Chicken Frustration

BBQBluesStringer,[p]Just cook your chicken in different stages......1st stage smoke indirect..........2nd and last stage direct for crispy skin (don't burn)[p]Look as some threads on Spacklecocked chicken.....most go raised grill and that is another way to go.....smoke at lower temps and then in the last part, raise the temperature...or lower the grill[p]hope this helps............bigarms

I'm not sure if I can give you exactly what you're after, but here's what I've been doing lately to make most excellent chicken thighs. I bought the big pack of frozen thighs from Costco (separated into smaller packs of four - gotta love that!). Take one of the packs out and thaw it, then throw some sort of marinade (we're still trying out a number of them) into a gallon ziplock along with the thighs and let them sit overnight. At this point you'll probably want to add a rub, too, to get your desired effect. I set up the eggstender and put a piece of foil underneath for indirect cooking and crank the egg up to 350 or so. I've let the thighs go as little as 40 minutes and as long as two hours. They've come out juicy and flavorful every time.

As for the crispy skin, one trick I use on beer can chickens is to apply Cajun Blast spray-on marinade to the outside of the bird. It's pretty much flavored spray-on butter but it does quite a job. I've been able to get a whole chicken to do something very similar to what you're after by (1) brining the bird, (2) applying the rub inside, outside, and under the skin, (3) setting the bugger on a beer can, and (4) applying the buttery spray to the outside. I use a plate-setter turned upside down for indirect cooking and it seems to do the trick. If that doesn't get you the crispiness you're after you might want to try the foil for part of the cooking cycle to go indirect.

Hope that helps!