chicken quarters this weekend - questions

[ligrill]

I am looking to do some chicken quarters this weekend and have a few questions.

Should I smoke them at 275-300F and then reverse sear the skins when the are at temperature?  If so, how long do you sear them?

Should I sear then smoke?

Thanks!

[1buckie]

 I just put 'em on & run, like you say, 275 ~ 300, even 325~350 won't hurt.....no searing for me....the fat in chicken skin just seems to burn too easy, maybe someone has experience searing at the end..........just run them pretty hard up to approx. 170 & let rest for a short time.......







Hope this gives yiou a 'leg up'......

[Duke]

That's some serious smoke Buckie!

[1buckie]

......camp fire chicken.....that's what I've been told it's like on more than one occasion.....real good !!!!

[edhead35]

Dark meat I always cook slow, indirect then crisp the skin direct.

[1buckie]

Dark meat I always cook slow, indirect then crisp the skin direct.

 Actually, if I stop & think about it a little, Ed's probably more accurate on this.....I do run legs , quarters & thighs usually a bit lower, like 275....real low & it seems they're on too long & drain too much of the good juices...............breast pieces, I've found it's good to go quick & get on, get done before they lose much juice / moisture............

the wife goes all in, though.....thighs done @ 375~425, sauced a bit late in the game & they come out grate !!!!

[One Touch Platinum]

I do all chicken with reverse sear. I don't know how crisp the skin will get for you but the inside of the chicken will be perfect if you move it from indirect to direct at internal temp of 150 degrees and then pull it off at internal temp of 160 degrees.....let it rest a few minutes and it will hit the 165 internal temp. Doing reverse sear will let you get it on the table at or close to 165 internal...if you overshoot it by a few degrees it's no big deal as long as you are close. I don't worry about doing chicken low and slow at all, I have the kettle at about 350 degrees and go by internal temp of the chicken exclusively . I never saw the reason to low and slow chicken since unlike a pork butt or ribs it does not need to be cooked low for long periods to get tender and if you smoke the shit out of chicken the skin will get black or get rubbery . By the way.....you should put it on your to do list to cook a turkey on your grill for Thanksgiving.....it will be the best turkey you ever had!

[1buckie]

 OTPlatinum.....you do great stuff & have your methods figgered.....do you do whole chickens & if so, how so?

Might try your reverse sear on parts next time around....

[edhead35]

When doing the dark meat chicken, you can go over and "blow" it and it will still be juicy and tender within reason. The reverse sear, eliminates much of the flat that would cause burning and flare ups. My estimate it probably about 3 minutes on direct heat (high direct heat) to crisp the skin.

[One Touch Platinum]

 OTPlatinum.....you do great stuff & have your methods figgered.....do you do whole chickens & if so, how so?

Might try your reverse sear on parts next time around....

Yes I have done whole chickens but don't do them too often since around the house nobody really cares for anything but the breast meat. The last time I did a whole chicken I did it on the rotisserie.....it was good but the same problem....a bunch of wasted chicken. I do find it easier to cook chicken when it has been cut up, it gives you more options how to cook it......reverse or rotisserie or direct or indirect. We do eat a lot of chicken but for the most part it is usually boneless breasts or sometimes we have some kind of brined bone in breasts. We have two small Grandkids living with us so it is easier to do boneless since we have to cut it up pretty small anyway. The beer can method is a good way to get the chicken with a nice browned and crunchy skin but there are health concerns if you use a beer can. If it has a plastic liner in it like many do it can be bad for obvious reasons.....using a chicken seat or some other device that they sell for cooking chicken on the grill seems a better way to go. If I was going to do a whole bird again I would use my rotisserie since it does that kind of thing better than any other method I have tried. I did a bone in turkey breast last Thanksgiving on my other grill.....cooked it indirect the whole way and it was the best turkey any of us ever had.....the first time I had juicy turkey in my life! And before anyone asks, yes I have had it done in a fryer and the grill does it better. I really want to do one on the rotisserie since the chicken came out so great on it ...the turkey should be out of this world!

[edhead35]

Reverse sear thighs

[ligrill]

when you do the sear - do you put the skin side down?

[1buckie]

I've done sear last sometimes.....just not quite like OTP & Ed are describing......
That 1st pic up top was some thighs my buddy brought along.....he was supposed to show early with par-cooked ribs, or even raw ribs woulda been OK....shows late with a pack 'o thighs.....

I was real busy & kinda got torqued about it, so quick rinse, & dumped them on UPSIDE down to start, with a quick seasoning, on grate................

Flipped once 3/4 thru & then onto the skin over the coals for a short bit at the end......me bein' pissed off turns out real good chicken !!!!

So, skin down, then skin up, then skin over fire & crisp........not like the reverse sear masters, but it came out good......

The thing I'll do if it doesn't come out exactly perfect & get all eaten up, is make smoked chicken salad the next day.......real good !!!!

[One Touch Platinum]

Yes,I do both sides actually. When I do a reverse sear I will sear both sides of chicken or steak or whatever I am reversing and check each piece of meat with a instant read themometer until target temp( actually 5 degrees shy of final target temp)is reached. I don't do chicken with the skin on it too much but if you want to eat the skin you need to get some sear/char on it or otherwise just do indirect the whole way....you won't get the real benefit of the sear unless you get the skin chared . One of the main reasons I don't do bone in chicken much is that my Wife likes the skin to be crunchy....she has fried chicken skin in her mind as the basis of what she considers crunchy...so I can never get what she wants as far as that goes even thoug the results are good. One big advantage of reverse searing...and there are many....is that for crust or skin, depending on the type of meat ...if you sear first and then move to indirect that crunchy skin or crust(Steak for instance) can/will soften as it sits in the grill coming up to temp. It is better to get it in the ballpark of the finished temp and then get the sear you want at the end. To me ...it is like putting a piece of meat on the direct heat searing it until it looks perfect and then pulling it off but the meat is already cooked....for instance if you put a piece of chicken on direct heat until it looked perfect and then pulled it off the outside will be championship quality but the inside would be raw.....reverse sear lets you get that perfect sear but the meat will be cooked perfect EVERY time and it will be safe, which when it comes to poultry is way more important than taste or texture as far as I am concerned.

[edhead35]

when you do the sear - do you put the skin side down?

Yes. I do indirect fat side up for 30-60 minutes until nearly done, then I sear skin side down at the end. You can also sear the no skin side for extra caramelization. Totally up to you.

So many methods, so much delicious food.