Chewy chicken wings

Tbonez3858 · September 2019

I grilled some wings (375/direct/1 hour). The taste and flavor was off the charts good. The meat (not skin) drums were super chewy, however. I threw them on frozen so I'm wondering if that's the problem? Anyone had chewy wings...Will go with fresh and brine next time.

Mattman3969 · September 2019

Chewy as in the meat or the skin?

Tbonez3858 · September 2019

Mattman3969 said:

Chewy as in the meat or the skin?

It was the meat. The skin was crispy and nice...

Mattman3969 · September 2019

I need to practice comprehending what I read. Lol.

Did you temp the meat? Chewy chicken generally means under done to me.

Tbonez3858 · September 2019

I did not temp but they were blazing hot and at 375 direct for an hour it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been cooked..

Theophan · September 2019

Tbonez3858 said:

... I threw them on frozen ... 375 direct for an hour it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been cooked..

I'm no expert, have only done wings a handful of times, but if they went on frozen, it seems like an hour might not have been anywhere near enough. I usually do indirect, but at a higher temp, and 40 min to an hour, and they're going on NOT frozen!

Elijah · September 2019

It would also allow the skin to get crisp without cooking the meat how you would like.

Mattman3969 · September 2019

Tbonez3858 said:

I did not temp but they were blazing hot and at 375 direct for an hour it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been cooked..

The last wings I cooked were indirect raised up high in the dome @400-425. Took an hour before I was happy with them. They were not frozen.

I bet they were up to safe temp of 155-160 but most of the time wings go a lot higher than that just like thighs. The higher the temp(to a point) on the dark meat the more desirable the texture. I run dark meat up to 180-190 with no issue.