Bull First Cook Thighs a Little Disappointing

[PCH]

Our first cook tonight was eight chicken thighs. I can grill some mean thighs on a charcoal grill. Crispy skin, juicy meat. These were juicy but the skin was disappointing.

I cooked the thighs at 425. I pulled them at 180. The thighs were juicy but the skin was nowhere near crispy.

Are there any suggestions for crisping the skin on chicken other than using the grill grates?

Thanks for the help.

 

[kennethk]

Crispy skin has always been a challenge for me also

 

[We'reSmokin'Now]

Just my .02¢....

These things are awesome for low and slow cooking. Everything else goes in my Weber Kettle. Well, except my bourbon brownies....

Hang in there; there's a bit of a learning curve with these things. You'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

Good luck!

 

[Bytor]

Was the skin dry before putting them on? I typically get good crispy skin with the skin dry and a dry brine uncovered overnight. I will spray with a little OO and put them on LO for 30 min or so then up to 400. A small amount of baking powder, not soda, in the rub can aid in crispy skin too. I did rear quarters not too long ago and they were great.

 

[C. Keeper]

Was the skin dry before putting them on? I typically get good crispy skin with the skin dry and a dry brine uncovered overnight. I will spray with a little OO and put them on LO for 30 min or so then up to 400. A small amount of baking powder, not soda, in the rub can aid in crispy skin too. I did rear quarters not too long ago and they were great.

Apparently the baking powder does something to the skin to make it crispy. Make sure the baking powder doesn't contain aluminum, you won't like it.

 

[jfrosty27]

Just my .02¢....

These things are awesome for low and slow cooking. Everything else goes in my Weber Kettle. Well, except my bourbon brownies....

Hang in there; there's a bit of a learning curve with these things. You'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

Good luck!

I do my chicken parts only on the Weber kettle with a Vortex. Never was able to get decent skin on the Bull no matter what temp I ran it at.

 

[RickDyke]

I have the 700 and we do thighs all the time. Yes crispy skin can be a problem but its nice to have the smoke on it. We have discovered if you have an air fryer, pull the thighs at about 135 and pop them in the air fryer skin side up for about 3-4 minutes, still juicy and nice and crispy. I would like to try the grill grates, I do not have them

 

[Buckeye smoker]

A CPL methods that work are:
make sure it's dry when puting on the grill. Patbit down, leave uncovered in the fridge over night.
Use Baking powder in your rub mix this helps dry it also.
There's a new method called 0-400. You literally put the chicken on at 0° and let it go to 400° flipping them every 30mins* (making sure the internal temp is good of course) I haven't tried this one yet, but see alot of talk on it.

 

[fullhouse32]

Sounds like drumsticks tonight. 0°-400°

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Sounds like drumsticks tonight. 0°-400°

Let me know if it works well !!

 

[PCH]

Thanks for all the advice. We'll try the pat drying and the baking powder in the rub. We usually decide to have the thighs a hours before we start them so leaving them in the fridge overnight would be difficult.

We cooked hamburgers last night on the grill and minute steaks on the grill grates tonight. Both tuned out fine.

There is definitely a learning curve.

We got a pit barrel smoker 5 years ago and our first few attempts (whole chicken and wings) were not good but we finally developed the how-to for brisket, ribs and pork shoulder. We'll keep trying.

Tomorrow is pork belly burnt ends tomorrow evening! I can make that happen on the pit barrel, I am looking forward to making it happen on the Bull.

You guys are great! Thanks for all the advice.

 

[fullhouse32]

Ok I did the 0°-400° plan. Used my rub with some baking powder. It was very juicy.
The skin was a little more crispy.
Next time I will go hotter to cook the tendons a little more.

 

[BadgerFan]

For wings, smoke them and then deep fry them, they turn out great. Dry rubs work great on them.

 

[ifican]

I suspect as some have said you will find you cannot duplicate what open flame does to flesh. I use the RT for most things, but not all 100% RT. Might start but finish over flame, there is no substitution for the maillard reaction that open flame imparts. You can get kinda close with grill grates but unless using them over open flame they dont reheat fast enough for me.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Ok I did the 0°-400° plan. Used my rub with some baking powder. It was very juicy.
The skin was a little more crispy.
Next time I will go hotter to cook the tendons a little more.

Cool..I changed my post to say rotate them every 30mins. Somehow I didn't say it originally ?..If I screwed up your cook I apologise. I'll be trying it soon here too.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I'm of the side that doesn't do chicken on my pellet grill. I've read where others have had success using certain techniques, but have just continued with either charcoal or gas for chicken. I'll use the equipment I have that gives me the result I'm seeking. The post above about using an air fryer after smoking is the kind of innovation I think is cool.

For me, I don't care for a lot of smoke on chicken anyway. Just using lump oak charcoal without adding any wood for smoke, gives me the flavor I like.

On charcoal komado...

 

[PCH]

Now that I have grilled other things (hamburgers, tri tip, etc) that require high temps, I think I agree with @ifican, the pellet grill can do a great job smoking and low-n-slow, but it will be hard to replace open flame and charcoal. The burgers were good (grilled on the grill grates), but not as tasty as on the charcoal grill.

We won't give up on high temperature food, but we'll be more selective.

 

[We'reSmokin'Now]

The pellet grill can do a great job smoking and low-n-slow, but it will be hard to replace open flame and charcoal.

We won't give up on high temperature food, but we'll be more selective.

Amen, brother!

I love both my RT-590 and my Weber Kettle.

 

[C. Keeper]

Amen, brother!

I love both my RT-590 and my Weber Kettle.

Can't go wrong.

 

[Smagnus]

Ok I did the 0°-400° plan. Used my rub with some baking powder. It was very juicy.
The skin was a little more crispy.
Next time I will go hotter to cook the tendons a little more.

cut the tendons out. Roll the skin back and use a SHARP knife to get just under the tendons starting at the foot end and working towards the thigh end. Be careful not to gouge into the meat. Season and roll the skin back into place, reseason and go!! (inject if you want to).