Rub under the skin versus just rubbing outside

[GrandSalami]

I have followed the ultimate turkey recipe to a T. Awesome results each and every time. I do have a question. After the turkey is finished the skin always separated from the turkey due to rubbing under the skin. Is it imperative to rub under the skin? Could you just apply over and leave it at that? Would it make a difference?

[HawkerXP]

For us, under the skin flavors the meat. Just on the skin flavors only the skin. We usually don't eat much skin.

[Red Man]

I think it’s pretty important to get some rub under the skin. Maybe try not pulling up as much skin to get under there.

[fzxdoc]

Imperative to rub the under the skin. Otherwise once the skin is eaten, where's the flavor? Just saying.

Kathryn

[GrandSalami]

Thanks everyone. I want both the skin and the flavor!!! Lol. I will try and not get too far under the skin. Just seems like when I take the breasts off the bone, the skin falls away. But I don’t want to give up the flavor that putting the rub under gives.

[GrandSalami]

One other question. I saw a video of someone spatchcocking. Pretty much how meathead describes it. But they also took out the bone behind the breast. Has anyone tried that? I may give it a go. He actually used his hands only. Didn’t use a knife. Just worked it out with his hands and pulled it out.

[Santamarina]

I always spatchcock my poultry, but have never separated the breast from the bone. As for seasoning, I rub the meat and the skin. Delicious skin, and for the many who don’t eat skin, also tasty meat.

[FireMan]

Under the skin wins 5 to 0. Good game. 🕶

[Potkettleblack]

Under the skin is imperative, not just for the flavor under the skin, but also helps airflow under the skin, for crispy skin. Ideal shattering crisp skin is helped by that extra lift under the skin. Rub and sage leaves for the win.

[Troutman]

That's a good point Potkettleblack , skin separation is important. In a classic Peking duck they use compressed air to blow open and separate the skin from the meat assuring and aiding fat rendering which produces a crispy skin. Chicken is no different, get your hand up in there and push salt up in as far as you can. You can also use butter or some aromatics as well.

Now having said all that, I'm still a wet brine guy with poultry. Tried both many times, still prefer the latter.

[Potkettleblack]

I'm mostly into turkey for the skin anyway. So, getting that right is paramount.

I wouldn't use butter, because of the water content. Something that is a pure fat will work better. Lard, duck fat, ghee, or even olive oil. Aromatics are the way to go... sage for turkey, rosemary for chicken. Something with a bit of lift.

[Spinaker]

I put the rub under and over the skin when I am making chicken. It is the best of both worlds. In the past, I put butter under the skin but I found that butter tended to hinder the crispy skin. Now I simply brush with duck fat and let it rip on high heat. Duck fat is a gift from nature that not many appreciate, but we should.

[FireMan]

Yay duck fat!

[ofelles]

3rd

[IowaGirl]

I spatchcocked an 8 pound capon, seasoned it with salt and Simon & Garfunkel herb blend directly on the outside of the skin and inside what used to be the body cavity. I let the bird dry brine in the fridge for 2 days, then smoked it on my Weber gasser using indirect heat, 325F, about 2 hours.

The skin came out crispy and brown -- very pretty to look at but not so nice to eat. We removed the skin on the cuts we ate and obviously didn't eat the bones on the body cavity side. I noticed the meat was nicely salty, but the herbal flavor in/on the meat was near zero.

Conclusion -- Salt definitely penetrates through the skin and into the meat, but nothing else does does to any great extent. If you don't expect to eat the skin, then the seasoning should go directly on the meat, not on the skin.

[IowaGirl]

The skin was too hard to chew. I gummed a piece for a bit and it tasted fine.

[Potkettleblack]

Hrm... 325... I like poultry a bit hotter to crisp the skin... it should shatter, not chew. Capon is a chicken with a special diet and a different life, so could just be a thick skinned bird.

[IowaGirl]

That's what I suspect, the more I think about it.

[smokin fool]

I've always gone with the idea "some seasoning" will permeate thru the skin and favour the meat while cooking even if it is a miniscule amount.
Absolutely no scientific facts to back this up.
I guess luckily my family does not like highly seasoned buzzard.

[fzxdoc]

I spatchcocked an 8 pound capon, seasoned it with salt and Simon & Garfunkel herb blend directly on the outside of the skin and inside what used to be the body cavity. I let the bird dry brine in the fridge for 2 days, then smoked it on my Weber gasser using indirect heat, 325F, about 2 hours.

The skin came out crispy and brown -- very pretty to look at but not so nice to eat. We removed the skin on the cuts we ate and obviously didn't eat the bones on the body cavity side. I noticed the meat was nicely salty, but the herbal flavor in/on the meat was near zero.

Conclusion -- Salt definitely penetrates through the skin and into the meat, but nothing else does does to any great extent. If you don't expect to eat the skin, then the seasoning should go directly on the meat, not on the skin.

The thing with rub is similar to that with marinade--it's what's on the surface of the meat that provides the flavor with most bites. Scoring the surface increases the surface area for rubs or marinade, but I don't do that with whole or split roasted chicken or turkey.

So if you remove the skin and eat parts of the muscle that are not attached to the surface, then you've got to drag that bite through some of the rub-flavored juices to taste it.

According to Meathead and Doc Blonder, nothing but salt penetrates, so that's another reason why the surface of the muscle under the skin needs a good going over with rub, at least in my kitchen--and yours too, apparently.

Kathryn

[IowaGirl]

My thought when I seasoned the skin was that we'd be able to eat or nibble on the skin as we normally do when I cook regular chicken parts. One issue might be the longer cook needed may have dried the skin more than I was anticipating. Another issue might be the capon itself -- capons are normally a little older than the usual roaster/fryer chicken, so the skin might have been tougher than usual. Dunno.