I just smoked some chicken yesterday for a party. It came out OK, but honestly kind of tasted like duck. If you've ever had one of those ducks that hang up at the Chinese markets you'll know the taste I'm talking about. The BBQ chicken I've had before always tasted like chicken. I wet brined the chicken (leg quarters) for 30-60 minutes before cooking and had to finish them in the oven as the fire was not putting out enough heat to raise it to 165. Anyone can take a guess at what I did wrong?
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What did you smoke it on? What wood?
Thankfully, no idea what one of them hanging ducks tastes like. -
Yeah LiC we're gonna need more info to figure out what happened. We need the info Jerod asked for an the details of the wet brine and any rubs you used.Comment
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Wet brine with kosher salt and sugar. No seasonings but salt and pepper. Apple wood. I cooked it on my 17" Weber grill knockoff. The chicken came out kind of...I don't know how to say...rubbery? It was a lot like roast duck. I eat a lot of it so it's what I want to compare it to.
Actually I suppose I shouldn't have added salt and pepper since it was already brined, just pepper. But it wasn't overly salty, it was the texture and taste of the meat that resembled duck. It didn't taste bad, just kind of strange. I've had BBQ chicken in the States and it didn't taste like that. Click on the photos below for a larger version:
Last edited by Lost in China; September 9, 2015, 08:10 AM.Comment
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Huskee is on to something... I'm thinking its the feed that impacts the flavor you are getting.Comment
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Rubbery skin may be indicative of too low smoking temp. I like my chicken 325-400, depending on the size.
I don't use wood with my chicken. Treat 'em just like steak.Comment
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Honestly (this is blasphemy here I know) - I prefer my whole chickens roasted in the convection oven and my pieces and parts cooked outside over high-temp with no extra smoke (like Jerod Broussard says - treat it like a steak).
Just personal preference but I find that the smoke overpowers all the other flavors on the bird. Just straight charcoal gives it enough of a smokey flavor for my preference.
I've slow-cooked chicken at between 250-300 and the skin was rubbery and pretty much useless while the meat was just...strange. -
It wasn't really the skin that was the problem, it was the meat.
You cook the chicken like a steak? Wouldn't that burn the outside while leaving the inside raw?
Maybe it was the low temperature that gave the meat such an odd texture. I couldn't get it much above 250 for some unknown reason. I used the same amount of charcoal last week and my temperature held steady at 275-300 and the smoked lamb came through like a champ. -
Treat it like a steak with respect to smoke. No more than what the charcoal gives off when doing a thick steak indirectly.
250 is about 100 degrees lower than what I like for chicken. Growing up our chicken was never smoked, it was grilled.
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Lost in China
I see you started your cook skin side up. I start my chicken cooks skin side down. I leave the skin side down until it starts to crisp. I cook it with indirect heat at 350°.
Mastering skin on chicken is not easy. It took me lots of trial and error. If the skin doesn't crisp up I just peel it off and eat the meat.Comment
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Did you have that pan of water in during cooking? Up the temp and cook it dry next time.Comment
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Your chicken looks awesome.....I concur with the feed theory. It looks like you are BBQing indoors again??Comment
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Had to finish it indoors as the internal temp was stuck at 135 and wouldn't move.
I learned my lesson about BBQing indoors last time!
Last edited by Lost in China; September 9, 2015, 11:21 PM.
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