I generally stay away from Chicken when it comes to smoking, grilling, etc. I never seem to cook it just right and I'm constantly worried it's not cooked long enough. However, I've been messing around with "Smoking" on my Gas Grill the past few weekends to switch it up a bit, and decided I might as well give chicken a chance. I found a "competition" recipe online, and I happened to already have most of the rubs they were using, so I decided to try to make it close to "competition" as well.
The Lineup:
Butcher BBQ Bird Booster in Chipotle -> For the Injection/Brine
Butcher BBQ Grilling Oil in Chipotle -> For the Foil Pan
Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub
JP's Chicken Scratch Finishing Spice
Plowboys Sweet 180 BBQ Sauce
Firebug Hot BBQ Sauce
Wildflower Honey
The Competitors:
I attempted to trim it up to be mostly all the same size. Only had 2 packs of thighs, so the pickings were a bit slim. Lesson learned that if you're attempting to trim the Chicken, keep the whole skin first. That way when it's all trimmed, you'll still be able to cover the whole chicken with skin. I had a few I cut too short.
The Injection:
I injected it with the Bird Booster and brine it for about 2 hours in the leftovers.
The Rub:
In this attempt I seasoned the bottom and top with the Yardbird Rub. I did not apply the rub under the skin, and I think it worked out fine. The final product had plenty of the rub's flavor in my opinion.
The Smoke:
Today's Grill of choice was the Weber 210. The Amazen Smoke Tube has Pecan Pellets in it. I let it "smoke" in the foil pan (which has the Chiptole Grilling Oil in it) for 30 minutes. In retrospect, this needed to go a bit longer.
Not pictured is Foiling the top after the first 30 minutes and keeping that on for another 30 minutes. Pulled at about 150 IT.
The Sauce:
Dipped in a mix of the Plowboys Sweet 180, Firebug Hot and Wildflowe Honey. Put back on the Grill on a chicken rack for about 15 minutes. Was going for 160 IT. Again, this probably needed to go a bit higher.
The Final Product:
All in all, it wasn't bad for a first attempt or for being on a Gas Grill. The Skin was definitely not 100% bite through unless I took a very deliberate bite. Next time I do Chicken Thighs, I think I need to go a bit higher IT. 160 (ish) is done, but not quite the level of tenderness I'm looking for. Maybe 175-180 or so? I also would like for a bit more uniform sauce coating across the chicken. They look alright, but there's room for improvement. Not quite sure what I did wrong there, as I submerged them in the sauce.
From a taste perspective, I really enjoyed all the different flavors. All the injections, rubs and sauces is not something I'd pull out every time I want to make some chicken, but it was fun to experiment.
The Lineup:
Butcher BBQ Bird Booster in Chipotle -> For the Injection/Brine
Butcher BBQ Grilling Oil in Chipotle -> For the Foil Pan
Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub
JP's Chicken Scratch Finishing Spice
Plowboys Sweet 180 BBQ Sauce
Firebug Hot BBQ Sauce
Wildflower Honey
The Competitors:
I attempted to trim it up to be mostly all the same size. Only had 2 packs of thighs, so the pickings were a bit slim. Lesson learned that if you're attempting to trim the Chicken, keep the whole skin first. That way when it's all trimmed, you'll still be able to cover the whole chicken with skin. I had a few I cut too short.
The Injection:
I injected it with the Bird Booster and brine it for about 2 hours in the leftovers.
The Rub:
In this attempt I seasoned the bottom and top with the Yardbird Rub. I did not apply the rub under the skin, and I think it worked out fine. The final product had plenty of the rub's flavor in my opinion.
The Smoke:
Today's Grill of choice was the Weber 210. The Amazen Smoke Tube has Pecan Pellets in it. I let it "smoke" in the foil pan (which has the Chiptole Grilling Oil in it) for 30 minutes. In retrospect, this needed to go a bit longer.
Not pictured is Foiling the top after the first 30 minutes and keeping that on for another 30 minutes. Pulled at about 150 IT.
The Sauce:
Dipped in a mix of the Plowboys Sweet 180, Firebug Hot and Wildflowe Honey. Put back on the Grill on a chicken rack for about 15 minutes. Was going for 160 IT. Again, this probably needed to go a bit higher.
The Final Product:
All in all, it wasn't bad for a first attempt or for being on a Gas Grill. The Skin was definitely not 100% bite through unless I took a very deliberate bite. Next time I do Chicken Thighs, I think I need to go a bit higher IT. 160 (ish) is done, but not quite the level of tenderness I'm looking for. Maybe 175-180 or so? I also would like for a bit more uniform sauce coating across the chicken. They look alright, but there's room for improvement. Not quite sure what I did wrong there, as I submerged them in the sauce.
From a taste perspective, I really enjoyed all the different flavors. All the injections, rubs and sauces is not something I'd pull out every time I want to make some chicken, but it was fun to experiment.
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