Chicken and turkey

[WestervilleSmoke]

When I smoke chicken and turkey, the skin is really rubbery, the meat turns out great, but you have to remove the skin and throw it away. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[ab canuck]

I as many others have found the same thing. I have been smoking it for awhile then crank it up to get that skin crispy, There are quite a few articles about that and how to here. Stop buy roll call and say "HI" use the search to explore the forum. There are lots of great people and info here

 

[chilerelleno]

You can leave them whole or spatchcock.
Spatchcocking allows for more even cooking of the whole bird not to mention the skin.
They will also cook quicker, as easy as turning up the heat.

Dry brine with a mix of baking powder and salt in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio.
Air dry the bird in the fridge for 12-24hrs.
A light coat of oil on skin before or during cooking is okay, as is applying a rub.
Cook at 275° or higher, I smoke poultry at 350°-375°.

When straight smoking you're never going to get 'Really' crispy crunchy poultry skin.
But you can get a very nice crisp 'Pop!' on the bite through
For the 'Real' crispy crunchy you'll need to finish the smoked bird or do the whole cook with more of a direct heat source, grill, rotisserie, oven or broiler to completely render the fat out.

 

[gmc2003]

I prefer high heat throughout the cook. The only thing I have to really worry about when doing whole birds is the skin getting to dark or black. Chicken parts are done on the kettle with the Vortex(which is almost foolproof).

Chris