I really enjoy smokin Leg Quarters and prefer really crispy almost potato chip crispy skin. Any technique advise on accomplishing this on my 640 which SHIPPED today i might add?
Proud owner of a YS640
The key to great crispy chicken is cooking at a higher temp. Typically, you smoke ribs, brisket, pork anywhere from 225-270. You really can't do that with chicken unless you don't care about the skin. To get the crispy skin you want, you will find best results just running at a minimum of 280 up to 325. On a Yoder pellet grill you'll find this as the sweet spot for golden crispy.
Now, there are some "things" you can do to cook low and slow and then finish on a high heat grill. However, I've never found a great "presentation" after doing that. It seems like once the skin gets rubbery, then there's not a great way to make it crispy AND look good
My recommendation for crispy skin, great presentation, and smokey flavor?? Heat your pellet to 280'ish. While that is ramping up, get an Amaz'n tube fired up and burning for about 10 minutes. Once you hit 10 minutes, blow out the flame and put it on the lower grate to the close side of the hopper. When your temps level out, load the grill up with your chicken and let it go until you hit your safe temp. Somewhere in there I will baste with butter or butter spray to keep the outside cooking. If things look like they are getting too dark too quickly, I'll cover with foil until my internal temp is reached.
This is how I do my whole chickens, legs, and thighs. If I'm doing just breasts, then I back off my heat because the white meat can dry out so quickly.
All good advise, except the smoke tube. Puts too much of an acrid creosote taste on things for our taste. To each their own, it's America!
I normally do chicken at 325 degrees. After you do a few, you will find your way to the process and temp that you enjoy.
Herb should i cook leg quarters on top shelf or bottom?..,and damper placement? The only thing i will use the amazen tube for is cheese smokin
Proud owner of a YS640
My damper is at 5" from being fully pulled to the right, and stays there 100% of the time.
Top shelf is going to be 15 to 25 degrees cooler than the bottom shelf, depending on the set temperature that you are running.
Hi guys. I'm also looking for crispy skin on chicken. I just did two 3.5lbs spatchcocked fryers for the first time in my "relatively" new YS640. Birds were cooked at 325F on the bottom shelf with Apple flavored BBQrs Delight and a Maverick ET733 monitoring temps. To my surprise, the bird cooked really fast. It took about 1hour, 15 minutes to get the breasts to 175F. I took them off and tented for 15 minutes, and the birds were moist as can be----no complaints on that point. But, the skin wasn't crispy at all, so we basically didn't eat it. I'm guessing it just didn't have enough time on the smoker to get crispy. Also, I really didn't taste too much of the smoke other than on the wings (which were "crispy"). My feeling is if I can get the skin crispy such that we actually eat it, I'll get more smokey flavor that I'm looking for. Going forward, I will either skip the spachcocking for small birds other than a turkey (giving me more time on the smoker to crisp up the skin), or I'll put the spatchcocked bird under the broiler to crisp up the skin once it hits temp. Any other ideas?
Also, do you guys put your rub directly on the skin, or do you rub under the skin and directly on the meat, or both? I put the rub on the skin expecting to eat it. Obviously, that was a problem since we didn't eat this skin and lost most of the rub flavor. Again, if I fix the crispy skin issue I probably will address the rub issue. But any thoughts you have on applying a rub are welcome.
I usually do mine at #350. I do turn every 15 minutes so that may help my skin get a little crispier but gotta admit it still does not get extra crispy. I also oil before seasoning. I too am in the camp of no tube smoker. Like Herb said acrid and smokey are not flavors I like on chicken so when cooking higher I expect to have less of both.
Some interesting techniques here. I do this a bit differently and get a fairly crisp skin. Cooking at 350 is pretty hot, and the bird will often get done before a good amount of smoke has infused past the skin and into the meat. I like to brine my birds overnight and then do about a 2 to 3 hour cook at 285deg. Once that breast hits about 170 I'll pull it.
It seems like a no brainer, but do NOT under any circumstances mist/spray/mop that bird! Don't foil or cover or wrap or whatever. I say this because I'm an idiot and loved to mist that thing with apple juice every 20min. Once I stopped that I started getting fantastic skin. The secret for me is that overnight brine - though injecting would work just as well if not better. You'll not have to worry about a longer cook drying out the meat.
Yep...sounds like we're all right!
I agree on the no misting but sounds like Patrick is closer in thought to my overall cooking. Seeing as though I too like the skin somewhat crispy and the flavor of the chicken to not be overpowered with smokiness I like mine cooked hotter ( tastes more like bbq'd). Never had a problem with drying out or tenderness.
Once again to each his own but I too like to try others ideas...
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