I know this is a bi-product of cooking low and slow on poultry. Has anyone every tried starting the bird (chicken or turkey) in a 500* oven for the first 30 mins or so then transferring it to the smoke? The start in the oven will crisp up the skin, but will that then block the smoke from getting to the meat?
Cory that is the general consensus that by crisping the skin it forms a barrier that doesn't allow the smoke to penetrate into the meat.
Try taking it to a hot grill after the smoke to crisp up the skin.
I'll try the grill next time, following the bradley with a 350* oven didn't really do anything.
How long was it in the oven?
I finished the last 30mins or so in the oven
I would think that would be good. Obviously it was not.
Try the 500F thing. Just keep an eye on it.
finishing on the grill does wonders.
did wings last weekend, and since i had spare time, i put them on a hot grill and let them go on each side, just a small amount of time, the results were spectacular.
Thanks Guys... I will try the grill.
If the bird is spatchcocked you can also run it under a broiler, but do keep an eye on it.
Once I tasted a chicken from the BE I don't cook them anywhere else anymore...
John
Just a NOOB here, but you might try putting on a light coat of canola (or EVOO) oil before applying the rub, and when the smoke is over finishing in the oven (I see you did that). The oil helps to crisp up the skin. See my bird in my "First Smoke" thread.
I agree with BJT on the BE. But I smoked mine first then into the BE and man was it good. But I still want my stuffing done in the bird though. At our thanksgiving my brother rotiserrie BBQ'd his turkey with stuffing inside. When I got there I said to him we need some smoke on this thing. (he has a bigi 6 rack also) but we didn't use that. We just made a foil pack with some broken up bisquettes and it added a lot of smoke flavour to the bird and surprisingly to the stuffing also. But I am wondering if we lived through stuffed turkey on the Bar-b, is this different than the heat in the Big Easy? I am almost tempted to do a stuffed one in the BE, but we have had this conversation before and the consensus was that it is to risky.