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Quick Hung Chicken

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    Quick Hung Chicken

    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:
    1. At least 1 half chicken or any number of chickens cut in half
    2. Kosher salt
    3. Pepper
    4. Some kind of cooker you can maintain between 275-375ºF
    About the half birds: While completely butchering a bird gives you total control of every piece, I've found that spatchcocked and, to an even greater degree, halved chickens while irregular, cook just about right as a unit. Legs, thighs, and wings, hit 10-20ºF hotter than the deepest point in the breast when you cook the whole thing. I find that this method is about the easiest and spines make for great stock. (Smoked carcasses make the best tomato soup broth!) Plus, whole chickens are great from a price perspective.

    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):
    1. Cut the chickens in half. (I remove the wingtips too.)
    2. Liberally salt the chicken everywhere. (I don't measure with chicken at this point. I just salt it.)
    3. Pepper the chicken to your liking or apply a rub.
    4. Put the half chickens, uncovered, in the fridge to dry.
    I cannot stress how important this step is if you want crispy skin. I've seen a lot of techniques for crispy skin, but at the end of the day, nothing is simpler than just letting the bird dry out while you dry brine. Since dry brining is generally awesome anyway, just get it all done in one shot. No baking soda. No patting down. No nothing. In my own cooks I've managed crispy skin in my cooker around 285ºF for the bulk of the cook. And, from a food safety standpoint, letting the surface dry out is going to help avoid more danger zones on the surface.

    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:
    1. 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.
    2. 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.)
    I realize this has been a rather long post for what's ultimately just a simple roasted chicken. I'm really just here to say: let it dry, don't stress too much about the cook temperature, and even with nothing but salt and pepper it's going to turn out fine.

    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.

    Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_4672.jpg Views:	1 Size:	1.05 MB ID:	631816
    Last edited by binarypaladin; August 1, 2019, 03:24 PM. Reason: I had "more is less" which was... wrong.

    #2
    I saw a quick hung chicken the last year
    Click image for larger version

Name:	55179EB3-944E-4617-A1DA-EF6C61A49233.jpeg
Views:	212
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ID:	631823

    Comment


    • Jerod Broussard
      Jerod Broussard commented
      Editing a comment
      I suspect high corn content in that chicken's diet.

    #3
    cook chicken once or twice a week leftovers go on my lunch salad but I use my pellet pooper it’s a fast easy cook

    Comment


      #4
      Tried the baking powder on some wings today. I didn't like the results. 1/2 tsp per lb with some Lawry's chicken seasoning last night, in the fridge overnite, on the kettle full blast. Took about 40 minutes. The skin was crisp, but I thought the flavor was off. I used the baking powder without the sodium aluminum sulfate. Plus after they sat awhile, the skin lost its crisp and was a little soggy. I am going back to the salt only.

      Comment


      • binarypaladin
        binarypaladin commented
        Editing a comment
        I think it's supposed to be just soda. But the couple times I've used that I wasn't thrilled.

      • fzxdoc
        fzxdoc commented
        Editing a comment
        klflowers and binarypaladin ,I mix a little baking powder in the rub for chicken skin only. (I use just the rub alone on the muscle under the skin as well) Can't taste the baking powder at all. I use the kind without the sodium aluminum sulfate.

        I also tried baking soda. Once. Yuck. Bad taste.

        You have to have a light hand with the baking powder: 1tsp per Tbl of rub. Works great to dry out the skin.

        Then let the PBC work its magic.

        Kathryn

      • klflowers
        klflowers commented
        Editing a comment
        fzxdoc, I am not sure what the issue was. It may have been the Lawry's, but we have used it before and liked it a lot. I may give it another go. Trying to control the MCS and stay away from the PBC; I will probably buy the hanging rig for the WSM though.

      #5
      That is pretty much what I do, but written out very well.

      Comment


        #6
        This is the best part about hanging meat in a barrel/bullet cooker: After you hang the meat you get to say, "That meat is well hung."

        Comment


        • binarypaladin
          binarypaladin commented
          Editing a comment
          Yeah. The original title was almost "Well Hung Chicken" actually, because no matter how old I get, there's a 14-year-old in there somewhere.

        #7
        Every time I see this thread, I can't help but think "quick hung chicken" is an item on a Chinese restaurant menu.

        Comment


          #8
          I thought this was a well thought out, yet very straightforward recipe synopsis !! Thanks for posting..let's do chicken !!!

          Comment


            #9
            binarypaladin I too have found split chickens about my favorite way to cook a chicken. I do mine direct, on GrillGrates, over either charcoal or gas, and flip them a couple of times during the cook. I think this gives me crispier skin. I would hang them if I had a cooker that allowed for it. All in all a well written guide to chicken cooks!

            Comment


              #10
              I second that binarypaladin, it's become our favorite way to do a quick cook. Thanks the the detailed instructions. Done here with Jamaican jerk rub from Dizzy Pig.
              Attached Files

              Comment


              • binarypaladin
                binarypaladin commented
                Editing a comment
                What are you using to hold the Smoke on the handle? I really need to add handles to mine!

                And... wheels too.
                Last edited by binarypaladin; February 4, 2019, 07:32 PM.

              #11
              binarypaladin....that hanger is a remnant of an old bbq thermometer....the handle, a barn door handle....the wheels are a homemade contraption that makes it really nice to move the cooker around. Dave

              Comment


                #12
                Corvus I really want wheels. It's been a "maybe this weekend" project for like 2 months. The more I use my WSM, the more I'm like, "You know what this thing needs? Wheels." Especially since where I store it and where I cook are decidedly different spots in my backyard.

                Handles would be nice too. One of these weekends...

                Comment

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