How do you finish your chicken?

Kitchen range.

some folks use a gas grill or a charcoal grill as well to crisp up the skin.

Its done all the time at bbq contests.

Google...........crisping up smoked chicken skins.

Honestly, I gave up on doing chicken in my smokette. I find doing whole chickens come out best on my charcoal grill. If you going to fire up a another grill, why not just use that from the get go? I found the taste to always be better on the charcoal grill with a few chunks of wood tossed in.

Jason
Jason's BBQ Adventures

I sorta agree with Jason, especially if your grill has a rotisserie.

Then again, some folks don't like the skin, so do it up in the Smokette at 250* until 160* in breast or 170* in thigh or until the thigh/breast joint is no longer bloody or until juices run clear out of the meat. Easy on the wood, or none at all in a well seasoned smoker. Take the skin off, eat.

My BH makes a mean bird in her little electric rotisserie apparatus, and even makes her own rub. Crispy skin too.

Mine often is being held,until I'm ready for the whole meal.

This can soften the skin,also.

If pieces,I run under the broiler to reheat/set the skin.

Like GLH says,a real hot oven for a few mins works,also.

I like smoked turkey. I have an 009. I also would like to do some killer chicken wings. My question is this. Has anybody tried the jerky fan from smoken tex on top of their smoker? Would it possably give simmiler results as jigs modification? (crisp skin)

If my chickens are butterflied, I give them a few minutes in a 425* broiler. I like this method because it maintains the mahogany color that the smoker gave the skin.

The idea for finishing is to use high heat to crisp the skin. You'll have to find a method depending on your heat source and the chicken (pieces, 1/2, whole).

The only time I eat the skin is on crispy fried chicken!! Smoke chicken and turkey in my AmeriQue, taste is great, good smoke flavor and don't worry about the skin being crisp, don't eat it anyway!!!

Well, you can't do it in an AQ, but I have a chicken I do in the FE (need 325+ temp) that you'd swear was Fried Chicken. Haven't turned it in at a contest, but Mrs. Smokin prefers it.

So, 300* is still not hot enough for crispy skin? Besides the size (don't need it) and the probe (use my own) and the hold feature (never needed it) why would the AmeriQue be better than my little old Smokette?

Every now and then,it can't hurt to repost this.

Jim cooks on traditional Cookshacks and FEC s.

He dominated the comp circuit for a few years and most successful cooks on the circuit have used a version of his so graciously shared technique.

I used this on the Smokette for years,using Cookshack mild sauce and a rub of choice.

You don't have to finish on a grill/broiler.

"bite through" skin is a goal of many top cooks.

Posted by Jumpin' Jim on January 31, 2001 at 21:04:41:

For contests I only cook thighs and I cook 16 of them. I marinade them in Paul Newman's Own (Olive Oil and Vinegar) 4-8 at a time in a heavy zip lock bag depending on the size of the thighs. I start them marinating at approx. 4 pm on Friday.

I have used various rubs but what I really like these days is Head Country (Ponca City, OK) tweaked for heat which I get by adding a small amount of Cayenne Pepper. The thighs come out of the marinade at 7:30 sat morning and I lightly and evenly dust them with the rub.

I put them on the smoker and cook them to 180 degrees internal temp in exactly three hours. If I am using the Ole Hickory I use pecan and if I am cooking on Traeger or a Fast Eddy Smokebox I use hickory pellets.

At the three hour mark I test each thigh with a toothpick for tenderness. I put my best 8 in one half size alum pan from Sams Club with one bottle of Head Country Original Sauce. I put the second best 8 in the other pan. I loosely tent the pans with foil and let them woller in the sauce for approx. one hour.

Half hour before turn-in I take 8-10 best thighs and put them on Weber Kettle or Cajun Grill indirect with a reasonably cool fire so I won't burn the sauce. I taste one of the worst thighs and make an assessment of how it tastes and if I think that taste can do well. If I need to make adjustments, especially with salt, I do it at this time and then set the seasoning with a light brushing of sauce.

For turn-in I pick my best six thighs and put them in the box. No special arrangement because the thighs usually take up most of the room. Just try to have a decent looking box.

This process doesn't always work but it has been very good to me.

If any of you want more specifics please email me directly. I assume most of you are very good cooks and will be able to take this brief process and make it work for you. By the way Paul Newman's is a very good marinade for other meats, especially lamb when combined with Head Country Rub and Head Country Sauce

Hope this helps a little.

Tom, that's the second time Jim's chicken recipe has caught my attention. I am gonna stock up on thighs this weekend and give it a try. Thanks for posting it again.

EDIT: Tom, could you shed some light on how this recipe might work in a CS in terms of temp? If I am using a 055, should I just crank up the temp as high as it can go until 180 internal, or would you suggest a 225* cook temp? Thanks.

Jim was usually finishing other meats,so he stayed around the 220º.

As I remember,that is about how long it takes large thighs to finish in 3 hrs.

I took a stab at Jim's recipe that Tom mentioned above. I smoked 10 thigh/leg quarters with an ounce of pecan and an ounce of cherry. They were fantastic. I would have to say that it was the finest poultry I've smoked to date. Thanks again for the post, Tom. I'll add this one to my "keeper" pile of recipes.

Glad it panned out for you.

It has made good chicken cooks out of many folks.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
Glad it panned out for you.

LOL, Tom, stop it, too funny

Hee! Hee!

I'm not smart enough to work braised into it.

Hi JustADude,

I was wondering what temp you ended up using and how long they took to cook? Also, with just a total of 2 ounces of wood were the thighs very smokey? Thanks.

Brett