I've had chicken on the mind lately, as can be seen here and here.
Traditionally, chicken has always been part of something greater. It's the meat I add to soup, Indian dishes, stir fries, or other dishes with a lot going on other than the chicken. This is in contrast to a steak which is fine with salt and pepper—or frankly, even just salt. For me and the grill, it's always been about beef and pork, burgers and ribs, brisket and shoulder.
Over the last few years though, a good spatchcocked baked chicken has been a weeknight staple. It's easy and once you learn about temperature control, you avoid leather breasts, which no one likes. (Well, some people do like but... I have my opinions about their tastes.) As I applied rubs and managed juicy results, I dare say chicken became something I'd eat for its own sake from time to time.
My kids like it. My wife likes it. The leftovers of a roasted chicken are versatile. So why not amp it up a bit?
Now, for those of you who use a PBC, nothing here is going to be new. In fact, to a lot of you this is pretty elementary. That's the point of this breakdown. It's pretty much braindead and you can add a lot of flair to it.
What you'll need:
About the temperature variance: If you looked at the other topics, I had asked about low'n slow chicken. I've found you need to get hotter to get crispy skin without having to invoke a second cooking stage or type. Lower temps lead to more even cooks but higher temps cook faster. In the end, the two main factors are really going to be your rub and time. If you're using a lot of sugar in your rub, keep it lower. For me, the sweet spot for nailing chicken from thighs to breast is 300-325ºF. This also works with pretty much any rub.
Prep (at least a few hours in advance or, preferably, the night before):
The cook:
I am finding I really enjoy hanging chicken directly over the coals, PBC-style. (I actually like hanging meats too much. I'm literally looking for excuses to do more hanging cooks right now.) I've added rib hangers to my 18" WSM to avoid having yet-another-cooker-to-annoy-my-wife in the backyard. Fire it up to your desired temperature and, in the case of the WSM, take the water pan out. If you're using a PBC, I suggest making some modifications to increase the temperature of the cook by a bit. If you don't have a hanging kit or don't care for it, a standard grill set up for hot'n fast will do the trick.
I add a little bit of wood at the beginning of the cook. While the drippings flaring up from the coals does add some nice flavor, it's not the same as that imparted by wood in my opinion. I like the addition of both. Of all the meats I cook, I am of the opinion that smoke does its best work on poultry. Not that a smoked steak isn't glorious. (In fact, I dare say the first cold grate steak I nailed was about as sublime an experience as food can be.) But chicken needs more help and smoke shines brighter here than with bolder meats. This is the whole point of cooking outside rather than popping these in the oven.
Stick a probe in the deepest part of the breast and let it get to your desired temperature. For me, that temperature is between 150-155ºF. Obviously, take this up to 165ºF if that's more your thing. I find the 10ºF difference to be rather significant in terms of the results. I was inspired to try lower temps by J. Kenji López-Alt. There was some darn good discussion on the topic here the other day too.
That's it. If you care about the skin you have a couple options:
A shot of my last cook. Due to the wind and periodic rain, the temperature ran between 285-300ºF for most of the cook. Skin was as crispy as you'd want. Nothing but salt, pepper, and smoke. Sometimes less is more.
Traditionally, chicken has always been part of something greater. It's the meat I add to soup, Indian dishes, stir fries, or other dishes with a lot going on other than the chicken. This is in contrast to a steak which is fine with salt and pepper—or frankly, even just salt. For me and the grill, it's always been about beef and pork, burgers and ribs, brisket and shoulder.
Over the last few years though, a good spatchcocked baked chicken has been a weeknight staple. It's easy and once you learn about temperature control, you avoid leather breasts, which no one likes. (Well, some people do like but... I have my opinions about their tastes.) As I applied rubs and managed juicy results, I dare say chicken became something I'd eat for its own sake from time to time.
My kids like it. My wife likes it. The leftovers of a roasted chicken are versatile. So why not amp it up a bit?
Now, for those of you who use a PBC, nothing here is going to be new. In fact, to a lot of you this is pretty elementary. That's the point of this breakdown. It's pretty much braindead and you can add a lot of flair to it.
What you'll need:
- At least 1 half chicken or any number of chickens cut in half
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- Some kind of cooker you can maintain between 275-375ºF
About the temperature variance: If you looked at the other topics, I had asked about low'n slow chicken. I've found you need to get hotter to get crispy skin without having to invoke a second cooking stage or type. Lower temps lead to more even cooks but higher temps cook faster. In the end, the two main factors are really going to be your rub and time. If you're using a lot of sugar in your rub, keep it lower. For me, the sweet spot for nailing chicken from thighs to breast is 300-325ºF. This also works with pretty much any rub.
Prep (at least a few hours in advance or, preferably, the night before):
- Cut the chickens in half. (I remove the wingtips too.)
- Liberally salt the chicken everywhere. (I don't measure with chicken at this point. I just salt it.)
- Pepper the chicken to your liking or apply a rub.
- Put the half chickens, uncovered, in the fridge to dry.
The cook:
I am finding I really enjoy hanging chicken directly over the coals, PBC-style. (I actually like hanging meats too much. I'm literally looking for excuses to do more hanging cooks right now.) I've added rib hangers to my 18" WSM to avoid having yet-another-cooker-to-annoy-my-wife in the backyard. Fire it up to your desired temperature and, in the case of the WSM, take the water pan out. If you're using a PBC, I suggest making some modifications to increase the temperature of the cook by a bit. If you don't have a hanging kit or don't care for it, a standard grill set up for hot'n fast will do the trick.
I add a little bit of wood at the beginning of the cook. While the drippings flaring up from the coals does add some nice flavor, it's not the same as that imparted by wood in my opinion. I like the addition of both. Of all the meats I cook, I am of the opinion that smoke does its best work on poultry. Not that a smoked steak isn't glorious. (In fact, I dare say the first cold grate steak I nailed was about as sublime an experience as food can be.) But chicken needs more help and smoke shines brighter here than with bolder meats. This is the whole point of cooking outside rather than popping these in the oven.
Stick a probe in the deepest part of the breast and let it get to your desired temperature. For me, that temperature is between 150-155ºF. Obviously, take this up to 165ºF if that's more your thing. I find the 10ºF difference to be rather significant in terms of the results. I was inspired to try lower temps by J. Kenji López-Alt. There was some darn good discussion on the topic here the other day too.
That's it. If you care about the skin you have a couple options:
- Eat it quickly. Just chop up the bird and serve it and be careful not to get the juice on the skin. That stuff is easy to ruin.
- If you're making a bunch of chickens for leftovers, my standard process, pull the skins off and just eat them first because you can. (I certainly did yesterday.)
A shot of my last cook. Due to the wind and periodic rain, the temperature ran between 285-300ºF for most of the cook. Skin was as crispy as you'd want. Nothing but salt, pepper, and smoke. Sometimes less is more.
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