Chicken Skin Inedible?

[lostfish]

I smoked my first chicken the other day... and it turned out awesome...best chicken I've ever had. The only problem is that the skin turned into rubber and we couldn't even chew it. Does anyone have any suggestions for crisping the skin up a little bit so it's edible? I smoked the first chicken at about 220 for 4-5 hours with a little water in the pan. Any help is appreciated!

 

[herkysprings]

Remove the skin entirely and get some chicken bark, or maybe roll it on a hot grill for a few seconds?

I always just remove the skin for better smoke / rub on the meat.

 

[littlechief]

You need to raise the temp up at the end to 350 or so to crisp up the skin.
You could also throw it on the BBQ or under the broiler just long enough to crisp up the skin. I usually just peel of the rubber skin and fry it up in a pan into some crispy snacks.

 

[mikey]

Not sure what kind of smoker you're using, but you could also bump the temps up to the 300-325 range which should give you a nice cripsy skin. A few minutes on the gas grill (if you have one) will also crisp it up. Let us know how the next yardbird comes out

 

[pineywoods]

I smoke poultry at 325 and the skin comes out great and the smoke is much shorter. You can as was said finish on a grill or even finish it in the oven set at 325-350 but I find it easiest to just crank the smoker temps up from the start

 

[bigsteve]

Chicken doesn't need to be cooked low and slow. The above solutions are all valid.

At this point when I do whole birds, I do them beer butt style over 300* with some wood on the coal for smoke. Tastes great

 

[mballi3011]

I don't know how but the skin on my chickens comes out some what crispy and golden brown. You can see in my posted I can't link to them yet but soon. I smoke at 250 till 165 or so and the skin in edible.

 

[rickw]

I do chix, poultry in general, at higher temps as well. I try and stay around the 300 mark when doing poultry.

 

[rwc565]

Since it's chicken you dont really want to do the low and slow. Bump your heat up to 350 or so. that will help. Or you can grill it ffor a couple of minutes when you take off of smoker.

 

[slanted88]

Temp...ya got it! Now... Tip's spritz....prolly get my a$$ busted, get's mine where me & Louie like it!

 

[lostfish]

Thanks everyone for your input! I just cooked 2 5 pounders at the fire station for the boys and they came out great. I bumped the temp up for the last hour to 350 and the skin was perfect. Next time I'll set the temps for the entire smoke around 350 and see how that works out. Thanks again!

 

[coyote-1]

Once the skin gets rubbery or leathery, it's garbage. Don't let it get to that point.

If you're gonna do chickens low & slow, you have to mop 'em. You can let 'em be for an hour, but then mop every half-hour or so. Also, if you're not doing beer-can style (which I do not), flip 'em over at the two hour mark.

My last batch were on at 225 for almost four hours. The skin came out great.

 

[rivet]

I always smoke my poultry at around 325 and get crispy skin. Try bumping up your temps.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

I always cook my chicken 275 to 300 to keep the skin crisp. You could also hit it on direct heat for about 10 to 15 minutes after cooking to crisp it up.