Tips for Flavorful chicken

[leostar]

Hi all!

So I previously smoked chicken in halves at around 325°C for 2-3 hours. Before the cook, I dry brine it for about 3 hours and placed the rub 30 mins before I placed the meat on the smoker. Almost everything was nice and I mopped it with barbecue sauce before the end of the cook. It was flavorful but only on the exterior. Down on the inside of the meat taste just like plain meat and no flavor. Any tips you can share with me to improve or have a taste on the inside of the meat? Should I Inject, marinade etc.

[rwalters]

For me and those I cook for... the absolute best chicken I cook comes from my Weber kettle cooked directly over lump charcoal on top of GrillGrates. I cook around 375° dome temp. I almost always cook thighs and drumsticks. Flavor all the way to the bone every time. I cook chicken parts as I prefer to have the ability to pull each piece at just the right internal temp. As far as seasoning... I keep it simple. Rub with what ever you like and just slowly grill em’ up. At the end, if you wanna drizzle a little sauce over the chicken as it’s cooling that always adds a nice touch

[leostar]

What's the internal temp that you pull the chicken out of the weber?

[rwalters]

For dark meat, I prefer an internal temp of 185-190°.

[HouseHomey]

Dry brine the underside of the chicken too, that’s very important. Also a minimum of 24 hours. If that don’t work.... add more salt and repeat. Yo can also wet brine for 24 and place on rack to dry for 6-12!hours or even overnight.

Cook/temp your breast and dark quarters separately. Add sauce as you choose.

sounds like your your issue now with the white meat??

[leostar]

Yes the white meat, not that tasty. Is it normal?

[ecowper]

2-3 hours seems like an awfully long time on the grill at 325. I spatchcock and it takes about 1.5-2 hours. A couple of things I do ..... When I dry brine, I make sure and get the salt under the skin and onto the breast and thigh meat. I also get some salt on the cavity. And some salt on the skin to help dry it out. Same thing with my rub, under and over the skin. I put a quarter lemon wedge and some fresh herbs directly under the chicken as well.

[leostar]

How long do you let the salt sink into the meat before you cook them?

[ecowper]

leostar at least an hour, but that’s if I’m in a hurry. Normally, I start the dry brine the day before, so 20-24 hours

[cashelton]

I think the "under the skin" part is the step I've been missing with dry brines and rubs...and why I liked wet brines. The wet brine got it under the skin, and always seemed to give a little more flavor. Thanks for sharing your process, Im going to work on my brine/rub application process.

[JGo37]

Don't shy away from injections - I like them. The grocer injections are sketchy. Currently I'm liking home made chicken stock - no salt - with American Chili Pepper. Lots of flavor - carrots, celery, etc.

As an alternative you could rub spiced butter - here I like Irish butter - under the skin. Spices are your prerogative.

[leostar]

I see.

Is it better to inject the chicken just before the cook or inject it overnight, like 12 or more hours before the cook?

[JGo37]

Just before the cook. Use salt 12 hours or more before, because that causes an electrochemical reaction - electrolysis - that migrates the elements of salt from the exterior of the meat into the interior, tenderizing as the migration occurs. Sauces and injections don't transform muscle tissue without the application of heat. Therefore, apply spices, rubs, injections when heating.

[leostar]

Thank you.

[HouseHomey]

leostar white meat can be tasty but you have to bail it. Thickness needs to be considered. Bone in or boneless? I cook loads of chicken. I did 25 yesterday. I pull my thicker boneless breasts at 157° and allow them to rest up. The hotter you cook the earlier you need to pull them as the rest up will be greater. Again thickness needs to be considered. Pay attention to that and your equipment and how it cooks.

hope this helps.

[Mr. Bones]

Chickenman!!!!

[leostar]

HouseHomey Its bone in. Im trying to cook it as half chicken so i can sell it by halves.

But I'll try to cook it by quarters and see if it will help improve it. Cause i can now take it out separately as soon as it reaches a certain temperature.

Also, does the internal temperature of the chicken affects the flavor? Like when you overcook the chicken to lets say 180 or 190, the meat gets tougher, but will it also affect the taste?

[jfmorris]

Overcooked breast meat will be dry and crumbly, and taste like cardboard! So yes, it does change the taste and texture. Dark meat (thigh and leg) can take the heat and do not have a good consistency until about 175, but breast meat is done at 160 to 165 max.

[Frozen Smoke]

I must be the only one who wet brines any more. I wet brine all poultry and most pork cuts and have always had great flavor. Don't forget sometimes meat should taste like well, regular meat!

[lonnie mac]

Ummm. Pork Tenderloins brined in a mixture of apple juice, salt, thyme and sugar is the BEST!!

[Troutman]

I actually do both, wet and dry brine, depending on my mood. I do prefer wet brining because the flavor profiles of the brine penetrates much better for me than mere salt brining. I actually have an old Texas inspired recipe I think I'll post here in the near future where you marinate overnight with lots of Wishbone Italian dressing (along with other flavor profiles). Then during the cook you baste with Wishbone again to retain moisture. It turns out to be one mighty tasty chicken !!!

[Larry Grover]

Try wet brined air-chilled chicken. The better fed/humanely treated chickens taste better to me and since there was no water added during processing it will soak up that brine.

I want juicy, chickeny flavor with hints of smoke & rub - not a mouthful of it. Sometimes I steam chicken for my dogs (using nothing but water.) I'll eat some of it too - slathered with jam or cranberry sauce...excellent stuff.

[Troutman]

I agree with Larry, the air-chilled chickens are better, if for anything because they aren't dipped in a solution of chemicals during processing. A much better way to process chickens imo, although a lot more expensive.

[JeffJ]

I cooked a whole chicken in my 14.5 WSM last night. I pulled it when the breast hit 160 internal and after resting for about 10 minutes the temp had risen to 165. Dry-brined the night before and I lightly oiled the skin and hit it with some cracked pepper and paprika. It was really juicy and tender. Personally I like chicken to taste like chicken. In particular to the white meat, it's delicate and can be easily overwhelmed by other flavors. One time I put a single jalapeno in the cavity and that pepper overwhelmed the meat. If you are looking to kick up the flavor of your chicken I recommend a dipping sauce. Let the chicken taste like chicken.

[jfmorris]

I second this advice. I no longer put BBQ sauce on my chicken, just a dry rub and maybe some oil to crisp the skin. I serve the BBQ sauces at the table, including Alabama white sauce, as a dipping sauce for those who want it.

[jfmorris]

As others have said, you need to dry brine both sides of split chickens or spatchcocked chickens. And I would go overnight if you can, versus 3 hours. Believe it or not, our own resident Dr. Blonder has proven that salt does in fact penetrate chicken and turkey skin, so for dry brining, you do not have to get up under the skin with the salt. Now, if you want to herb it up with a dry rub before going on the smoker, that's another story. I push the rub up under the skin on my turkeys, but don't bother with it on chicken.

2 to 3 hours seems like a long time for split chickens at 325. I usually get done in about 90 minutes on split chickens in the 325-350 temperature range. I cook to a temp of 160-165 in the deepest part of the breast, not to time.

[ecowper]

the length of time seemed long to me, too. I spatchcock and cook around 325 and the breast hits 160 in 90 minutes, usually. Bigger chickens might go all the way to two hours. Cooking longer will tend to dry out the chicken breast and it won't be as flavorful.

[ecowper]

jfmorris I don't read what Blonder/Meathead says dry brine and chicken skin as saying no need to go over and under the skin. Just that Blonder is showing that salt can penetrate INTO the skin. I find that salt under the skin makes a big difference to flavor and juiciness.

[jfmorris]

ecowper I am not saying that salt won't do better under the skin, but here is where I got that info. I can vouch to its effectiveness as I dry brined two 20 pound fresh turkeys (<50mg salt on the label) for 24 hours before smoking for Thanksgiving, and the breast meat definitely had some salt and a lot of flavor. I rubbed Simon & Garfunkel under the skin right before cooking, as well as over the skin, and on the back side of the spatchcocked turkeys.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/salting-brining-curing-and-injecting/dry-brining-easier-and-less-wasteful-wet-brining

For chicken and turkey

Surprisingly, the AmazingRibs.com science advisor Prof. Greg Blonder has proven that salt penetrates chicken and turkey skin (I am doubtful about duck and goose since there is such a thick layer of fat under them). So go ahead and sprinkle salt right on the skin. It will help make the skin crispy. Breasts need more than thighs because they are thicker. 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound, refrigerate for two to four hours minimum. Overnight is fine.

[ecowper]

yep, I had read that too. :-)

[ecowper]

leostar I would highly recommend reading the following Amazing Ribs articles on the free side

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/salting-brining-curing-and-injecting/salting-and-wet-brining

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/salting-brining-curing-and-injecting/dry-brining-easier-and-less-wasteful-wet-brining

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/chicken-recipes/simon-garfunkel-chicken-recipe

Everything I do in cooking chicken, I got from Amazing Ribs and then modified a few things. Like I prefer to spatchcock, rather than cook in quarters or pieces. And I do like to have some aromatics underneath the chicken. I got the fresh herbs directly under the bird from someone in Pitmaster .... lonnie mac I think.

I think the three critical things I have learned about cooking chicken

1. Indirect, but hot and fast ..... 325-350, even 375 ..... low and slow just dries it out
2. Dry brine and get salt on the cavity and the meat, not just the skin .... my wife says that makes a huge difference to her actually enjoying the chicken
3. Don't overcook or the breast will be dry and lacking flavor ..... get the bird off the grill when the breast is 160-165 and plan for some carry over cooking.

and if there was a #4, it would be to make sure the skin is dry. If you salt the skin and let it rest in a refrigerator until the skin is dry, you will get much crispier skin.