Smoker is rolling

Dog in background made me laugh out loud.

Dog is saying " why are there no bones on that damn rib"

Looking good. About to smoke a tri tip myself

Nice setup btw

Had some meat rolling today!
2 butts and 2 briskets... can't see the briskets. Checked out adam Carroll at the red dragon last night, when we got back I dropped the meat on at midnight. Let rest for an hour and was on point.

Checking in for the update. Where's the money shot?

Is that a Ridgeback? Love those dogs

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smoked some pork chops yesterday,

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Looks good I want to try that. How long did it take?

Hey Fellas, got a question I need some input on. I smoked a chicken this last Sunday, and while the meat was solid, the skin was really rubbery to the point it was inedible. I haven't had that issue before, and think I might have a few guesses as to what caused it, but curious if others have experienced this before. A couple specifics on the smoke to help inform any responses.

- I brined it longer than I usually do...it was in there for almost two days (thought I might smoke it for football on saturday, but didn't until Sunday)

- I ran it at about 260 for most of the smoke, but cranked it up to about 325 for the last hour to get it to temp and hopefully crisp the skin

- Total smoke was almost 5 hours, but I pulled it off at 158 because it had taken longer than I expected and we were hungry

- When I smoked a brisket this last time, I left the vent open (I have a gas masterbuilt vertical smoker) because I read that the airflow will help the bark. I left that vent open for the smoking of the chicken

Here's a pic. As you can see the meat is nice and juicy, but the skin is darker than I've seen in chickens I've done before. So I'm really thinking that either the vents being open, the length of the smoke, or the length of the brine might be the culprit. Or I just got a shitty chicken.

Thoughts?

(the line across the breast is from twine I used to tie the wings in tight so they didn't overcook)

Dang. I hadn't even considered that. I will need to do some research to see if that might be it.

ETA a couple things I found.

You can go low and slow, but the skin will absorb LOTS of smoke and usually get rather rubbery. I usually smoke my chicken's much higher as @Sean Hart suggests and have great luck there. Low and slow works best with cuts of meat that are particularly fatty - the meat in chicken isn't especially and doesn't really gain that much from it. If you go low and slow, you need to add moisture and/or fat to help the meat out. Additionally, since the skin absorbs smoke very easily it, depending on your wood, may become bitter with smoke.

And another:

Cooking at really low temperatures can result in a rubbery skin. Chicken is one meat where I've never seen the need to go low/slow. Brine the bird if you're worried about drying it out or if you want to get some extra flavor into the meat, but it's not necessary. In any event, make sure you get the skin dry before cooking. Overnight in the fridge should do the trick. I like to rub the skin with vegetable oil and BBQ rub (or sometimes just salt & pepper) and cook it at around 300-350f on the smoker. Not only does it cook faster, it also doesn't take on an overwhelming amount of smoke.
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So I was kind of guilty on both of those fronts. I probably hit it with too much smoke and I didn't dry the skin out before throwing it on. It was out of the brine, rub, and into the smoker. Others are saying that tossing it on the grill or in the oven at higher heat will help mitigate rubbery skin.

quote:

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Hey Fellas, got a question I need some input on. I smoked a chicken this last Sunday, and while the meat was solid, the skin was really rubbery to the point it was inedible.

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Kinda new to smoking and still learning a lot, but I have heard others with this same question. The advice given to them is this:

1. Start out with the chicken skin as dry as you can. I assume that means pat it dry with a cloth/paper towel and use a dry rub.

2. Start out with a higher heat. I think I read recs of about 325-350 for the first hour maybe more.

3. Dial the heat back down for the remainder.