Skin on chicken when smoking question

boatbum · January 2012

Cooked a whole chicken, roasting rack. Loved the meat, tender and juicy. Skin got very dark, tough. Is this normal? I did brush the skin with EVO prior to placing on the Egg. Was that a good or bad move? Would butter have been better - or should I have done nothing.

thanks

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

Low and slow smoking will make chicken skin rubbery.

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

Try 375 dome temp either indirect or or direct with a raised grid for crispy skin.

IrishDevl · January 2012

I get smaller chicken <4lbs and the skin is usually pretty crispy on a low and slow, but the bigger one 8lbs or so are all rubbery. I typically smoke to 130-135 or so in the breast meat and then remove smoking device and blast at 400 or so direct breast at 165.

Hungry Joe · January 2012

This is pretty much what I find. I like doing thighs the same way I
do wings. Raised direct with a dome temperature of 250 for two hours or
so. During that time I just rotate the grate every 1/2 hour and turn
them once or twice then take them off when they look right. They come
out nice and crispy.

I rarely do a whole spatchcock because most times it is just me an
the wife so I cut mine in half. I do those direct raised at 375 - 400
and get a nice texture on the skin.

Baysidebob · January 2012

I don't use oil. Rinse and dry the bird and dust with dry rub. Sometimes I slide stuff under the skin, sometimes not but that's a whole other thread. I cook indirect at 325-350. When I reach 10 degrees below target (170ish) I peek at the bird. If it needs more brown I run up to 400 or so and finish. Never had a failure. IMHO low and slow is inappropriate for poultry. Crispy skin is a must so I don't cover the bird while it rests. As you can see there is a wide variety of opinions. Keep plugging away until you find what works for you.

Hungry Joe · January 2012

I agree with don't cover the bird while it rests. I really have never
seen anyone else who does wings the way I do but I find I get good
results with low and slow. I started doing them like this when a buddy
of mine did thighs for a BBQ. I was surprised when I asked him how he
got such a nice skin because I had always struggled getting consistent
results. What I have found is that low and slow doesn't work well with a
whole bird, or a half for what ever reason. Plus it takes to long. I
have also dusted the skin with corn starch which helped to dry out and
firm up the skin but for what ever reason I don't bother with that any
more and no one seems to complain.

Mickey · January 2012

I leave the bird uncovered in the fridge all night. That and 400 direct and high in the dome works for spatchcocked, legs, turkey legs, turkeys spatchcocked. Works for all chicken/turkey for me. Always good skin.

trevorst · January 2012

Bottom line.. Low and slow skin is rubber, throw away.. Meat fantastic enjoy!!!
Higher temp skin can/will get crispy, meat is good , but closer to a roast chicken.
Both are great, just choose what you want...
I'm new to the Egg, so these comments come from years of smoking in an electric/ tin charcoal smoker and grilling/ roasting on either a gas grill or a oven.

burr_baby33 · January 2012

Chicken seems to take the smoke very quickly. Does not need the lo and slo.

trevorst · January 2012

Chicken seems to take the smoke very quickly. Does not need the lo and slo.

It's not just the smoke, the texture and flavor of a slow cooked chicken is very different from a 325+ cooked chicken. Like I said both are good, but different

Hungry Joe · January 2012

Slow cooked wings and thighs come out fantastic, whole or half birds
seem better cooked at higher temperatures for what ever reasons I don't
know. Maybe it's because the thighs and wings are dark meat with more
fat content then whole birds which are mostly white meat?

Skin on chicken when smoking question

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