BBQ Chicken

I finally got around to the brining experiment with some chicken thighs today.

(The picture on the right is a practice presentation and not an acutal competition turn-in box.)


I did some with a kosher salt, pickle spice, bay leaves, tender quick, honey brine and some more with a kosher salt, sugar, cloves, molasses, bay leaves, oregano, black pepper brine. I brined them both for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Both versions were decent, but I think the next time I do the honey brine I will let it soak in the brine about 15 - 20 minutes longer and see if that gives it a more intense flavor.

I rinsed the thighs thoroughly before cooking and cooked them in my WSM sans water in the water pan. I just put foil over the empty water pan (to catch the drippings) and cooked for 1 hour and 30 minutes (169-170 degree internal meat temperature). Next time I'm going to experiment with skin side down for the first 30 minutes of the cook to see what effect that has on the skin.

So far my experimentation with brines has not provided the skin texture I'm looking for, but I'm going to keep tweaking until I hit on the right combination.

I'll post updates from time to time.