked"[p]I've gone the Naked Whiz spatchcocked routine too...same result. Rubbery, not moist and over-smoked.[p]Bill

eggbasket

Spy Car,
We are fairly new to eggin so we haven't cooked chicken very often. I have become very picky about the chicken I purchase since I have become obsessive about reading labels and watching the sodium levels in food. Even "Natural" chicken can have salt and preservative solutions added because afterall most preservative and stablizing solutions are indeed made of "natural" occurring ingredients. "Air chilled", preservative and hormone free chicken is now available at reasonable prices and it is superior by far to the chicken that most processors have been feeding us.
I can get this at a regular grocer - not health food store specific. If you try the air chilled you will notice it is not slick and slimmy feeling (no preservatiaves) and has less adherent fat. The taste is also superior. NO I DON"T SELL CHICKEN but I wonder if the texture of the food is affected with the mystery stuff it is exposed to. [p]Food for thought,
Carol

AZRP

Spy Car,
First of all, let the Egg come to a stable temp and make sure there is no visible smoke coming from it. Then, breasts should be cooked to 162 but wings and legs and leg quarters like 190-200. -RP

Chubby

eggbasket,[p]I agree...the Air Chilled Birds are the way to go if they're available to him!![p]Reading the lables is the key, as you say!![p]Those "solutions"....are scarry!![p]sometimes as much as 10-12%...yuk!!![p]"FrankenChickens"...that's what I call'em!![p]Evans[p]

Smut-butt

Spy Car,
I had the same problem today with chicken wings, cooked indirect on a special wing rack at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. They were done but tasted horrible; maybe some China chicken.
Anyway, I'll revert back to my old stainless steel charcoal grill for my wings---they are always good on that home-made grill. I like em crisp and then smothered in wing sauce, then placed in a styrofone airtight container for an hour. I haven't had any luck cooking wings indirect; but a whole chicken turns out great if you sit it on a can or stand and baste it with butter, salt and pepper--you can't beat it on the egg.

Unknown

Hmmm. Interesting thought. I actually don't eat much chicken because of the way they are raised and processed. And when I do I'm careful about what we purchase. Todays chicken, however, WAS some industrial product that my wife picked up in a last minute panic buy.[p]Still, I've cooked some exceptionally high quality birds in the past, and the effect has been much the same. I'm just not sure where I'm going wrong.[p]Bill[p]

eggbasket

Chubby,
Frankenchicken...I like that. I've sworn off'em. Along with food from places that seem to have started experimenting on our dogs and children. And "farm raised fish"? In whose waters are they swimming in and what (who) did they have for breakfast. Ok, enough scary thoughts this close to bedtime.
Have a good week.
C

Car Wash Mike

eggbasket,
Smart Chicken is what you want.[p]Mike

eggbasket

Car Wash Mike ,
Yeah, that is what I buy but I didn't know if it was available across the country and really didn't know if I could give the name. We love it! I don't want to be hunted down by the *yson people and turned into chicken feed. It was nice to know you Mike. ha!
Carol

amini1

Spy Car,[p]I've had the same issues as you trying lower temps. I now cook on a raised grid with a drip pan underneath at 400-425 degrees. Bone-in chicken breasts take about 1 hour. I never even flip them, just bone side down. I can buy them by the 3 pack here. They make great chicken salad. You can do wings the same way and they'll take about 20-30 minutes. If you want a char on the skin just remove the drip pan and flip the chicken skin side down for the last 8-10 minutes.[p]Win

Flashback Bob

Spy Car,
The first Spatchcocked chickens I cooked came out the same way. Chicken fat dripping on the coals can render a bitter smoke. If you cook them indirect with a drip pan, you will minimize the smokyness.[p]The skin however, will be rubbery. I can make the skin less rubbery but not what I'd call crispy (yet) by going direct on a raised grill. For awhile, I only did chicken indirect because of the oversmoking that was happening. Now I do chicken on a raised grid and that seems to be better. Get some smoke (not too much) and the skin is more edible.[p]My next step is to trim the fat first and try to crank up the heat at the end for more crispyness.

Buckethead

Spy Car,
Try to find the smallest chickens at your market or grocer. The way the birds are raised now they try to get them to the max weight in the quickest time. Smaller birds are more tender than the big birds.
Good luck
Doug

tach18k

Spy Car,
Just about all of my birds done the the egg are skinless. The family really doesn't eat the skin anyway. I never had dry chicken in the egg. I have been doing a lot of wings and drums lately w/skin, and they have been real good, a whole turkey breast also, great. Rubbery meat sounds under cooked.

duckegg

mad max beyond eggdome,
I almost always do chicken over 400degrees. I did six marinated chicken quarters this weekend that came out superb. Raised grid over homemade HDAF drip pan at 400-425 skin side up, flipped once pulld when the Swamp venom was turning black and the chicken was starting to shrivel. All the skin was nice and crispy and the meat was nice and moist.There was very little skin left uneaten.