Going to cook some bone in chicken thighs

[buckbros]

Going to try this on my REC TEC Trailblazer.
I was thinking of running @ 225º to obtain some smoke flavor & then bumping it up to 350º
to finish. I know I won't get crispy skins. Anyone tried this and approx. how long to cook at 225º & how long at 350º to get the correct internal temp? Suggestions welcomed!

 

[Preacher Man]

I've never tried it, but as long as you keep it in the 40º-140º in 4 hours safe zone, I say smoke it as low and slow as possible to get your desired smoke-intensity.

Chicken thighs (and legs, for that matter), in my opinion, taste better at 175º-185º than they do at 165º. Because they aren't white meat, they're retain the fat and moisture better. So take it to 165º and then bump it up to 350º for some crispiness, or finish on a hot grill.

Most of the time I'll just discard the skin, or eat it chewy. If I'm pulling the chicken, I'll take the skin off, pull the chicken, then fry the skin in some hot oil and put it back in with the pulled chicken. (My electric smoker only gets to 275º)

 

[HalfSmoked]

You will have no problem reaching the 140 in 4 at 225 with thighs and if you bump it up to 350 you will for sure have crisp skin.

Warren

 

[WaterRat]

I did it that way once (I also run a pellet smoker) 2hrs then 1hr and ended up with leathery skin - buuuuttt - I had dry brined the skin and let dry in the reefer also and think it was already screwed by the time I started cooking. At those temps it took about 3hrs. I'd do maybe an hour @225 then bump it up till done. Good luck, let us know what you did and how it turns out, your meat will be fine regardless but the skin - we'll see.

 

[chopsaw]

taste better at 175º-185º than they do at 165º

That's a fact , I have even taken them higher .

 

[tallbm]

Going to try this on my REC TEC Trailblazer.
I was thinking of running @ 225º to obtain some smoke flavor & then bumping it up to 350º
to finish. I know I won't get crispy skins. Anyone tried this and approx. how long to cook at 225º & how long at 350º to get the correct internal temp? Suggestions welcomed!

Hi there and welcome!

I don't have a pellet smoker but I do something similar.

I smoke at like 180F and then pull them around 140F and grill on a hot gas grill skin side down. That gives me edible skin. It should work for you as well. Give it a test run and see what you like and how your system performes. I also like thighs higher than 165F but I don't have a specific target IT above 165F. I just pull them when they are a bit firmer and look good rather than being 165F and a little squishy :)

 

[hardcookin]

I smoke on an offset. But chicken absorbs smoke easily.
I smoke thighs at 300-325 they are done in about an hour depending on the size of the thigh.
I smoke with cherry wood. Which I think gives the thighs a good smoke flavor.
I usually smoke 50 thighs at a time and it is usually a weekly thing.

 

[tallbm]

I smoke on an offset. But chicken absorbs smoke easily.
I smoke thighs at 300-325 they are done in about an hour depending on the size of the thigh.
I smoke with cherry wood. Which I think gives the thighs a good smoke flavor.
I usually smoke 50 thighs at a time and it is usually a weekly thing.

Yeah this is the other approach as well lol.
I will also smoke at 325F but they cook much faster.
Poultry skin wants to be leathery and inedible if smoke less than 325F'ish OR you don't toss the poultry on a hot grill to whip the skin into shape hence pulling chicken at an earlier IT and throwing on a hot grill skin side down :)

Pick your approach and see what you like best :)

 

[hardcookin]

Yeah this is the other approach as well lol.
I will also smoke at 325F but they cook much faster.
Poultry skin wants to be leathery and inedible if smoke less than 325F'ish OR you don't toss the poultry on a hot grill to whip the skin into shape hence pulling chicken at an earlier IT and throwing on a hot grill skin side down :)

Pick your approach and see what you like best :)

A lot of my chicken I smoke I am pulling so the skin is not that big of a deal for that.
What I have found is that with fresh chicken I get crisper skin. I agree about throwing chicken on the grill to crisp the skin, I do that a lot with wings and it only takes about 5 minutes.

 

[buckbros]

I don't have a pellet smoker but I do something similar.

I smoke at like 180F

Followed your smoke temperature but went a ½ hour longer.
This is what I did.

BONE IN CHICKEN THIGHS 2-15-19
Rubbed with Butt Rub ½ hour before cook

Smoked at 180º for about 30 mins

Added bowl of macaroni & sharp cheese and smoked 30 more minutes

Turned up to 325º until they hit 175º.

They turned out really juicy but the skin was not crispy, which is ok because we don’t normally eat the skin. They were pretty damn good.

TOTAL COOK TIME 1 HOUR & 45 MINUTES
Thanks to all for the replies!!!!

 

[retfr8flyr]

I read a trick from Traeger on cooking chicken and they recommended taking it up to 400° to finish. I have tried it a couple of times and it worked great. I am planning on doing some thighs next week, they were on sale this week, I will be doing them at 185° on SuperSmoke for 1 hour and then cranking it up to 400° until they are 180° internally. This will be the first time I have done just thighs, usually do breasts, wings, or full chickens, so it will be interesting to see how they come out.

 

[Preacher Man]

until they are 165° internally.

Try taking them to 180° if it's just thighs. I think you'll be presently surprised.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Try taking them to 180° if it's just thighs. I think you'll be presently surprised.

Thanks for picking that up, brain fart, I meant to type 180° internal for the thighs, 165° is what I use for breasts.

 

[mike243]

All this talk made me pickup a big pack today,salt pepper and onto the Weber performer,350 for 45 minutes or so,man cant beat that grill for some things

 

[Preacher Man]

All this talk made me pickup a big pack today,salt pepper and onto the Weber performer,350 for 45 minutes or so,man cant beat that grill for some things

I hear ya. I picked up some chicken leg quarters yesterday and smoked 'em up for supper. I had 7 legs left-over that I pulled and shredded for lunches this week.

 

[tallbm]

Followed your smoke temperature but went a ½ hour longer.
This is what I did.

BONE IN CHICKEN THIGHS 2-15-19
Rubbed with Butt Rub ½ hour before cook

Smoked at 180º for about 30 mins

Added bowl of macaroni & sharp cheese and smoked 30 more minutes

Turned up to 325º until they hit 175º.

They turned out really juicy but the skin was not crispy, which is ok because we don’t normally eat the skin. They were pretty damn good.

TOTAL COOK TIME 1 HOUR & 45 MINUTES
Thanks to all for the replies!!!!

Followed your smoke temperature but went a ½ hour longer.
This is what I did.

BONE IN CHICKEN THIGHS 2-15-19
Rubbed with Butt Rub ½ hour before cook

Smoked at 180º for about 30 mins

Added bowl of macaroni & sharp cheese and smoked 30 more minutes

Turned up to 325º until they hit 175º.

They turned out really juicy but the skin was not crispy, which is ok because we don’t normally eat the skin. They were pretty damn good.

TOTAL COOK TIME 1 HOUR & 45 MINUTES
Thanks to all for the replies!!!!

That sounds awesome! Keep playing with this approach until you get it going like clockwork with your setup. I'm sure you can get it whipped!

I personally don't care if the skin on my chicken is crispy I just need it bite through edible. The leathery texture of skin that isn't cooked at the proper temps is very disappointing to me.
Also it takes some playing around getting various poultry pieces done correctly. What works well for one piece of poultry may not work as well for another so it just takes practicing and noting things down. Leq quarters are bit of a different process than breast or wings or halved birds or turkey drumbs, etc. etc. you just gotta keep at it but they can all be perfected :)

 

[bluewhisper]

Thighs are fun to work with, and cheap!

My usual trick, for smoking or oven-roasting, is to peel the skin back and season the meat underneath. Then put the skin back like Nothing Ever Happened and give that some of its own seasoning, usually something that will show contrast, like some black pepper or paprika.