Chicken Thighs

try this:

Put the thighs in some Newmans Oil and Vingar Dressing mixed with your rub overnight. Next day wipe off the dressing and put in the frige to air dry for a couple of hours with some more rub on the thighs. Run you pit or cooker hot, like 300-350 degrees. Will be done in 45 minutes to 1 hour. Put sauce on in last fifteen minutes.

Crispy thighs!

I only brine chicken breasts...Thighs have a higher fat content and seam to come out moist and flavorful w/o brining...

A recipe my family enjoys w/thighs is to coat thighs w/skin on w/a mix of mayo and spicy rub and let sit overnight...

Next day, smoke for around an hour and a half at 250 w/only 1 oz of hickory or 2oz apple...(Go EASY on the wood--they soak up the smoke) Then finish for 5min a side on a hot grill to crisp up the skin...

I do the same thing w/wings for parties--they're really good....Prefer them to thighs...

I serve this w/sauce on the side...

Good luck...

Brently knows you can only go to 250�,so skip the high temps and the brine.

Duck's approach to Jumpin' Jim's will still work,but you need to finish on the grill.

Thanks folks.. I appreciate the info.. was afraid that was the only answer.

Finish on the grill.. Think I'll use the stove top grill for the finish rather than firing up the Weber....

Bill,
I'm trying something different tomorrow on chicken thighs. We need to bring up our scores on chicken. If it works, I'll let you know.
Peggy

Great.. we have company after church tomorrow..

If not by then.. I'll go with what I had planned and try your method next time.. if it's sharable.

Good luck to ya.

Bill

The problem is that the temp of the CS's can't get the temps for the FEC's so we have to modify the techniques. The small CS's only get to 250, unlike the other lines, but hey, can't have it all in such a small package.

For me, I haven't found much change in the thighs after brining. No need to, unless you're wanting to get some of the flavor inside the chicken itself, then the brine will help do that. But as has been said, you don't "have" to brine thighs, they have plenty of fat.

Without a hot smoker to finish the skin, a LOT of competition temps still finish their thighs on grills to crisp them up as well as carmelize the sauce a little bit. It's a work around, but you just can't get crispy chicken smoking at 250.

If you do de-skin them, the cloth is a good idea, they will dry out faster.

The problem is that the temp of the CS's can't get the temps for the FEC's so we have to modify the techniques. The small CS's only get to 250, unlike the other lines, but hey, can't have it all in such a small package.

For me, I haven't found much change in the thighs after brining. No need to, unless you're wanting to get some of the flavor inside the chicken itself, then the brine will help do that. But as has been said, you don't "have" to brine thighs, they have plenty of fat.

Without a hot smoker to finish the skin, a LOT of competition temps still finish their thighs on grills to crisp them up as well as carmelize the sauce a little bit. It's a work around, but you just can't get crispy chicken smoking at 250.

If you do de-skin them, the cloth is a good idea, they will dry out faster.

Keep the thighs simple,season under and on the skin,cook to about 175�+, and you will have great chicken.

Run the cooker at 225� with a small amount of wood.

Simple lemon pepper isn't all bad.

You can even lightly sauce the cold smoked chicken,run under the oven broiler, and have excellent chicken.

Sometimes we try too many tricks,with easy to cook thighs.

Take good notes,as Smokin' Okie always says, and adjust NEXT time.

Sometimes we make the simple difficult.

I did four procedures,eight thighs each,this morning to find the 5 % difference.

I wouldn't hesitate to serve any to company.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
[qb] Keep the thighs simple,season under and on the skin,cook to about 175�+, and you will have great chicken.

Run the cooker at 225� with a small amount of wood.

Simple lemon pepper isn't all bad.

You can even lightly sauce the cold smoked chicken,run under the oven broiler, and have excellent chicken. [/qb]

Ok.. that sounds great.. BUT.. considering this is a thigh.. not a whole chicken (or turkey)..

If you remember my first turkey discussion from the other day.. I went under the skin with my hand.. all around it.. and the skin shrunk away from part of the breast.

That said.. If I lift the skin from the thigh and season under it.. it seems the skin will simply shrink away from all edges.. solution??? Toothipicks? lot of extra work.. to pick that many thighs.. maybe not.

I think this time I'll just season the skin on top.. and season the flesh side of the thighs and smoke that way.

BUT, let me know about the skin shrinkage.. toothpicks or ??? Or simply cheese cloth..

Thanks again.. Bill

OK, This is what I did. I enlisted the aid of my sweet Jack in deboning thighs. Sprinkled them with lemon pepper and let them sit overnight.
Rolled them up and toothpicked to hold the roll while Jack started up the FE100. Placed them on the rack at 165-190 for 1 1/2 hrs. Removed and took out the picks. Foiled with a little mango nectar. 275 deg. in the foil for 1 hour.
To try to duplicate what I'll try next weekend in comp. I unwrapped, sauced with guava sauce and placed back in FE and cranked temp to 450 for 30 min.
They were excellent. A little too salty. To get skin to crispness I want, I'll be using a little cheap grill.
At the same time this was going on, we also did a test run of St. Louis Ribs, using same time and temps. They were yummy. The guava sauce was also good on them.
Peggy

Peggy are you deboning for comp? You might check around Peggy. I've seen people try deboned chicken thighs in comps and didn't have much success. As a judge, I've seen it only once or twice. Sometimes you'd think different is good, but with judges, sometimes different is not. You might post over in the FE forum as there are more competitors over there if you're looking for ideas.

As for times and temps, the little smokette can't get to anything over 250, so that's why we get lots of questions about methods and rubbery chicken skin. You're lucky, you have the FE.

Smokin,
You're right on the judge issue. I can't figure out what they want. What I thought was great at Minneola wasn't what they were looking for.
We didn't do well on chicken in Minneola. Jack said it was mine from now on!
I thought the deboned might be easier to fit in the box. They looked a lot prettier.
Thanks
Peggy

smokin,
keep trying on the no deboning idea!!
but at this point i have it down to 60 secs per thigh (thank you mr forstner).
i do have to admit that her sewing skills have come into play and man they look like an assembly line did them!! same size look everything. crutching with mango was her idea. they stayed nice and moist. think the guava sauce finished over a charcoal grill is neat idea. what the heck for our second competition is worth boning them for her. and much to my suprise she just loves the competition. so for vending at plant city we have enlisted our daughter who refers to us now as her "carny parents".
and if peg doesnt place i think she will be happy with just the experience. she is really hooked now and man am i happy!!!!
thanks to everyone in this forum!!!!!! all of you have helped us so much and it is just great to find a place where everyone helps each other!!!!!
jack

Seems like maybe 3%- 5 % are turning in boned,if they do thighs.

They do look nice in the box,if done and shaped well.

Weewilly,many throw the thigh skin away and you lose the benefit of the seasoning.

I'd season over and under.

Don't worry about the shrinkage.

Try not trimming the skin,pull it tight back around the thigh and tuck under the bottom.

Cook tucked side down.

Yes,you can toothpick and trim every thigh for uniformity in comps.

Just cook them and don't worry.

They're just thighs.LOL

Peggy and Jack,

One suggestion on any entry. Don't change your technique/receipe just because of one contest. If I heard once, I've heard 100 times that the same entry the week before bombed but on this week it won. The difference is the judges.

Hang out with a few teams, work on some ideas and get it down to something that works for you, even if you want deboning.

Those Florida teams are very experienced and you'll find something that works. Just remember us well when you're called.

Russ

I know this is a little off the subject of thighs but what I like to do with wings is buy a load of them when on sale and smoke them (I like apple or pecan)untill nicly smoked but still juicy and bag and freeze them. Then anytime I want a quick meal I thaw them in the microwave crisp them up on the grill, put a little BB sauce on and I have a quick meal. Very good simple and good.

somewhere in one of the forum messages, not sure witch one is this method. i tryed it and it worked GREAT itilian dressing, a little rub, and woshtoshire sause. soak cheicken ( i use the brest with the skin on). after i took out the chicken i covered with more rub, and just a few shakes of lemon pepper. 200 degrees for 6 hours. so tender and juciey you would not beleave. you can eather take the skin off at that time or finish on a grill. Worked for me