Chicken parts on the Weber. You best tips, techniques and cautions?

[jjdbike]

Hello fellow pit masters,

Still planning out the BBQ I'm hosting for the hood. I'm smoking a brisket the day before for a long hold. I will prolly do a turkey breast under neath the packer for variety. Perhaps a couple sausages too.

The next day, I'm going to grill some chicken parts. I want them to be flavorful, juicy and crisp. Going to use my Weber 22" (in retrospect I should have gone larger), my vortex and Kingsford blue brickets.

Tossing around the idea of thighs, boneless would be cleaner and easier for folks to eat, but I believe the consensus is bone is is tastier and stays more moist.

My wife wants breast meat. As much as I want to accommodate my bride, breasts are hard to not turn into dry, flavorless, chewy underwhelmingness. One the other hand, she likes over cooked dry meat!?!? I would only do one for her. I AM NOT serving that to my guests.

The options I'm considering is to wet brine, & or inject, & or simply dry brine and add some basic seasonings just before going on the grill, in order to maximize crispiness.

How do you like to do yours?
Thanks in advance,
JD

A couple details I am wondering about:
* Is it worth it to inject thighs?
* Will wet bringing w/ phosphates (i.e. commercial brine) turn the skin spongey?
* Can I wet brine and then allow skin to dry uncovered in fridge to create crisp skin, or does that negate the reason for the wet brine?
*If not using a commercial rub, other than pepper, what other seasons would you use? I'm considering granulated garlic & onion and paprika to add color. I've seen guys use celery seed to add texture to the bark, ever done that?

Looking forward to some great tips here.

Thanks in advance!
JD

[Jfrosty27]

Vortex.

[HawkerXP]

Vortex and chicken drumies.

[smokenoob]

if I was doing a skin on bone in chicken breast, I would put it on the hot area and pull it off at 160° before it dries out. Maybe even pull at 155° and rest to 160°?

[Grillin Dad]

Whenever I do chicken on the grill it’s almost always thighs with the vortex. I’ve never injected them, but have regularly wet brined them in saltwater (without phosphates) and never had an issue with soggy skin. And if you want to do something a little different, I highly recommend Attjack receipe for ‘kettle fried chicken.’ It’s awesome.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/poultry-chicken-turkey-and-duck-recipes/1079422-kettle-fried-vortex-chicken-thighs

[jjdbike]

Thanks all!
I hope you'll keep them coming!
JD

[radiodome21]

I’ve been on a chicken kick in my kettle to make my lunches for the office. I work 3 days in the office so I would make my chicken on Sunday. Started with some breasts but didn’t like them when reheated. Then i switched to boneless and skinless thighs. Bought a family pack and did half on the kettle and half on my Silverbac pellet. Both were fantastic. I’ve done dry rubs and marinades and I preferred the marinades more. The dry rubs are good too. While I prefer bone in overall, I find it’s easier and less messy to eat boneless, especially in an office setting. I’ve been buying the family packs at Costco because in the Chicago area a six pack of boneless thighs is about $25, which sadly isn’t much more than 2 lbs of lunch meat from the deli counter. Last week I picked up a six pack of bone in thighs and drumsticks for the same price and that’s what will get me through the month. While I like the ease of the Silverbac nothing beats the taste and speed of the vortex in a kettle. And with the exception of marinades I’ve never done a wet brine on thighs.

[nunyaz]

jjdbike - In my effort to edumacate myself on all things grillin' n smokin' I recently watched a YT video by Flat Top King on moist, tender CHX breast - he butterflies B/S breasts, marinades in fresh lemon juice / olive oil and seasonings (he was going for a Greek-style finish) then hot-cooks them on the Blackstone (but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work on a Kettle). Looked awesome, can't wait to try it
Hope your neighbors are blessed by your efforts to provide yummalicious food 👍🏼

Peace,
Nunyaz

[jjdbike]

Cool,
I'll check it out.
Thanks!

[jjdbike]

I’ve been on a chicken kick in my kettle to make my lunches for the office. I work 3 days in the office so I would make my chicken on Sunday. Started with some breasts but didn’t like them when reheated. Then i switched to boneless and skinless thighs. Bought a family pack and did half on the kettle and half on my Silverbac pellet. Both were fantastic. I’ve done dry rubs and marinades and I preferred the marinades more. The dry rubs are good too. While I prefer bone in overall, I find it’s easier and less messy to eat boneless, especially in an office setting. I’ve been buying the family packs at Costco because in the Chicago area a six pack of boneless thighs is about $25, which sadly isn’t much more than 2 lbs of lunch meat from the deli counter. Last week I picked up a six pack of bone in thighs and drumsticks for the same price and that’s what will get me through the month. While I like the ease of the Silverbac nothing beats the taste and speed of the vortex in a kettle. And with the exception of marinades I’ve never done a wet brine on thighs.

Great,
I appreciate that.
A visit to Costco is def in my near future.
JD

[RonB]

Using a Kettle nad a Vortex, I like to put a light coating of sauce on dry brined wings for the last 10 minutes. I have used a variety of sauces, but just plain teriyaki has become my go to most of the time.

[Brian_M]

Chicken breasts on a kettle-vortex combination will turn out great…tender and moist. Just keep an eye on internal temp.

I dry brine overnight, usually some commercial rub but sometimes just a salt-pepper-garlic combination. These are probably my wife’s favorite cook. I actually just picked some up at the store for a weekend cook…at her specific request.

[nunyaz]

Brian_M - happy wife ...

[TripleB]

Vortex like everyone said. The only thing I would add is when you pull your chicken off the grill, do not cover it. The steam from the chicken has a tendency to moisten the skin when covered. Put it uncovered in the oven to keep warm.

[JoeSousa]

I would just dry brine, season, and vortex them chicken parts. If I am not doing wings I almost always go for thighs and drums. Drums are easy to eat which is nice for parties. Don't need a fork or knife and you can easily eat them with one hand leaving the other had to hold the plate, hold a beer, etc.

And you can always give the thighs and drums a nice brush of sauce for the past few minutes. Or go ahead and toss them like you would wings.

[RichieB]

I think the consensus is and I agree with Vorex. I've never injected chicken parts. And for me, I do not sauce other than hot sauce. I'm partial to Frank's Hot Wing Sauce. Enjoy your cook.

[shify]

I've never injected and don't see any benefit to something so small as a chicken pieces.

For chicken thighs, I would just dry brine. If you are doing bone-in, skin on, dry brine a few hours or overnight uncovered on a rack in the fridge. Boneless so you don't really need to worry about the chicken being uncovered.

For boneless/skinless chicken breasts, what I do, is butterfly them or split in half so they are roughly even thickness and then wet brine for a few hours or overnight. Then I pat dry and rest on a rack for an hour or so. Then rub and grill over direct heat - shouldn't take more than 2 min or so per side. I pull at 155 and the chicken stays moist - the brining helps immensely.