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4 replies

Tough Chicken...

FM Former Member
I have been attempting to cook chicken thighs on my FE that equal or are better than I can do on my WSM, though I have managed to get the skin issues resolved, the meat is still very tough. I've tried cooking fast (Eddy's technique) and slowly, though the meat still comes out tough. Can anyone pass on some suggestions?

I do not inject the thighs so I don't know if that will help, but there is a noticable difference in tenderness between the two smokers.

BTW, our 1st place in chicken this past weekend was not done on the FE. I did cook some on the FE, but in comparing the two, it was an obvious choice as to which chicken to submit.

Also, the Porkitects took Reserve this weekend in Westminster for those who are keeping an eye on the FE's performances in competitions.
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R ribdogMember
In Tryon, we took first place with chicken cooked on our FEC. And it was cooked fast. At 375*. Of course, we have Craig with his marinade and rubs that are a major part of our excellent finish. But I definitely think the FEC had a hand in it also. BTW, do you have a thermapen? It is the only way I would trust checking the doneness on the thighs we cook.

Maybe Craig will chime in with a few pointers.

John
FM Former Member
No, I don't have a thermapen, though I kept borrowing one from Cool Smoke. I'm ordering one or two this week.

FYI,
When I say tough, I'm not talking about bone release. When you bite into the chicken, there is a toughness to the meat that we don't get with the WSM cookers. Maybe the judges don't care, though we have been extrememly sucessful in chicken categories and believe we need to improve on this before we start turning it in.
R ribdogMember
I understand what you are saying, Bam. Being a judge myself as are the other three members of the team, I don't feel the chicken has to come off the bone so cleanly. To me, and important part of chicken is being able to take a bite and not having the whole piece of skin come off with it. This is why we take the high temp route ourselves.

Best of luck to you on the changeover. BTW, I learned how to cook que on WSMs also. They are excellent smokers and I still have two on the back porch. Unfortuantely, they don't used as much anymore.

John
FM Former Member
BAM,

Understand the question. LIke John, I took a first in chicken last contest (funny huh) on my FEC's.

Chicken wasn't as tender and I do a variety of things.

Part of it is the chicken. I do a test on all the thighs and some of them are coming out tender and some are not.

I'd like to figure this one out too. Obviously the FE can do it, but we're all perfectionists and we always want better chicken.

Russ

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