Another cook in the books. Food was good, but learned a few things along that way that I'd probably change.
My plan was to cook at 300, direct over the coals without the deflector plate. I expected a 2-3 hour cook. First mistake was thermometer placement. Probe was in the lower third of the smoker, which would be fine with the deflector plate to even things out, but without it, there was a pretty big difference in the lower third than the middle of the grate (I stared the fire with one tumbleweed in the middle).
My temp was a little higher than I planned at 325.. but of course, that wasn't really over the fire, so in reality, I was around 375ish below the chickens (I moved the probe around after the cook to confirm this). Next time I think I will move the probe closer to the middle when cooking direct.
About an hour into the cook and I'm way ahead of schedule. Probe is around 145. I decide to baste and flip for another 10-15 min.
I spent the next 30-45 min basting and flipping every 5-10 min.
Pulled it at 155 at the breast (180 at the leg) and let it rest for 5-10 min for carry over.
First the good.. Flavor and texture of the meat was great. Trouble is.. the skin just did not render the way that I wanted it to. I was hopping to get it a little crispy, and it was a bit rubbery.
First time cooking a whole chicken, so not too bad, but plenty of room for improvement. I think next time, I'll try with the deflector plate to give myself a little cushion and try to lengthen out the cook a bit by keeping the temp closer to 300. Hopefully that'll give the skin a bit more time to render.
I cook Cornell Chicken all the time. It’s one of my favorite dishes. In my opinion Cornell Chicken should be grilled over charcoal. That way the skin can get crisp and I believe too much smoke actually takes away from the marinade. I’ll start a chimney full of usually Kingsford Blue Bag and put the coals in a single layer covering 2/3 of my grill. It’s usually done in 45 minutes or so. I’ll re-dunk the chicken into the marinade two or three times in the first 25 minutes but then nothing more after that. I’ll flip every 5 to 7 minutes. I’ll usually separate the leg/thigh from the breast/wing but I’ve kept it as a half many a time.
Here are some pictures of a cook earlier this year.
If you want the ultimate experience with Cornell Chicken you should serve them with Syracuse Salt Potatoes. They go great together. Here is a write up I did on them.
https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/core/image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==​​
I feel a little silly posting this because it’s not really a recipe. It’s more Science!
Last night to go with the grilled pork chops and green beans I made Syracuse Salt Potatoes.
If you have never
Been there with you. Starts faster than I wanted and get wood on the chicken. Nice smokey flavor. But the skin is rubbery. Maddening. But I bet the bird had good flavor. Nice job
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