Chicken Pieces vs. Whole

QBabe

Hi All:[p]I've done both beer can chicken and spatchcock chicken, with wonderful results...best Q'd chicken I've ever had. But I have mixed results with pieces and parts of chicken. Sometimes they come out nice and juicy, not underdone or overdone, not rubbery, but other times, they come out dry, overcooked and rubbery. I've tried doing them direct and indirect, usually in the 300° - 350° range. Usually aim for 165 in the breast and 180's in the thigh, but can't seem to get a consistent result yet. [p]My local grocery often has good sales on parts so I'd like to perfect cooking them. Anyone have suggestions?[p]QBabe
:~)

Car Wash Mike

QBabe,
I was just wondering about the same thing. I think NB had a pic of just legs he did. I would like to do a bunch of thighs and legs indirect but bump the temp up to get the desired crispness of the skin. Let me now how it goes.[p]CWM

mad max beyond eggdome

QBabe,
that's an easy one. . .just glue the pieces together, and stick them on a beer can!!! you already know how to do that well heee heeee :-)

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,
You can’t “glue” it all back together! You got to “sew” it all back together with cotton twine!

Rumrunner

QBabe,
I like to take advantage of the 'parts', too. I either brine them or use a buttermilk bath and they always come out tasty and juicy.

BBQBluesStringer

QBabe,
Here's a thought... Indian tandoori chicken is always succulent and tender, and always the right amount of doneness. The tandoor cooks at 1000F or more. I don't know if the yogurt-based marinade is responsible, or the intense heat and quick cook is, but it's a wonderful combination. Try cooking on a real hot fire. It might sear the meat so that the juices can't escape, or just having them there less time reduces the amount of juice that can leak out.[p]Experiment with different cooking temps and times. Keep good notes. Eventually you will hit on the right combination that doesn't require you to poke a hole in your chicken to see if it's done. That just creates another leakage point for juices. As always, use tongs and not a fork to handle your meets.

JSlot

Good Morning, Tonia!!! I buy chicken pieces parts all the time and I've been puzzled about the recurring posts talking about the inability to get crispy skin. One of our local grocery stores runs buy one/get one free sales on legs and thighs every other week or so. Leg quarters for 19¢/lb. are usually found once a month, too. These are deals too good for me to pass up and I usually cook a whole grill load to use for work lunches.[p]With regards to crispy skin, I've never had any problem at all getting crispy skin. The complicated process is as follows:[p](1) Get Egg up to 350-375°
(2) Place all chickin pieces on main grid skin side up
(3) Cook for 45 mins to an hour depending on size of pieces
(4) Flip over, skin side down for 15 mins
(5) Flip back over and cook for another 15 mins or until done to your liking[p]After I put the chicken pieces on, I don't ever lift the lid until the 45-50 minute mark. You will get lots of smoke (mostly steam) coming out of the top of the Egg, but as long as you don't lift the lid, you won't get any flare-ups. If you have lots of pieces to flip, you may have to flip half of them, close the lid to put out any flare-ups from the added oxygen, and then reopen and finish flipping. I usually don't have to do that. The skin always comes out crispy. Caution should be noted if you use a rub with a large amount of sugar using this method. It will burn. Small amounts are ok. If you like sauce, close all vents and "dwell" while basting the chicken with the sauce for 10-15 mins and, as always, beware of flashback when opening.[p]IMHO, especially for those folks that cook alot of chicken, the fact that you can cook chicken on the Egg without worrying about flare-ups is one of the main selling points of the cooker. Aren't many folks brave enough to walk away from a gas or charcoal grill full of chicken without having the fire department standing by! [p]Jim

Nature Boy

<p />QBabe,
We cook more chicken pieces here than anything...2 or 3 times a week for the past 15 years prolly! Thighs and drumsticks come out perfect every time for me at 275 direct, between an hour and an hour and a half. And WD did some righteous drumsticks at the Eggfest....runnin 250 or less for 2 hours (per my memory...LOL). The only good pic I have is on some other cooker. [p]Breastisses are different altogether, and should be cooked at much higher temps in my experience.[p]Have fun!
Chris

Porkchop

QBabe,
alls i ever do is parts. i cut up my whole chicks and do them like that. higher temps, 400-425 range. i get my chicks at sams, so they're already "tumbled", and always come out real juicy. if you get your chicks "straight", you can brine the parts for awhile first, and they'll be juicy, cook faster, and you can cook them to higher temps w/o drying them out.

Grumpa

Nature Boy,[p]SHOWOFF :~)[p]Man... those look great Chris. I can almost taste them![p]

QBabe

QBabe,[p]Thanks everyone for the thoughts....[p]As good as the sales are, I WILL master this yet! Last night we did chicken breasts direct, 325° - 350° for 30 - 45 minutes....flipped about every 10-15 minutes and when I pulled them off, they were around 170° internal. Used Ken Stone's new Wicked Grin rub which was OUTSTANDING....[p]Ken, that rub is quite an interesting mix of flavors....I could smell the cloves, but what else is in there that gives it such a unique blend (no trade secrets, please!)....?[p]Tonia
:~)