Not the first time i have smoked chicken. i do some 1/2 or 1/4 chickens that are pretty cool and some beer can chickens... but this is definately the first time i've tried a competition style chicken thigh.
any thoughts about how to improve?
First... i got the thighs at Whole Foods and had them bone them. i think i'll bone them next time as they were sort of a mess if this were really something you would judge on uniformity or visual impression.
i skinned them first. Obviously the bones were already removed... for a home BBQ not really that bad, but many of them are really hacked up right?
next up. seasoning. i rarely if ever use a store bought bottle, but this time i did. It was a kansas city style chicken rub, and i actually forgot the brand. next time i think i'll make my own and either way i'll definately use more.
.
(not pictured)... i removed much of the fat from the underside of the skin with a santoku kife... and then re-wrapped the thighs. from what i have read it allows for a crispier skin rather than that leather like consistency that smoking often does to chicken skin at low temps... and then seasoned the skin as well.
next up i heated up some butter in the smoker (with seasoning).... and braised them in the smoker for roughly 30-40 minutes... this is the front side of the butter experiment and unfortunatey i do not have a pic when i changed them out...
out of the butter and back into the smoker to finish..
i did this for roughly 30+ minutes until they were nearing temp.... (160 or so)...
once they were on the + side of 160 i added a citrus lime bbq sauce in the smoker and then finished them on some medium to low direct heat to crisp up the skin... . the direct heat was on the fire box on the smoker over the coals/wood/..
final product after the direct heat... served with grilled asparagus and some bacon/potato salad.....
i did not know what to expect nor how to judge how well or poor i did with the skins. A reasonably sharp knife would slice though both the skin and meat all the way through with little effort. I did not try to bite through the whole thing to see if the skin and meat sutck together. i enjoyed the product and so did the neighbors i invited over for the experiment.
any thoughts about how to improve?
First... i got the thighs at Whole Foods and had them bone them. i think i'll bone them next time as they were sort of a mess if this were really something you would judge on uniformity or visual impression.
i skinned them first. Obviously the bones were already removed... for a home BBQ not really that bad, but many of them are really hacked up right?
next up. seasoning. i rarely if ever use a store bought bottle, but this time i did. It was a kansas city style chicken rub, and i actually forgot the brand. next time i think i'll make my own and either way i'll definately use more.
.
(not pictured)... i removed much of the fat from the underside of the skin with a santoku kife... and then re-wrapped the thighs. from what i have read it allows for a crispier skin rather than that leather like consistency that smoking often does to chicken skin at low temps... and then seasoned the skin as well.
next up i heated up some butter in the smoker (with seasoning).... and braised them in the smoker for roughly 30-40 minutes... this is the front side of the butter experiment and unfortunatey i do not have a pic when i changed them out...
out of the butter and back into the smoker to finish..
i did this for roughly 30+ minutes until they were nearing temp.... (160 or so)...
once they were on the + side of 160 i added a citrus lime bbq sauce in the smoker and then finished them on some medium to low direct heat to crisp up the skin... . the direct heat was on the fire box on the smoker over the coals/wood/..
final product after the direct heat... served with grilled asparagus and some bacon/potato salad.....
i did not know what to expect nor how to judge how well or poor i did with the skins. A reasonably sharp knife would slice though both the skin and meat all the way through with little effort. I did not try to bite through the whole thing to see if the skin and meat sutck together. i enjoyed the product and so did the neighbors i invited over for the experiment.
