Tough skin

[Kirbygw]

Smoked my first chicken legs quarters on my Masterbuilt 30. Brined chicken last night, smoked at 250 for 2 1/2 hrs. Chicken had good flavor, decent smoke but skin tough as leather. I understand many smokers won't cook hot enough for skin to render fat so skin won't get thin and crispy.

My unit maxes at 275. What should/can I do?

 

[chopsaw]

My unit maxes at 275. What should/can I do?

If your set on using the 30 , or it's your only option , don't be afraid to do them skin less . Peel the skin and season heavy with a low salt rub , or peel the skin back and season them up then pull the skin back up to cover the meat . The MES makes some really moist chicken parts , but I've never had luck with the skin . Don't think longer is better with chicken parts on an MES . Roll some smoke , then get 'em cooked .

 

[SmokinEdge]

^^^^^ Yup chop covered it. Skinless or take them off near the end and crisp the skin hot and fast. I’ve ate a lot of skinless chicken, it good. Plus you get much more smoke into the meat.

 

[bauchjw]

What they all said I’ve never had success with poultry skin in the MES, some people have had success pulling short of done temp by 10-15 degrees and finishing in a super hot oven or grill to crisp the skin while finishing the cook. Hasn’t worked for me though.

 

[tallbm]

Smoked my first chicken legs quarters on my Masterbuilt 30. Brined chicken last night, smoked at 250 for 2 1/2 hrs. Chicken had good flavor, decent smoke but skin tough as leather. I understand many smokers won't cook hot enough for skin to render fat so skin won't get thin and crispy.

My unit maxes at 275. What should/can I do?

Hi there and welcome!
I also never had success in my MES at 275F (couldnt really hit 275F with stock MES).

I would suggest smoking low at like 225F until they reach a temp of like 140F degrees. Then throw on a screaming hot propane grill to finish cooking them and get that skin to behave. Quarters can be taken to 180F no problem and taste great so this gives you some time in the high heat to try and get the skin to fix up.

Yeah u are using 2 devices but it may fix your skin issue. If not then peel skin and rock on! :)

 

[Kirbygw]

Thanks guys. Lesson learned is that I should have come here for advice before I bought the MES. I have a nice Weber gas grill and a Blackstone griddle, so I didn't want to go with charcoal (I was looking at the Weber 18" charcoal smoker). Reviews on the MES claimed it was a great beginner's smoker and easy to use. Plus I had a $100 gift card at Bass Pro and they don't sell the Weber. Foolish me.

Could you put chicken on a hot grill to crisp the skin then put it in the smoker? Anyone try that?

 

[schlotz]

Smoke first then crisp!

 

[BigW.]

MES will make a nice smoker for you. It just will not make a crispy skin. Luckily, you have other tool that will...gas grill, blackstone and oven. I like the idea of smoking/slicing then finished on griddle for cheese steak or tacos.

 

[Bearcarver]

I had good luck with all of my MES units, with Drums & Thighs, just by taking it to 265° for the last half hour to an hour. The skin was Fine.
Now I use my Ninja, with and without skin, and they all come out perfect.
The Non-skin seem to build their own skin with the sauce & the meat.

Bear

 

[daspyknows]

Need to really increase tempts to get the crispy skin. 350 degrees or more is my approach.

 

[clifish]

Need to really increase tempts to get the crispy skin. 350 degrees or more is my approach.

yeah won't get that on a MES, mine also pretty stops at 275. Tomorrow I am using the Vortex on a kettle for my drummies but the gasser at the end will also crisp up the skin

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

In addition to what everyone has advised above, you need to make sure the chicken skin is dry...really dry when smoking at around 250° in an electric smoker.

Though it isn't always successful in producing a crisp bite through skin, one technique is to place the chicken uncovered on a rack in the fridge for a minimum of 3-6 hours to form a pellicle.
The skin will be tacky to the touch. I've even gone as long as overnight uncovered in the fridge.

Also, try dry brining instead of wet brining.

DO NOT fill your smoker's water pan with water.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I had good luck with all of my MES units, with Drums & Thighs, just by taking it to 265° for the last half hour to an hour. The skin was Fine.
Now I use my Ninja, with and without skin, and they all come out perfect.
The Non-skin seem to build their own skin with the sauce & the meat.

Bear

Bear, I do something very similar except I take the temp up to 275° for the finish. My smoker tops out at 290° but I've never ran it that high for any length of time. I'll kick it up to 280° when finishing an overnight pork butt.