Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Pulled Chicken Techniques, Instructions, And Ideas
I don't see many recent topics on making pulled chicken, particularly grilled/smoked pulled chicken, and a few that touch on it are rather scattered. As we all know chicken can dry out, so how does one make it juicy, easily-pulled, and smoked all at the same time?
Might be easy for some with experience, might be like climbing a mountain for those w/o experience. So I thought I'd start a topic to keep some running ideas, techniques, tips, etc in one place.
Please add your own detailed techniques or tips if you have them for the benefit of all.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
When I’ve wanted pulled chicken I’ve started with a grocery store rotisserie chicken, and mixed it with bbq sauce like pulled pork. I’ll be interested to read more as well.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Last week I was tasked with making all the meat for my oldest son's graduation party at our home. We had an attendee (my son's special friend) who is allergic to beef, it can't even be in the room or on the table, so for her benefit there was no red meat, therefore calling for more pork and chicken to take its place. Half was pulled pork (easy peasey) and half was pulled chicken.
Anyway, I am not extremely well versed in making delectable pulled chicken from the smoker. I put my thinking cap on and here's what I did, in case it helps anyone in a similar situation.
1. Trim all loose fat from every piece. It adds up!
2. Lightly salt, aka half dry brine,
3. Season with whatever you want. I used half Meathead's Tuscan Herb Poultry rub on one side, and Heaven Made Products' Texas Rib Rub (yep, it's great on chicken too) on the other side. Neither are highly salted, hence the half dry brine prior. I used quite a generous amount of both, I want my finished product well seasoned and not needing sauce to be tasty.
4. Smoke at 225-250-ish for roughly 2-3 hrs, I didn't exactly watch the clock but probably closer to 3. When several of the thicker breast pieces were just this side of done, 140-150, move on to the next step.
5. Pull them off and place in any pan, I used disposable foil pans, and then seal a top of foil on them. Pile them in on top of one another, doesn't matter here.
6. Bake at 275 for another 2-3 hours in oven, or can use smoker too, of course, whichever is easiest for you at this point. This will help braise and soften them and collect a lot of delicious smokey, salty juices.
7. It does not matter here if the breasts go up well past done. They will not dry out to negatively affect your final product with this technique.
8. Use whatever means is easiest for you to shred them. I find that a Kitchen Aid mixer with the paddle was very helpful. The dough hook was a bit too messy here. Chicken is still a tad tougher than finished pork butts so the hook wanted to do more flinging.
9. Add 100% of all the reserved juices from the pan(s) back into the finished product and stir it in, it is liquid gold and needed here!
The long-ish smoke helped to make a decent skin-like crust layer, not really bark but more than a quick cook gets you. Like anything BBQ there are a dozen ways to do this and this isn't the only way, but this worked great for me and hopefully it helps.
Pulled chicken might be one of the easiest things out there. Cooker temp doesn't really matter all that much and is such a quick cook (relatively speaking)
I like to stick with thigh/legs. Sometimes I'll use bone in/skin-on and other times I'll use boneless. Even when I use skin-on, I tend to toss the skin after cooking. I've tried separately crisping up the skin as a snack or a crispy mix in which does work a bit but I don't find its worth the additional effort. My view of the positives/negatives for bone-in vs. boneless
Bone-in/skin-on: Meat is juicier/softer due to the skin protecting the meat but slightly less rub flavor in the meat for the same reason. Meat shreds a bit easier but takes more time to remove skin/bone
Boneless/skinless: Meat is a bit firmer and you also get some crusty bits from the direct heat on the meat -- think outerlayer when direct grilling chicken.
After the cook is done, I let sit in a pan covered to cool down a bit before handling. Then shred, mix with sauce and serve.
Recently, I've taken toward using a south carolina style mustard sauce with pulled chicken as I think the flavors go well together.
I watched a video where the chef took chicken skin, cooked it in the oven until crisp, then pulverized it in a food processor and used it as “breading” for chicken parm. I got that idea stored away for future use.
Lonestar Grillz 24x36 offset smoker, grill, w/ main chamber charcoal grate and 3 tel-tru thermometers - left, right and center
Yoke Up custom charcoal basket and a Grill Wraps cover.
22.5 copper kettle w/ SnS, DnG, BBQ vortex, gasket and stainless steel hinge kit.
Napoleon gas grill (soon to go bye bye) rotting out.
1 maverick et-733 digital thermometer - black
1 maverick et-733 - gray
1 new standard grilling remote digital thermometer
1 thermoworks thermopen mk4 - red
1 thermoworks thermopop - red
Pre Miala flavor injector
taylor digital scale
TSM meat grinder
chefs choice food slicer
cuisinhart food processor
food saver vacuum sealer
TSM harvest food dehydrator
Gotcha. If I may suggest, and if you have 2 extra hours, smoke them babies first, doesn't matter if you take them to 'done' or not, then slow cooker 'em!
Huskee Been doing a recipe where I sear in the IP. Sauté aromatics and spices. Add chipotle peppers, tomatoes, and reserved chicken and lime juice. High pressure for 8 minutes. Remove and pull chicken while reducing liquid. Return chicken and mix.
Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads. The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
We do about 3 whole chickens daily. They are cooked in a Rational oven with a smoker box attachment and apple wood. Honestly the chicken is fantastic. Start it on the stove top in a saute pan then the whole pan goes into the oven. We probe it and let the oven do the work at 350.
The chickens are marinated overnight with the following.
MOP: In a Vitamix blender, combine everything but oil and blend on high until fully mixed and smooth. Working in batches, if needed. With the blender on high drizzle in oil to emulsify.
Marinate chicken in vacuum bags for at least 24hours before serving. Drain chickens and truss.
We use this chicken for a chicken salad. We pull it right off the bone per order.
I have always (on my cookers) done chicken hot and fast as I like the salty crispy skin.
Huskee I see your point about the seasoning getting in the meat and the juice as well. We end up with darn fine chickens and tasty too however there is not much seasoning in the meat but its sure good chicken. Not traditional "pulled" in this community but a good salad as it gets Nueskes slab bacon chunks and homemade ranch. The marinade on the skin is fantastic too and that goes in the salad as well.
jecucolo So the stovetop is just to get it started and put a little sear flavor on it. for service its broken down and served as half chicken portions. We pull the un utilized chicken for the salad to order. When no chickens are left we cook them specifically for the salad on a rack without the pan. so the kettle will be great!! I'm all for that. I also strain the marinade as its fibrous from the ginger. Push it through a chinois and its so smooth. Hope this helps.
Sometime last March, I cooked pulled chicken using boneless, skinless breasts. Dry brine then put in a pan with a stick of butter, cut into pieces. Cook uncovered for 1 hour, then cover pan with foil. Cook another hour. Drain juice and pull with sauce as desired.
The last time I did pulled chicken I used a whole spatchcocked chicken. Did it in the Chimp at 350. Once the breasts got to ~160 I cut them off, foiled them with some stock and put them in a 170 oven. Let the thighs/drums run until right at 175. Put all of it in a pan and pulled it with bear claws, taking out the bones and removing most of the skin as i went. Used Blues Hog TN Red. I think the rub I used was Kosmos dirty bird mixed with a little mmd. Added more rub as I pulled it. Didn't measure anything, just me and Ben tasting as I went. Came out great, I need to do it again.
All jokes aside, considering all the cookers I’ve owned through the years, I’ve landed on my PBC as the chxn cooker. I split my chickens in half. Hang them and cook until a min of 165° internal, usually in place between leg and thigh. Lately I’ve been rubbing with a little mayo, then my rub, usually Plowboys Yardbird rub or my homemade SPG.
For me, dry brining is key, it helps retain moisture and of course provide flavor. Of all the proteins we cook, this is the easiest to have ready when you’re planning a meal. Mine usually always take 1.5-2 hours in the PBC. I never have to hold them. As I pull the meat, I toss in those juices and serve. I’ve tossed in my favorite bbq sauce or just go without. I much prefer white sauce with mine, as any Bama-born kid would. I have recently discovered a new mustard SC style sauce that I really like with chicken. It’s the perfect tangy-sweet balance.
We do lots of whole chickens at our house, this is our favorite way. I’ve done them in the oven, on the rotisserie and even in a crockpot. PBC for the win on this one for us.
Dark meat, inject or brine, pull with little to no rest, serve immediately. I do it often for tinga tacos, or pulled chicken sammiches. If you want specific or recipes, pm me.
I usually use bone in, skin on chicken breasts. I'll brine them for a few hours in salt water, and leaving the skin helps to keep them moist while smoking. Take them to 160 degrees than let them rest. Pull after they've cooled a bit
Pulled Chicken Techniques, Instructions, And Ideas
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