I love chicken from stewed to grilled. I like it sticky, deep fried, all over the map. However, one of my favourite things to do with chicken is cook a big batch up and eat it cold for lunches and snacks. When I do that, I like my chicken without any sauce and cooked at high heat. This makes it less messy to eat with your fingers. I don't go totally bare though. I do give a rub which gives the chicken a spiciness but keeps the relatively clean skin.
I started with 8 chicken thighs. I worked my finger under the skin to make a pocket in each thigh.
I put 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of barbecue rub in a bowl. I used my Basic Barbecue Rub:
I put the chicken in the fridge overnight. It has to be in for at least six hours. You want the skin to dry and for the rub to set.
I preheated my smoker to 400 F. I put the thighs in. You'll note that I put them on a rack over a tray. It was really frigid here and when I open my pellet smoker to put food in, it drops a lot of heat and then pumps pellets to get back which gives a fair amount of direct heat. If it was not so cold, I would have just put the chicken on the rack. I cooked for about 25 minutes to an internal temperature of over 180 F. I find this gives a better cold chicken.
I let the chicken sit for 5 minutes.
I served the hot chicken with baked potatoes, broccoli salad and cole slaw.
The Verdict
This is very good chicken hot with nice skin and flavour. But they were even better the next day for a cold lunch. They go great in a lunch box and don't mess your fingers up much when eating them. The skin stays bite through and the meat is moist and firm.
Easy and tasty!
Disco
I started with 8 chicken thighs. I worked my finger under the skin to make a pocket in each thigh.
I put 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of barbecue rub in a bowl. I used my Basic Barbecue Rub:
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) paprika
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) brown sugar
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) cayenne
I put the chicken in the fridge overnight. It has to be in for at least six hours. You want the skin to dry and for the rub to set.
I preheated my smoker to 400 F. I put the thighs in. You'll note that I put them on a rack over a tray. It was really frigid here and when I open my pellet smoker to put food in, it drops a lot of heat and then pumps pellets to get back which gives a fair amount of direct heat. If it was not so cold, I would have just put the chicken on the rack. I cooked for about 25 minutes to an internal temperature of over 180 F. I find this gives a better cold chicken.
I let the chicken sit for 5 minutes.
I served the hot chicken with baked potatoes, broccoli salad and cole slaw.
The Verdict
This is very good chicken hot with nice skin and flavour. But they were even better the next day for a cold lunch. They go great in a lunch box and don't mess your fingers up much when eating them. The skin stays bite through and the meat is moist and firm.
Easy and tasty!
Disco
