Trim season and cook right away

[bbqLuv]

I prepped a chicken early in the morning to cook later in the day. I think that was a mistake. The skin turned out tough. But it looked really good, I think.
The plan: trim and season, smoke at 225*F for 2 hours, crisp skin at 325*f for 15-30 minutes.
The chicken was juicy, flavor was 8-9/10 and tender, but the skin was tough. I think the problem was leaving it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours after it was seasoned.
Does that sound about right?

[FireMan]

Just me sayin, 2 1/2 hour cook might be the problem.

[bbqLuv]

Okay, Thanks

[Reds Fan 5]

FireMan, I agree with you. Chicken should only take 90 mins to 2 hours, 325 degrees start to finish.

[bbqLuv]

I was trying to add more smoke flavor on my pellet grill.

[Draznnl]

When I smoke poultry, I’ll sometimes cook at 180F for 30 minutes to get some smoke on it and then raise the temp to 325F until done. I agree with the folks above that you went low for too long on this cook.

[rlozinak]

I agree, I do an hour at 225 and then raise to 325-350 until done. I use my Traeger

[jfmorris]

The problem was not at all leaving it in the fridge. I left some leg quarters out on a pan dry brining for 12 hours this weekend, and they came out great, with great skin, but they were cooked at 325F to 350F indirect, then seared briefly. I routinely season my spatchcocked turkeys and leave them uncovered in the fridge overnight, and get great skin. But I do all my poultry at 350F indirect.

It was those 2 hours at 225F that made for tough rubbery skin. Even raising the temp later in the cook won't salvage it. Chicken is just one of those things, where if you want to eat the skin, you need to cook it at temps up around 350F all the way.

[MBMorgan]

Agreed ... including doing poultry at a minimum of 350F (I often go even higher, e.g., 375-425F).

[Dadof3Illinois]

I agree with the others and think your cooking temp was too low....at least for me it was. I'll go 350-400 degrees indirect until the breast reaches 155-158 then pull it off and let it rest 15 mins. Skin is usually really crisp and tasty!!!

[bbqLuv]

Thanks for the tips. When I super smoke a chicken again it will be for 1 hour or less.
I was ruffly following the How to Smoke Chicken - YouTube but it didn't work for the skin. Not sure spatchcocking or leaving whole would make difference. I used Traeger Pork and Poultry seasoning rather than SP.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Spatchcocking will allow it to finish faster, so hot and fast for crispy skin. I'd also suggest hotter.... I think I'll do one later this week and see how it goes.

[jfmorris]

No - the shape of the chicken doesn't matter for skin purposes. Whole, spatchcocked, parts - its all the same for these purposes.

Let us know how round 2 with 1 hour smoking goes. I think you will be happier with the skin though if you run at 350 the entire cook. Maybe you could put a smoke tube in there to add smoke at those temperatures?

[glitchy]

My experience coincides with the others. I don't mess with less than 325, usually 350-400 on poultry with skin.