Chicken thighs

[wwrbew]

I’m trying to figure out a way to smoke chicken thighs on my pellet grill and also get the skin very crispy. Would appreciate any help with this

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit wwrbew We appreciate you joining up and supporting us.

I'd suggest that you post this question in the Recipes & Techniques >Poultry channel to get better visibility. Help & Suggestion Box here is primarily for technological concerns or general forum-related help.

But to help with your question, I don't use a pellet cooker myself, but a standard good practice is to cook at at least 325F, I happen to prefer 350 myself. Thighs do well taken up beyond the safely-done temp of 165, to say 175-185...and that also helps cook the skin longer as well. My typical chicken thigh cook at 325-350 seems to take at least 45 min, usually a good hour.

Personally I've noticed no difference whether dry brining or wet brining, the cook temp seems to do the most for crispy skin.

Hope this helps. Be sure to share some pictures of your cooks in the Show Us What You're Cooking topic!

[Steve R.]

I second the hotter cooking temp. You can also sprinkle some baking powder on that skin and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out. The combination of all of the above does the trick for me.

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana

[jlazar]

Set temp for at least 350 or higher if possible. If you have a heat diffuser, put the chicken as close as possible in the area that gets the hottest. Otherwise, as close to the firebox as possible.

Chicken on a Yoder pellet.

[fuzzydaddy]

Beautiful!

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. I agree - hotter works better.

[FireMan]

Welcome aboard. You are in good hands, take their advice & you’ve been around long enough to know the routine, take pics, that’s an order. Eat good & have fun!

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to The Pit!

[DWCowles]

Welcome wwrbew

[PJBowmaster]

I finish thighs on my Weber Gas Grill when I cook them in my vertical gas smoker.