Chicken Skin

Ok Guy's, I've done a few chickens on the frontier now, with good results, but what advice have you got to get a crispy edible skin. Mine normally come out a bit rubbery.

I usually do them 'on a throne'- 'beer butt' style, & I'm happy with this technique, but I'd like to get crispy skin next time.

What do you recommend?

There are thegreat questions of Man
What is the meaning to life?
Why is the Sky blue?
Will the Cubs ever win a Series?
How do I get crisy chicken skin?

I dont do Beer Butt Chix so that may limit me
What temp are you taking the smoker to?

ThomEmery wrote:Will the Cubs ever win a Series?

That hurts me bad Thom

As far as the chicken though, when I do beer can chicken I usually cook them at temps above 325-350* and most think that helps the skin get crispy.

Brother I know your pain

Hey Novice,


I use my frontier for beer butts and can get a pretty nice, crispy skin. One trick is not to use a water pan, you want the higher temps. Another is what you baste your birds with. I use EVOO, butter and a local german seasoning. I place them in a small aluminum pan and that works great. You can also use only one stacker. I hope this helps.

I normally try to run it at 225f, but it varies between 200f to 250f, your saying to run it higher, For the whole cook or just at the end, & how long do you cook it for if you are running it higher?

That isnt hot enough
Has anyone perfected added just enough water so you can get a temp spike at the end of the cook?
We were doing this with the Spicewine cookers

I simply do my chickens on the Weber.

If using the 20 I would suggest smoking it as normal then remove the stacker's near the end of the cook so you are only grilling over the coals.

Beer but chicken I find works much better on the Weber or the grill section of the 20 because with the higher temps you can get the beer hotter inside the chicken thus steaming the inside and grilling the skin. You don't IMO need a water pan when doing these, it's like doubling the moisture for the bird making it tougher if not impossible to get the skin nice.

The flower pot bottom in the water pan would be a good experiment

Novice wrote:I normally try to run it at 225f, but it varies between 200f to 250f, your saying to run it higher, For the whole cook or just at the end, & how long do you cook it for if you are running it higher?

I run it without the water pan for chicks, trying to keep it below 375, meaning regulating the bottom vent. It works very well and had some really good results. Using the water pan for crispy chicken skin defeats the purpose. High heat makes great chicken skin Try it for one cook and see what I mean. I cook it until the juices from the chicken run clear. I also use a little chunk of smoke wood for taste. Plain beer butt chicken, or smoked beer butt chicken...smoked wins hands down. I had friends bring beer butt chicken cooked on a gas grill, no comparison my friend

Many thanks for the advice guys, I often cook two at a time, one on a can & one on a wire stand (still 'on a throne' style). I thought the beer was used for ballast more than taste?- to give it some weight, to stop it all falling over? I will definitely give it a go at a higher temp without the water pan in though, does it still come out moist?

Novice wrote:Many thanks for the advice guys, I often cook two at a time, one on a can & one on a wire stand (still 'on a throne' style). I thought the beer was used for ballast more than taste?- to give it some weight, to stop it all falling over? I will definitely give it a go at a higher temp without the water pan in though, does it still come out moist?

When the beer/herbs added to the can start to steam, it helps to cook from the inside out. You will cut the chicken (after a 15 minute rest or so) and the juices will pour out. The insides and the outside will be perfect for any tastes

I couldn't agree more.

Hey Dr.KY...nothing like starting my day off overhere with some juicy chicken! Thanks for the pics!

Would a foil covered but no water in the pan
plan be a good idea for a new cook?

Chicken Grease can take off on ya
Yes you can replace the lid and cut the air off
But why take a chance?

We cook Chicken on a Big Drum Smoker in competition
With two guys and getting the lid back quickly on we
have a neat high temp product

yep those Beer Butts are dandy
I dont see them win
But for Home Cookin you bet

ThomEmery wrote:

yep those Beer Butts are dandy
I dont see them win
But for Home Cookin you bet

I won the British BBQ Championships with a first place beer can chicken. The thing that I feel most impressed was that I turned in pulled chicken with a sliced breast in the box. As you know too many people thing breast meat = dry or under cooked. My chicken was done about five min before turn in so the skin was perfect and the juices were still running.

Ya I got lucky just ask Ian what my reply was when they asked me the secret to perfect chicken. lolol

The closest I come to foiling chix, in contest, is after the initial high temp session on an indirect grill. I place them in an aluminum half-pan with some sauce and juice, then cover the top of the pan with foil to allow the thighs to steam a bit. Doesn't give me crisp skin, but does help tremendously with a good 'bite-thru' skin.

ThomEmery wrote:Would a foil covered but no water in the pan
plan be a good idea for a new cook?

Chicken Grease can take off on ya
Yes you can replace the lid and cut the air off
But why take a chance?

I use a disposable aluminum pan, no grease to fall in the coals. No flare-ups and still get that nice smoke and heat.

Yea Jim that bite through is the ticket

Dr_KY wrote:

ThomEmery wrote:

yep those Beer Butts are dandy
I dont see them win
But for Home Cookin you bet

I won the British BBQ Championships with a first place beer can chicken. The thing that I feel most impressed was that I turned in pulled chicken with a sliced breast in the box. As you know too many people thing breast meat = dry or under cooked. My chicken was done about five min before turn in so the skin was perfect and the juices were still running.

Ya I got lucky just ask Ian what my reply was when they asked me the secret to perfect chicken. lolol

I Cook KCBS six pieces of chicken contests mostly
IBCA is a half chicken turn in but I am usually the
organizer of those so dont cook em much

Those juices can get ya DQed if your not careful
so the risk is there

I have done em at home Just Great the way they turned out
I may try them in Catering on those dinner with just 4 or 5 whole chickens

Those juices can get ya DQed if your not careful
so the risk is there

Ouch! Please tell us more.

The IBCA (Texas Style) does not allow pooling on the foiled floor of the box (No greens)
you can get DQed for it So a beer butt is something to be very careful with

KCBS is 6 pieces of Chix and if you dont do thighs your going to be the odd box

Yeah, even KCBS you have to be careful of pooling 'sauce' in the bottom of your box. Though with most folks using garnish in the box, it's not as difficult to keep it from looking pooled. Though in KCBS it has to be pretty extreme for an entry to get DQ'd. Like most teams on the circuit...we do thighs too. That said, a friend of mine won the chicken category (at a KCBS contest) a few weeks ago using legs! Surprised the heck out of me!

I did a chicken yesterday (on a wire stand 'throne' style, in an aluminum throw away tray), no water pan, running at 300-375f. I took it off when it reached 179f in the breast & it was great. Crispy tasty skin, I thought it would have dried out but it was good, I'd rubbed sun-dried tomato pesto under the skin, & coated the outside with evoo mixed with ice tea rub. I used some soaked apple & cherry wood chips.

It took just as long as running at 225f though (about 3.5 hrs)

Thanks for the advice gents, no pics this time, but my better half liked it, so i'll do it again soon & post some then.

You the Cook
You the Man