- Nov 1, 2023
- 15
- 45
Hey all,
Back with another meal that turned out well.
Chicken skin on the mes30 has always been a struggle for me. So I figured I might share what I've learned to help people with a similar setup.
If you can smoke hotter this recipie isn't for you. You can probably just smoke at 325 or 350 as you would normally roast a chicken and it will turn out great.
The big limitation
Day before up to 2 days before.
Remove the chicken from its packaging. Pat dry. Trim any excess fat and spatchcock the bird. Loosen the skin around on the breasts legs and thighs. I try to keep the membrane intact that separates the breast and thighs as it makes dry bringing easier.
Weight the bird and weight out 1.1% of it's weight in salt. I like to use an herb rub of rosemary sage and thyme and some black pepper. Mix the rub with the salt. Apply 1/3 liberally to the back of the bird. Lift the skin and apply the other 2/3 evenly between under the skin. Spread it as evenly as you can underneath.
Leave uncovered in the fridge on a wire rack in a baking sheet for up to 48hrs.
Day of smoke.
Total time to cook is about 2-3 hrs.
MES on 275. Temp probe in the thickest part of the breast. Set it and forget it. Keep some smoke going on it the whole time. Whatever you prefer. I like hickory but I'm sure chicken would go great with subtler woods. We are looking for the breast to get to around 120-125. At which point we are going to pull the bird and put it in the oven or grill it. The reason we pull it this early is that the skin will fully turn to leather if cooked fully at this low of temp. We need higher heat for it to be edible.
Today I tried grilling and may have gone too hot. I set the propane grill to full blast. Preheated to 550, and set it skin side down. The skin turned out great but it did immediately split on contact with the hot grill. Something that doesn't happen to me in the oven. next time I might try a medium temp or ripping hot but put skin side up more like a convection oven.
Oven method
I set it to 450 and put the chicken in the bottom 1/3rd until the breast registers around 150f and pull it. Sometimes I foil it if the skin once its at the color I want. This takes about 20 minutes. You can also lower the temp once skin is a nice crisp texture and darkened color.
Overall the skin turned out very edible today. And the meat is obviously delicious.
Back with another meal that turned out well.
Chicken skin on the mes30 has always been a struggle for me. So I figured I might share what I've learned to help people with a similar setup.
If you can smoke hotter this recipie isn't for you. You can probably just smoke at 325 or 350 as you would normally roast a chicken and it will turn out great.
The big limitation
- MES30 only gets to 275 which is not hot enough to crisp chicken skin.
- Finish the chicken in the oven or on the grill.
- Don't use sugar in your rub, it will burn at the high heat we want to use on the skin.
- Grilling too hot will split the skin.
Day before up to 2 days before.
Remove the chicken from its packaging. Pat dry. Trim any excess fat and spatchcock the bird. Loosen the skin around on the breasts legs and thighs. I try to keep the membrane intact that separates the breast and thighs as it makes dry bringing easier.
Weight the bird and weight out 1.1% of it's weight in salt. I like to use an herb rub of rosemary sage and thyme and some black pepper. Mix the rub with the salt. Apply 1/3 liberally to the back of the bird. Lift the skin and apply the other 2/3 evenly between under the skin. Spread it as evenly as you can underneath.
Leave uncovered in the fridge on a wire rack in a baking sheet for up to 48hrs.
Day of smoke.
Total time to cook is about 2-3 hrs.
MES on 275. Temp probe in the thickest part of the breast. Set it and forget it. Keep some smoke going on it the whole time. Whatever you prefer. I like hickory but I'm sure chicken would go great with subtler woods. We are looking for the breast to get to around 120-125. At which point we are going to pull the bird and put it in the oven or grill it. The reason we pull it this early is that the skin will fully turn to leather if cooked fully at this low of temp. We need higher heat for it to be edible.
Today I tried grilling and may have gone too hot. I set the propane grill to full blast. Preheated to 550, and set it skin side down. The skin turned out great but it did immediately split on contact with the hot grill. Something that doesn't happen to me in the oven. next time I might try a medium temp or ripping hot but put skin side up more like a convection oven.
Oven method
I set it to 450 and put the chicken in the bottom 1/3rd until the breast registers around 150f and pull it. Sometimes I foil it if the skin once its at the color I want. This takes about 20 minutes. You can also lower the temp once skin is a nice crisp texture and darkened color.
Overall the skin turned out very edible today. And the meat is obviously delicious.
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