I fired up the Backwoods Party this afternoon and cooked some chicken thighs. The Backwoods was preheated to 300 degrees with some Royal Oak lump charcoal before I put the chicken thighs on. I had high hopes that a higher heat threshold would help the skin crispen up a little more to yield the ever challenging "bite-through" texture that's the talk among many competition cooks lately.
I was able to attain 170 internal meat temperature in 1 hour's time, versus my normal 2 1/2 hours, and the skin was perhaps a little more crispy, but unfortunately it wasn't the "magical" bite-through skin I'd hoped for. Also, the chicken dried out a little more than normal and was not up to par with what I normally cook.
I guess now I'll tweak things a little bit and start off smoking low-and-slow and then finish at high heat for the last 15-20 minutes. Maybe that will get me a little closer.
BBQ Secrets
Keep your hi temp going, but spray the chicken with 50/50 butter/vinegar every 15 minutes or so.
ReplyDeleteI've always had good luck cooking the chicken alot faster. I brush on some oil during the cooking to crisp the skin and cook at 350.
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong, but I just don't think you get the deep flavor when you cook faster vs. low and slow. I'm trying to do around 250-260 to see if I like the skin better, but at 300, the smoke doesn't have time to affect the flavor the way I like.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we're doing horrible in chicken, so don't go by my opinion. :)