Smoked Chicken Skin??

[Grizz]

First, GLAD I CAN GET BACK IN!!  Don't know what happened, but since yesterday, I couldn't connect to the site!  Talk about withdrawals!  Ok, so last night I did a 2:1 snake method with apple wood chunks at the front, middle, and end.  Indirect cooking for some skin on chicken thighs, wings, and drumsticks.  Total cook time was around 3 1/2 hours.  Temp stayed at 250 the whole time.  Low and slow.  And for the most part, we loved it.  The skin, however, was.....strange.  rubbery, I guess you'd say.  No biggie, we just peeled it off and the chicken underneath was as moist as could be.

My question: is that to be expected?  Should I have removed the skin from the parts from the get go or did I just go waaaaaaay too long with this cook?   

[mrbill]

you cooked them at too low a temperature. you need higher temps(325 or so and up) to get a crisp skin.

[Grizz]

sigh...that's what I thought....thanks, Mr. Bill!

[mrbill]

you're welcome

[1buckie]

You can do what you did & flip them over a higher heat near the end......sort of smoke-to-reverse-sear kinda thing, but yeah, lower heat always leaves the skin rubbery....

[austin87]

Higher temps. I've also had good luck heavily salting the skin and leaving the chicken uncovered in the fridge for a day or two before cooking. The skin will look dry and kind of transparent, but the skin will be really crispy. It also helps to buy "air chilled" chicken - usually organic, humanely raised, etc. the air chilling leaves the skin drier than factory farming where the birds chilled after processing in liquid. The skin holds that moisture, and it has to cook out before it can properly crisp.

[effinUker]

wait wait wait!  i saw a youtube video where a dude did a slow smoke on his chicken, giving him that flabby skin. he peeled the skin off the chicken, heated the slightest bit of oil in a skillet, sliced the skin into thin strips, and made chicken skin "bacon".

OK, i found the vid - he did pulled pork chicken with skin bacon.  here's the link --->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APZzmDZVXug

[chuck s]

Chicken Bacon!!   gotta love it - great vid..... thanks