Damn quarters got me.....again!

[Travis]

Stopped by the grocery store on my way home and grabbed some chicken quarters and corn on da cob.

Tonight I was cooking on the performer with RO lump and on the ots with a variety of leftover briquettes and lump.

Seasoned the chicken with a mix of Montreal's chicken seasoning and The Shed's chicken blend.

I seared the chicken then slid over to finish indirect. The performer settled in at around 400 medium-high heat. About 30 minutes in, I threw on the corn on the ots, colonial style is what we call it here, and kept it hot, turning a couple times for about 30 minutes.

The temp started dying around 45 minutes in on the performer so I move the chicken back over to direct to finish. Probed it in a few spots and it was reading 175 to 180.

Lookin good, smellin good, gonna have a good, easy dinner.

Take it all inside, mama starts cuttin it up and!!!!  NOT DONE

Took it back out to the ots cause it was hotter and THREW it back on, cursing myself. 5 more minutes and we were good.
Bone in chicken gets me all the time. I try to get it just done as to not overcook it, but I tell ya, this is the one damn thing I screw up more than anything. Simple damn chicken!!!

And you thought this was another, look how good my cook went type of story! Here's a couple pics though. Any advise??




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[TheDude]

Get any pics of what's underdone? For me, a little blood at the bone joint is ok. Long as the meats not pink.

[Troy]

Chicken often appears underdone,  even when its not.

It's because chickens are slaughtered at a younger age now. Younger chickens have more hemoglobin in their bones. At done temps that hemoglobin seaps out of the bone and into the meat - looking like blood.

If temps were 180, that chicken was done.
Undercooked chicken will be chewy, and meat won't separate easily. Look for that instead of a little blood.



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[Troy]

Btw, those quarters look fantastic.

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[Bbqmiller]

Nice looking chicken.


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[brokenappletree]

Hey Travis,
Maybe stick a temp probe in them.  When close, take an insta-read.  Like mentioned above, safe-done may still look a little under cooked to the normal eye but it is safe.

I know that method has helped my pork chops a ton.  I always used to overcook trying to be safe.  Now they are perfect every time.

[Travis]

Ill give it a shot. Thanks fellas.


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[jdefran]

Does the corn simply steam in the husk like that? Got a pic of the corn after removing the charred husk?

[Travis]

Does the corn simply steam in the husk like that? Got a pic of the corn after removing the charred husk?

No, I'm sorry I didn't jd. Yes, it just steams or cooks or whatever it does right in the husk.

I know some people peel the husk back and butter it up, then lay the husk back. I've done that too, but it's to much work for me.

I turn them every 5 minutes or so and you end up with some darkened kernels on some areas of the corn which gives it wonderful texture and flavor.

You can, however, burn it up if you keep it in there to long. Normally, I let them go around 20-30 minutes or about 2 to 3 beers depending on how they are looking and how hot the coals are.

Try them out sometime.  They're delicious! I'll take a pic or two next.

[jdefran]

Ok thanks @Travis. I usually peel the husk and grill on the grate, indirect and direct for some color. Might have to try this sometime

[Darko]

Chicken often appears underdone,  even when its not.

It's because chickens are slaughtered at a younger age now. Younger chickens have more hemoglobin in their bones. At done temps that hemoglobin seaps out of the bone and into the meat - looking like blood.

If temps were 180, that chicken was done.
Undercooked chicken will be chewy, and meat won't separate easily. Look for that instead of a little blood.



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Yeah that. Cook to temperature. 180 is good.

[addicted-to-smoke]

Bone-in is also pretty forgiving. When you sense that the skin has pulled back and you're worried about it becoming dry ... it won't. I did some a week ago my kids swore was underdone but I don't think it was, just not as done as they're used to.

[MeatAndPotatos]

I'm with the group saying temp.

I don't get how it probed 175-180 all over, but was not done?

Keep in mind, heat kills bacteria, not color. Its not like the color of cooked chicken is what makes it safe to eat.

Color is a semi-poor secondary way to check safety. As in, the bacteria dies when exposed to 165 degrees for 4 seconds... It just so happens that the color changes shortly after that too.

Its like trying to tell if its dark out by checking to see if crickets are chirping. Sure, it works... But why make a guess based on an insect when you can just look outside (check the temperature).

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[guitarfish]

When doing leg quarters I always point the joints toward the coals while cooking indirect.