Confused

[adawg54b]

i smoked a chicken for the first time. the meat was very tender and juicy but the skin was tough as leather. Did i do something wrong? or is this the norm

 

[SmokinAl]

Chicken needs to be smoked at a higher temp to get the skin crispy. Typically 300 degrees. Or you can smoke it at 225, then finish it on a hot grill or in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to crisp up the skin.

 

[chef willie]

doesn't sound normal....but need more info...temp smoked at, how long, type of fuel & unit etc. Usually, skin is rubbery from low temp smoking....most will usually smoke at a higher temp to crisp up the skin or crank up the heat the last hour or so.

 

[adawg54b]

I smoked the chicken at 220 for 4hrs. I used cowboy lump charcoal and hickory chunks for the smoke

 

[adiochiro3]

Your cook temp was probably a bit low.  I smoke mine at 250* and the skin comes out great.  SmokinAl is right.  Crisp up the skin at the end with higher heat if you need to.  I use butter (EVOO is an alternative) on the skin and salt & pepper and usually get perfect, crispy skin. 

 

[rdknb]

Chicken really does not benifit from slow and low. I rub the skin with mayo and smoke at 300 and skin is great

 

[tom37]

By mistake I forgot to rinse the Itialian dressing from my chicken once and whhoooweeeeee it burnt in like 15 minutes. 

I'm thinking that I will try a piece of chicken with a tiny bit of dressing mopped on for the last 10 minutes or so. I haven't tried it yet but I will post the results when I do.

 

[jirodriguez]

Yeah... chicken skin and low & slow don't play nice. I personally like to cook my chicken low and slow, it stays super moist and is fall off the bone tender, we either just toss the skin to the dogs or toss the chicken into a 400° oven for 10 minutes to crisp the skin.