Cornstarch

[BigSmoker]

Had a fellow tell me the other day when doing chicken the way to ensure you get crsipy skin is the prick the skin sprinkle with cornstarch.  He was doing wings on his grill at about 250f and the skin turned out very crispy.  Don't know if this will work in the Bradley or not but thought I would pass it along cause I know there has been discussion of chicken skin being kinda rubbery[xx(][xx(][xx(].

Jeff



Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[Habanero Smoker]

There was a recent article in Cook's Illustrated that covered this. It's been at least a month since I read the article, so I am drawing from memory.

They tested sprinkling about two tablespoons of cornstarch on each chicken. I believe their conclusion was that the cornstarch helps absorb the rendering fat from the skin of the chicken, therefore the fat is in contact with the skin longer. It's the fat that helps crisp the skin.

When I get back to smoking I was going to experiment with using constarch on chicken and turkeys to see if there would be any improvement in skin texture either during smoking or placing them in the oven after smoking.

Edited:
The article appeared in the Dec./Jan. issue of Cook's Country; and they recommended 2 teaspoons (not tablespoons) of cornstarch per chicken.

[Bassman]

Now this is intresting, I have always had a problem with rubbery skin (on the chicken & turkey breasts). I'll have to try this cornstarch method next time I do a bird. Thanks guys for sharing.[:)]

<i><font color="blue"><b>Jack</i></font id="blue"></b>

[Habanero Smoker]

Jack,
I forgot to mention that Cook's Illustrated put the cornstarch on last; after applying any rub; seasoning and/or oils. I don't recall them piercing to skin, I'm going to have to reread the article. Let us know how it works out.

I won't be able to smoke for several more weeks. What I was going to do was to smoke two chickens using a different method for each. I was going to apply cornstarch to one chicken prior to smoking, and apply the cornstarch to the second chicken after smoking. Then I was going to place both in the oven to attempt to crisp the skin, to see if on method worked better than the other.

[JJC]

I'm definitely interested to see how your experiments with cornstarch turn out, guys!

John
Newton MA

[Habanero Smoker]

Well! I found the article on cornstarch. I first need to state that I have to stop trying to recall information from my failing memory[:I].

The article appeared in the December/January Cook's Country issue; Cook's Illustrated sister publication. They recommended sprinkling 2 teaspoons of cornstarch per chicken. Before applying the cornstarch, use a skewer or other pointed object to poke holes in the skin. The fat escapes through the skin and mixes with the cornstarch to create a very crisp skin.