How much char do you like on your bird?

[bluewhisper]

I was grilling skin-on thighs on the Weber last night, over charcoal with a bit of maple. For the sauce base I finished a bottle of Worcestershire then added the last of a bottle of cranberry-orange bbq sauce - that made an odd combination.

The fire was well-behaved, choking with the top vent to get the right whisper. Then the skin started to drip fat, which sizzled on the coals but was just short of flaring. That distinctive aroma of grilling chicken began to rise.

And that's my question: How much of that do you like? When you grill chicken, do you deliberately let it char a bit? I suppose most of us have had it start to get out of hand with the flare-ups, but I think a little bit of that adds to the flavors.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I like it especially when I do drumsticks. The best is rotisserie right over direct charcoal.

 

[amlong88]

Love a little char on chicken. The smell of drops of juices hitting coals while grilling can't be beat.

 

[myownidaho]

A little char on the skin while keeping the meat from drying out is perfect. Attention to detail matters.

 

[gmc2003]

A nice amber colored skin with a little char. I don't really care for totally burnt looking chicken.


Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

I like a good char on wings, but we don't eat the skin on thighs or breasts, so I just go for juicy chicken & use the skin & bones for broth.
Al

 

[bluewhisper]

Oh yeah smoked chicken bone broth. Same with turkey.

Dang I'm starting to get an addict's twitch wanting to put some turkey on the smoker. I've never charred turkey, I've only smoked it.

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[swinefan]

This is an internal holy war I have been having with myself. I prefer a good amount of char- almost the more black the better. I will say that the smoked and rotisserie chicken is fantastic the day of, but the skin does not reheat all that well. That is often a difficult target that I seek.

Now how to accomplish?

I have done rotisserie- fantastic product and good skin but not totally char.

Smoker- have gotten good skin with quarters and drumsticks but no char, wings I can get a decent char if I open my Backwoods up and let them ride.

Smoke then grill- good results but I feel like I am cheating.

Weber two zone- mixed results. Small amount of space but can sometimes get a good char, takes forever though and often not enough char if I do not put the chickens on the hot zone for long enough.

Tomorrow I am going to lay a good one inch layer of coals flat across my entire weber and cook my chicken quarters directly on the coals, flipping periodically. I hope this finally accomplishes my target.

 

[bluewhisper]

Instead of skin straight on coals, maybe put the bird on a rack, and set that right on the coals.

When my father was growing up in the scouts, he LOVED a potato cooked right in the embers, the little bits of crunchy ash on the skin were his favorite part.

 

[swinefan]

LOL- sorry- I meant directly OVER the coals on the rack. Not indirect. Potato in the coals does sound very intriguing.

 

[Rings Я Us]

I like skin that you can slice and chew. Flavor is important.
Doesn't have to be crispy, just chewable.

 

[Co4ch D4ve]

Char=Delicious