PIA BBQ Chicken

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disco

Epic Pitmaster
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Oct 31, 2012
11,135
5,265
Canadian Rockies
I love chicken thighs and think I do a pretty good job on cooking them. I have tried techniques that give crispy skin but have decided I like bite through the skin better. Skin that is not at all flabby, has a nice texture and doesn't pull of the thigh when you bite it. I have come close but never got it quite perfect.

I have heard lots of techniques of taking the skin off, scraping the fat and putting it back on. I have resisted as it seemed like a Pain In the Anterior (PIA). Finally, I decided I had to give it a try to see if it would give me that perfect skin.

I started by taking the skin of the thigh and trimming any large pieces of fat off the thigh.

PIA BBQ Chicken 01.jpg


I used a very sharp knife almost parallel to the skin to scrape the fat off the skin.

PIA BBQ Chicken 02.jpg


I quickly learned that the fat forms a paste that coats the edge of the blade and you have to wipe it off frequently while scraping. You will rapidly develop a messy goo of chicken fat.

PIA BBQ Chicken 03.jpg


I sprinkled the skinned thigh with barbecue rub

PIA BBQ Chicken 04.jpg


I wrapped the scraped chicken skin around the thigh.

PIA BBQ Chicken 05.jpg


I gave it a coating of SPOG (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder).

PIA BBQ Chicken 06.jpg


Another PIA factor. To get really good skin, it is recommended you cook it in butter skin side down in a pan to render more fat from the skin. I am cheap and added some oil to the butter. I took a roasting pan and added melted butter 1/8 inch thick. Then I added another 1/8 inch of oil.

PIA BBQ Chicken 07.jpg


I put the chicken in, skin side down. I put it in a preheated 275 F smoker.

PIA BBQ Chicken 08.jpg


I smoked for 45 minutes and then turned the thigh over and dipped the non-skin side in the pan and put the chicken directly on the rack.

PIA BBQ Chicken 09.jpg


I smoked for about 45 minutes more to an internal temperature of 175 F.

PIA BBQ Chicken 10.jpg


I brushed the chicken all over with Koss Sauce.

PIA BBQ Chicken 11.jpg


I cooked for 10 to 15 minutes more and put the chicken under tented foil for 10 minutes.

The finished result.

PIA BBQ Chicken 12.jpg


Here it is on the plate.

PIA BBQ Chicken 13.jpg


I loved when I took my first bite. I bit through the skin and it didn't pull off the thigh.

PIA BBQ Chicken 14.jpg


The Verdict

Darn it. This was perfect. The skin was tender and not flabby. It was a tasty coating on the meat, not a a rubbery covering. The taste was incredible with the rub under the skin and the SPOG on the surface.

Even though it is a PIA, I will need to make this my go to chicken thigh method. Sigh.

Disco
 
Last edited:
Looks mighty tasty Disco.
Like!

I've done the competition chicken before, and yeah, the work is worthwhile.

Thanks, Chile. I have been way too lazy to even try it but I guess I have to step up now. I appreciate the point.

Looks good!
Is that German potato salad?

Thanks. No, it is just She Who Must Be Obeyed's regular but very tasty potato salad.

Disco
 
It looks fantastic; thanks for the post. I want some of that. It looks more like a pain in the posterior.
 
D, Somehow I missed this post earlier, that is some good looking chicken with a great tutorial on the skin process!
 
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