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Good skin on turkey/chicken

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bigworm
bigworm Posts: 20
in Poultry
I've done probably 8-10 spatchcock chickens (raised direct, indirect, etc). I did a turkey last weekend indirect at 300-325ish. On all of these birds, I CANNOT get good skin on any of them. I put the turkey in the refrigerator naked overnight, and halfway through cooking I basted one side with butter, and the other side I sprayed with cooking spray (Malcolm Reed method). The skin didn't have much taste and it's usually rubbery, and also some parts are extra thick and you can't even hardly bite through it.

I get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and the skin is awesome. But I've yet to be able to create that at home. 

Basically, am I the only one having this problem? 
Large and a MM
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  • 1voyager
    1voyager Posts: 1,157
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    I used to have that problem until I started using this technique:

    Lightly coat the bird with salt and pepper the day before. 

    Naked overnight as you mentioned.

    Separate the skin from the meat using your fingers or a soft spatula, taking care not to break the skin.

    Raised direct @ 350-400. 

    Legs pointed toward the back of the Egg.

    Don't baste. 

    Nice brown crunchy skin every time.

    Best of luck.
    Large Egg, PGS A40 gasser.
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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,615
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    You can do this ^ and push some herb butter under the skin.  Nice finish on the breast and the skin gets a nice color as well.
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  • tenpenny_05
    tenpenny_05 Posts: 286
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    I did some chicken quarters raised indirect and the temp got away from me while I was raking leaves. I came back at dome was over 450, best skin I have ever done.  Only hot hot and indirect from now on.
    Kansas City, Kansas
    Second hand Medium BGE, Second hand Black Kamado Joe Classic, Second hand Weber Kettle, Second hand Weber Smokey Mountain
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  • ryantt
    ryantt Posts: 2,532
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    One other thing I do is add cornstarch to it while letting it dry out in the fridge.  This pulls moisture out of the skin.  
    XL BGE, KJ classic, Joe Jr, UDS x2 


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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    edited November 2018
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    If nothing else, raise the temp to at least 350-375. Dry brine during the overnight rest in the fridge to help develop the pellicle. I haven’t done it on turkey yet, but I add baking powder to chicken to get a crispy, fried texture on wings and full birds. 
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  • mlc2013
    mlc2013 Posts: 988
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    i do as @1voyager says except i start bird skin side down for the first 15 min
    Long Island NY    
    1 XL BGE 12/17, 1 LG BGE 3/18, 1 MM BGE 3/18
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  • retiredadman
    retiredadman Posts: 15
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    I read a good trick on getting good skin with Buffalo Wings is to after you've smoked them in the egg, fry them for 5 min. on a stovetop. I haven't tried it, but it makes sense.
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,467
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    I tried a dry brine with salt on my wangs this weekend for the first time, probably the best skin I've done yet (~400º).  I did use my sausage pricker to perforate the skin as much as possible, too.  
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • mEGG_My_Day
    mEGG_My_Day Posts: 1,653
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    Perhaps you could remove the skin and deep fry it - I haven’t tried this myself, but the best turkey skin I ever get is when I fry the whole bird.  Here is a recipe for frying just the skin ..,like I said, I have not done this, so buyer beware.

    https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/fried-chicken-skin-with-hot-sauce-and-honey-f.html

    Memphis, TN 

    LBGE, 2 SBGE, Hasty-Bake Gourmet
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