Sizzle on the Grill » Low & Slow Chicken with smoke – on the grill. “Crisp the Skin” finish in The Big Easy.

Low & Slow Chicken
with smoke – on the grill.
“Crisp the Skin” finish in The Big Easy.

October 11th, 2009

Several regular contributors to the Users Forums are avid smokers, and have invested in specialty equipment to satisfy their appetite for precise control over the conditions by which they practice their art. I’m always impressed by the variety of meats they smoke in their advanced electronically controlled apparatus. From time-to-time they share ideas on smoking, and helpful tips as well, for those of us who smoke meat only occasionally in our less sophisticated backyard cookers.

One group of these “smoked meat enthusiasts” has become avid followers of The Big Easy oil-less infrared turkey fryer. They use it after a smoke of several hours to ‘finish’ turkeys, roasts, etc. with a crisp skin. The smoking process occurs in the temperature range from a low of about 180F degrees to a high of about 225F degrees – in general. (Of course there are wide variations on that depending upon the food to be smoked and the desired outcome.) For turkey and chickens a smoke at this temperature for several hours will infuse the meat with delicious and rich flavor of the wood smoke chosen, but the skin may not actually get crisp. I find this latter situation occurs most often when the turkey or chicken has been properly brined and therefor all parts of the chicken, including the skin, have a higher concentration of water. Crisp skin occurs at higher temperatures and The Big Easy is perfect for this because it can be used almost immediately and managed so that the skin gets crisped but the interior of the chicken remains moist and, in this case, full of smokey flavors!

I haven’t tried this method until today.

First I brined a whole 3 lb. chicken using Mr. Jig’s Pork & Poultry Brine for about 8 hours. I removed the chicken from the brine, rinsed and patted it dry.

The whole chicken was placed in a plastic food safe container with enough brine solution to completely cover it. This was stored in the cooler for about 8 hours.

The chicken was placed in a plastic food safe container with enough brine solution to completely cover it - and stored in the cooler for about 8 hours.

Then I applied a rub consisting of 1/2 cup of Brown Sugar, 2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika, 1/4 cup Kosher Salt and assorted other flavors from about equal parts in the range of 1 tsp: black pepper, coriander, cumin, dry chipotle, dry mustard, garlic, rosemary, and all spice.

I used a rub that was an experiment. You can use any rub you prefer - being mindful that rub on the surface of chicken will flavor the skin. It cooks in and provides a layer of flavor for

I used a home-made rub that was an experiment. You can use any rub you prefer - being mindful that rub on the surface of chicken will flavor the skin. It cooks in and provides a layer of flavor with each bite. I don't care for a crust of rub, just a flavor enhancement, so I apply rub fairly lightly - others choose to really layer it on. You're the chef - it's what you like!

I tied the legs, folded the wings under and placed the chicken on a preheated grill set for indirect heat – maintaining approximately 225F degrees. I set up a smoker box with my favorite dry wood chip mix of equal parts Cherry, Apple, Mesquite. And I let it roast for 2 hours, adding more dry wood chips several times – but not overly conscientious on that. (I don’t use moist wood chips because they steam before they smoke.)

The 3 burner grill was set for indirect heat with two burners off and 1 on. A smoker box with dry wood chips sat on the grates above the burner that was on.

After 2+ hours and the internal temperature of the breast and thigh measured at 150F degrees using my instant read digital thermometer – I transferred the chicken to an Easy Out Cooking Rack and placed that in the Cooking Basket, which I then placed in The Big Easy. I turned on the cooker and set the timer for 10 minutes.

After 2+ hours at a low & slow temperature of 225F degrees and some smoke - the bird had reached an internal temperature of 155F degrees.

After 2+ hours at a low & slow temperature of 225F degrees and some smoke - the bird had reached an internal temperature of 150F degrees.

After just 12 minutes, the skin was crisp on the outside of the bird. The internal temperature had climbed to just under 170F degrees (didn’t worry me because I had brined it so moisture loss was not going to be a problem) and I removed it by lifting up the Easy Out Cooking Rack using High Heat Gloves.

10 minutes in The Big Easy was all it took to crisp up the skin and raise the internal temperature to USDA recommended level.

12 minutes in The Big Easy was all it took to crisp up the skin and raise the internal temperature to USDA recommended level.

I let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes and carved it.

Crisp tasty skin on breast and leg - oops I ate some - with flavorful smokey meat that was moist, tender and fully cooked.

DEE-LISH-US!

The chicken was what I’d hope for; the meat was moist and had a subtle smokey flavor from the wood smoke, a sweet & savory crust from the rub and crisp skin. It was all gone in no time.

Regardless of the type of grill you have, you can use this same method. And while it’s nice to have a Big Easy to crisp up the skin – it’s not necessary, because you can do that on a hot grill or even in a hot oven or under a broiler. The results aren’t exactly the same – but do provide a satisfactory result.

If you own a Big Easy, be sure to check out the Users Forums for great tips, tricks and ideas for using this versatile cooker year-round for any number of preparations – oh, and especially for frying turkey without oil!

Happy Grilling!