Curing Chicken Legs

[one eyed jack]

The fishing was great! Amazon is not my favorite place to shop, but they did refund shipping on my entire order for making the boo boo on the wing/leg rack, so I guess I won't complain for now. Any who, back to the food. In the brine Friday morning at 0600, pulled Sunday morning at about 0445. Almost 48 hours. I'm happy with the end result, but comments to follow.

Fired up the Weber with some standard issue KBB
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Tossed in a few pieces of cherry. I'm on a cherry kick lately. Color is awesome.
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Checking temps. Coming along nicely. Kettle is running hot hot hot! Yes, I'm running around in my socks!
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Oh my.. The skin took on a great color but seems to have really pulled back, product of cooking too hot I'm sure. All pieces registered between 180-190 so set them out on a rack before chow time.

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Bite was Awesome. Very juicy and tasty. I was concerned about drying it out but skin wasn't crispy or leather... I am not picky about it unless we're talking rubbery skin
Full disclosure; yesterday was my last day of a week vacation so I was testing human exposure limits to Modelo Especial and some pretty cheap gin.Taste testing actually happened next day at work... half power microwave setting kept the texture from being tough. That said, I am keen on doing this again. I intentionally did zero seasoning to see how the chix would taste. Maybe a honey baked ham theme or pineapple glaze next go round? Who knows.. the possibilities are endless.
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Great thread. The last picture, with the chunk bitten out, has convinced me to try this.

Great pictures of your smoke Mr. W

 

[mr_whipple]

Looks great , and yes the shin pulls back some , maybe yours was little short to begin with already.

But I love the texture and the taste. The pineapple glaze would be good to try

Well done

David

Thanks!

Great thread. The last picture, with the chunk bitten out, has convinced me to try this.

Great pictures of your smoke Mr. W

Thanks, and you won't regret doing this.

 

[thirdeye]

The skin took on a great color but seems to have really pulled back, product of cooking too hot I'm sure. All pieces registered between 180-190 so set them out on a rack before chow time.

I intentionally did zero seasoning to see how the chix would taste. Maybe a honey baked ham theme or pineapple glaze next go round?

Looks like you nailed that, looks delicious. Glazing works well, and I like them with with only cracked pepper too.

To stop the pull back on chicken skin..., stretch and pin with a tooth pick.

These are the bamboo toothpicks, very sharp and easier to puncture the skin.

 

[chopsaw]

I like them with with only cracked pepper too.

Yup . Heavy black pepper on the skin is really good . I usually don't add any more salt to them after being in the brine .

 

[mr_whipple]

Looks like you nailed that, looks delicious. Glazing works well, and I like them with with only cracked pepper too.

To stop the pull back on chicken skin..., stretch and pin with a tooth pick.
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These are the bamboo toothpicks, very sharp and easier to puncture the skin.
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Great idea. I'd swear I've seen the bamboo toothpicks in the stores somewhere, but I'm sure to run into them again, so I'll give them a try. To be honest, the pull back on the skin didn't bother me as much as it does on non-brined chicken, but again I'm not picky as long as it's not like chewing on a balloon.

Yup . Heavy black pepper on the skin is really good . I usually don't add any more salt to them after being in the brine .

I am a huge fan of black pepper, but for the most part my pepper mill is filled with a mix that I buy at sprawl mart.. Tones Peppercorn Melange. It's white, green, black and pink? I'm too lazy to get up and look at the jar.

Anyhow, my leg / wing rack order was cancelled by amazon. Apparently I need to pick a different seller or manufacturer. Who knew a simple piece of metal was so hard to obtain??

Enjoy your day, and cure some chicken pieces... it's right tasty!

 

[chopsaw]

order was cancelled by amazon.

They've done that to me 4 times now . That's fine , I get that it happens . Just seems like they should know a bit sooner and let you know .

 

[mr_whipple]

I won't beat this to death, but I've never had it happen until now. What bothers me is I actually had a delivery date and time. Guess they didn't check the cupboard before hand. c'est la vie say the old folks....

 

[thirdeye]

Great idea. I'd swear I've seen the bamboo toothpicks in the stores somewhere, but I'm sure to run into them again, so I'll give them a try. To be honest, the pull back on the skin didn't bother me as much as it does on non-brined chicken, but again I'm not picky as long as it's not like chewing on a balloon.

An alternate plan is to buy some turkey lacing pins. They come in a 10 pack with a piece of string, but I use them for asparagus rafts and pinning bacon on meatloaf or on a fillet. With a pair of side cutters you could shorten some for chicken. Check your PM inbox.