British BBQ Society Forums

Hi All,

I've done quite a few chickens (whole and thigh) and whilst I can get lovely succulent meat, i am finding crispy skin (and not Trojan-strenghth rubbery skin) illusive. I've read that i should cook them faster, at 315F, rather than 225F, but will this keep the meat as juicy?

C

Higher temperatures will help but the one gaurenteed way I have found is to leave it uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking, you can still put on a light rub but avoid adding oil or butter as this will undo all of the good work.

The holy grail of BBQ. Many people have different recipes for this, this includes

- Smoke at low heat, then crank up the heat 300-350F to crisp up the skin
- Removing the skin, shaving the fat off the inside and then cooking at a higher heat
- Rubbing oil on the chicken
- Using a mix of flour/bicarb/salt on the skin to draw the moisture out

One way we have always go crispy skin is to cook on a kettle, indirect high heat. The problem is that you cannot get a nice smokey flavour in the 30-45mins it takes to cook the chicken and there is a moistness question that brining hasnt seemed to answer. In other words, when you find the answer, please let us know!

i agree about cooking the chicken long and low with hickory smoke or do a marinade the way i do it overnight and then smoke it in the morning

http://www.thebarbecuemaster.net/barbecue-chicken.html

Or dont bother with low and slow. Chicken picks up flavours really easily. You can still give it a decent smoke flavour whilst cooking at a higher heat. I normally brine the chicken for added moisture