Moist and Tender Chicken With a Crispy Skinned Exterior

[BriggsBBQ]

What kind of grill/smoker do you use? Weber Kettle
What do you do for humidity? Water Pan? No
Do you dry brine, wet brine, or marinade? No, I decide on chicken too quick or more my wife does
What temps do you cook at? Not really sure...hot side is between 450-600
What heat do you use (Conductive, Radiative, or Convective)? Convective and Radiative
What's your total cook time typically? 40 min thighs and drums 15 min for wings
Do you use two zones, cook low and slow, cook hot and fast, start at one temp and finish at another? two zone
Do you use any accessories? (e.g. Candy's onion holder) SNS
Do you have a secret weapon? (e.g. Dr. Blonder's Baking Powder What kind of skin do you - pretty crisp skin.

Seasoning - wings (salt and pepper), thighs and drums (salt, chicken seasoning Stubs)

What I did last night is drums, thighs and wings. Grocery store did not have wings only. So I set up the SNS with a small load. Then added a couple Mesquite wood chunks. I put the lid a not all the way on so that the wood will catch fire and the grill will get really hot. Everything is on the indirect side for about 10 min. Then I move the wings to the direct side and move them around constantly with tongs until the outside is crisp. I then measure the temp to make sure they hit at least 160. Then I hand them to my wife and she dunked them in some hot Kroger wing sauce. The thighs and drums did mostly the same thing. Had to monitor them more because on the direct side it starts a oil fire from the fat drippings. I did notice something new on this cook is that you can put the drum heavy side down (bone) on the direct side and it helps cook without causing major fare ups. Same with the thighs. Also for the thighs I wrapped the fat around the thigh and used a tooth pick to secure it. Gave me more crispy skin and kept it from shrinking back. Once crisp I would measure the temp if 160ish on the far side indirect. If close but crisp closer to the direct side on the indirect side of the 2 zones.

[Breaktheory]

Thought I would share my experience...5 pound chicken dry brined w baking powder overnight in fridge - spread oil between skin and meat before throwing on at 450 indirect on kamado before immediately ramping down to a target of 375 - finished at 160 in breast in an hour and 20 mins - skin was nice and crispy...the rest of dinner wasn’t ready and I foiled it for an hour - destroyed my beautiful skin...never wrap skin on chicken - a cautionary tale

[Breaktheory]

Looks great - but 225 and still crispy skin? How long did you go for?

sorry but what's EVOO?

[JGo37]

50/50 - bite through but not gummy - it would break where you bit, which is good enough when going for a long smoke - ~ 4 hours. I didn't bother to sear, which I could have on another cooker. The single basket 2-zone doesn't really give you a sear surface. I've got a char-griller patio pro specifically for that. I believe it's the dose of EVOO and high initial heat that does it.

[Breaktheory]

I just did this past weekend:

> What I used: Weber 22 Red Bomb - 'Lucille'
> 2-Zone with one 13"x9" water pan on the lower grate 2/3 full, fully shielded radiated heat with a cookie sheet
> Convective heat ~ 250F on the far-side rim to somewhat crisp the skin, but bite-through a little soft
> Hickory Chunks on the upper grate

Secret Weapons:
1. after wet brining for half a day - morning to mid-afternoon - in water and kosher salt, I dry and let counter sit ~ 30 mins.
2. I inject the breasts and thighs with Zatarain's 'Cajun Injector' Creole Butter (you can see it bubble up where I IT-checked the bird
3. I spray the bird with EVOO, top & bottom (spatchcocked)
4. I liberally cover with Weber's Beer Can Chicken rub, and 'push' it in with the back of a tablespoon

The bird was done for an early dinner (so were the ribs!)

Start:

Finish:

I put the ribs on when the chicken was @ ~ 140F, added ~ 6 coals and two more hickory chunks, and pulled everything 45 minutes later.

The dark meat was eaten while hot, I sliced the breasts thin and refrigerated for lunchmeat.

Looks great - but 225 and still crispy skin? How long did you go for?

[theroc]

It's handy especially when you want to cook in a hurry, and still get a juicy bird.

[EdF]

Looks great. I've done the brick thing, and the results were good, but it never really stuck in my toolbox.

[EdF]

The one in the pic was about 4 lbs, spatchcocked and done in the KBQ at 350F (which is indirect by nature) for two hours from lighting the charcoal in the chimney to pulling it. So cook time was around 1-1/2 hours, maybe less.

[theroc]

Favorite ways to roast a whole bird are to spatchock, dry brine, then either smoke roast on the Smoke Vault 24
for about 2 hours @325F (no water pan), or cook under brick on the Weber gasser. The latter takes at most 30-45 minutes. Both come out very moist and with nicely crisp skin. I'm partial to the smoke roasting and my wife prefers "al mattone." So we alternate.

A recent bird smoke roasting:



A recent cook under brick:

[EdF]

You'll get crisp without the direct. For a 5 pounder spatchcocked - somewhere between and hour and a half and two, probably more towards the former.

[JGo37]

I just did this past weekend:

> What I used: Weber 22 Red Bomb - 'Lucille'
> 2-Zone with one 13"x9" water pan on the lower grate 2/3 full, fully shielded radiated heat with a cookie sheet
> Convective heat ~ 250F on the far-side rim to somewhat crisp the skin, but bite-through a little soft
> Hickory Chunks on the upper grate

Secret Weapons:
1. after wet brining for half a day - morning to mid-afternoon - in water and kosher salt, I dry and let counter sit ~ 30 mins.
2. I inject the breasts and thighs with Zatarain's 'Cajun Injector' Creole Butter (you can see it bubble up where I IT-checked the bird
3. I spray the bird with EVOO, top & bottom (spatchcocked)
4. I liberally cover with Weber's Beer Can Chicken rub, and 'push' it in with the back of a tablespoon

The bird was done for an early dinner (so were the ribs!)

Start:

Finish:

I put the ribs on when the chicken was @ ~ 140F, added ~ 6 coals and two more hickory chunks, and pulled everything 45 minutes later.

The dark meat was eaten while hot, I sliced the breasts thin and refrigerated for lunchmeat.

[Breaktheory]

This is for my kamado - I could set up for dual zone and reverse sear at the end on the direct side - or will I get the skin from pure indirect?
Also, since 450 will melt my temp probe - what’s the typical cooking time for a 5 pound chicken spatchcocked

[EdF]

Sort of like that, though this wasn't on the kamado. It was crispy.

[EdF]

Works both for whole poultry and spatchcocked - the latter is quicker. Make pockets between the skin and the meat by sticking your fingers in and separating a bit - don't completely separate. Now those temps were for a kamado. Depending on the kind of cooker you're using, you might go directly for the 350F. And yes, I use indirect with a pan on the barrier to catch drippings. Pull at 155 breast.

[Breaktheory]

So I’m planning on spatchcocking - it’s been dry brining all night uncovered and the skin is getting that nice translucent look... going to follow your suggestion EdF and start at 450 then ramp down - do you do this indirect or direct?

also when you say add oil under skin should I actually pull the skin away from the meat to apply it? Will the oil on the outside help "fry" the skin crisp?

also how far in advance do I oil the meat and skin and If it matter when do I apply my S&G rub?