Man I detest dry chicken...

[Retired Spook]

Hoity-toity organic free-range air-chilled chicken, backbone sheared out, breast bone broken. Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and a sprinkle of smoked paprika - then, onto a low, post oak & mesquite fire, for a nice slow cook...

Side A was looking pretty good, my hopes were high.

Even side B looked tasty...

Cooked it until meat thermometer read 160 at thickest, let it rest a bit, and then I was completely disgusted...

I fricken hate dry chicken.

I've NEVER had a chicken breast turn out good over coals; I should have known better.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Sorry to hear that . It looks great on my screen.

Maybe try 1 brined and see if it stays moist for you

David

 

[Retired Spook]

Sorry to hear that . It looks great on my screen.

Maybe try 1 brined and see if it stays moist for you

David

I might give that a try! Thank you

 

[DRKsmoking]

Or even just inject the breasts, with some brine , as the dark is normally moist .

David

 

[babydocsmoke]

Yeah, I'd still eat that!! Doesn't look too bad from here. Throw some gravy on it, maybe?

Brine for 6-12 hours (since she's a little bird) and then inject with butter is what I'd do if I'm going all out.

I grill chicken on the Kamado all the time, but with a stone in-between the coals for indirect heat.

 

[Winterrider]

It does look good but I'm in your camp on dry birds

 

[bill ace 350]

They look good.

Ever try Cornell Chicken?

The marinade then constant basting might make a difference.

 

[gmc2003]

Looks like a good candidate for some chicken salad and/or soup.

Chris

 

[culpepersmoke]

Brining will go along way to help with the breast, I usually do a variation of Pops brine and go over night with it. I also pull it just before the 160 mark and let the carry over take it the rest of the way.

 

[Retired Spook]

Looks like a good candidate for some chicken salad and/or soup.

Chris

Chicken salad is just what I was thinking.

 

[sawhorseray]

I really Like doing whole yardbirds on the spinner, seems they always come out juicy that way. Done either on the Weber with coals and wood chunks for some smoke flavor or on the faithful Ronco Showtime 4000 a rotisserie bird is tough to beat. RAY

 

[Retired Spook]

I really Like doing whole yardbirds on the spinner, seems they always come out juicy that way. Done either on the Weber with coals and wood chunks for some smoke flavor or on the faithful Ronco Showtime 4000 a rotisserie bird is tough to beat. RAY

View attachment 682671

Now that I think about it, I should have dragged out the rotisserie...

 

[tpc74]

I find when I do chicken of any sort, a slow method doesn't work to keep it moist. It just seems to, well, dry it out. Not saying I do beer can chickens at 325 or something, but they don't seem to take very long to cook, and I always pull them right when they hit 165.

When I grill them on the grill, its usually as hot as it can go, lid open, flipping/rotating constantly so they don't burn up. And a water bottle for flare ups.

And yes, dry chicken is terrible imo. Even on a salad, or if pulled and bathed in bbq sauce. Just not good lol.

 

[JLeonard]

I inject the breast and cook the bird quick.

Jim

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Now that I think about it, I should have dragged out the rotisserie...

My wife loves chicken breast and for years, I've grilled chicken breasts for her. The results are always dry and tough. She's happy enough with that, but I can't stand it. So now I only cook whole birds on the rotisserie.

I cook them just as sawhorseray describes and get consistently moist and flavorful results with a hint of smoke. I use this approach to truss the bird in order to expose the skin. I aim for a box temperature in my Weber of 325 and pull the bird when the IT in the breast is 165 and the thigh is about 170. Cook time is usually around 90 minutes.

I aim for moist and tender meat plus crispy skin, but I've not been able to achieve both. If I raise the box temperature to about 400 early in the cook, the meat gets done too quickly and is relatively tough, but the skin is crispier than the 325 box temperature. At 325, the meat is moist and tender, but the skin, especially on the breast, is a bit chewy. I continue to search for the right formula.

For my last cook, I used Duke's mayo as a binder for my seasonings (I use Meathead's Simon & Garfunkel rub). I mixed the seasoning and the mayo and coated the bird inside and out (and under the skin) with the mixture. Results were outstanding in terms of juiciness and flavor, but another miss on the crispy skin.

Edited to add: I should note that I always dry-brine my chicken at least overnight before applying the rub.

I hate dry chicken too, but I've never had another dry one since I switched to cooking whole birds with the rotisserie.

 

[tallbm]

Hoity-toity organic free-range air-chilled chicken, backbone sheared out, breast bone broken. Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and a sprinkle of smoked paprika - then, onto a low, post oak & mesquite fire, for a nice slow cook...
View attachment 682621

Side A was looking pretty good, my hopes were high.
View attachment 682620

Even side B looked tasty...
View attachment 682622

Cooked it until meat thermometer read 160 at thickest, let it rest a bit, and then I was completely disgusted...
View attachment 682623

I fricken hate dry chicken.

I've NEVER had a chicken breast turn out good over coals; I should have known better.

That sucks to hear man.

A good salt and water equilibrium brine has cured all dry chicken breast issues for me on whole birds, bone in, boneless. Same for Turkey.
I usually add cure#1 these days for max flavor but not needed. A simple and proper brine, and inject it in the breast as well just to make sure, and I would bet you have much better results :D

Hang in there man, I think you can revisit and knock it out of the park with a few tweaks :D

 

[tallbm]

Oh just for more info in general.
I have amazing results with boneless skinless chicken breast on my propane grill. No brining either! The secret?

I cut them to about 1.5 inch thick slices/strips and I get the grill steak grilling hot. Like 650F or so.
I season with SPOG+ Paprika and throw on the hot grill searing and cooking them like a steak.

I just make sure I don't over cook them. How? By eyeball, if it looks like they might need a little more time, that is when it is time to pull them. They will continue to raise in temp PLUS when reheated they will not overcook.

It blows people away when I do this and they eat the chicken breast :D

Now, this does not work with whole boneless skinless. The secret is to cut to that thickness, cook hot like a steak to sear in flavor and juices, and do NOT overcook :D

 

[thirdeye]

Well it sure looks good from here.

I always flavor brine, or inject a lite brine into chicken and pork chops. And specifically with chicken breasts, I cook to about 155° to 157°F, then make sure that temp is held for 2 minutes.

This article explains how pasteurization works with chicken, and is complete with diagrams, charts etc. You will see that 1 minute at these temps is adequate, but I add an additional minute, just for more of a safety factor.

Chicken Internal Temp: Everything You Need To Know

Chicken internal temps are super important, snd there is more nuance to them than people think. Read on for safe, juicy chicken!

blog.thermoworks.com

 

[mike243]

I have never had Hoity-toity organic free-range chicken but unless I messed up in some way my grilled chicken is always great, cant think of any meat that works well every time as well as chicken, the old saying the fats where its at is valid at times and would bet thats the case here. I will stick with the yard birds 1/2 the cost of that 1 lol

 

[Retired Spook]

I had another hoity-toity organic free-range chicken in the freezer and I took it out yesterday and put in the fridge to thaw. I am going to break out the rotisserie tomorrow and give it a spin over a mesquite fire and cook it to 155-157 degrees and go from there.

I also have some Tony Chachere's roasted garlic injection and I am contemplating giving the bird the juice before cooking it...

We'll see how things go.