Chicken parts on the kettle. Your best tips & techniques?

[jjdbike]

Hello Brethren,

Still planning out the BBQ I'm hosting for the hood. I'm smoking a brisket the day before for a long hold. I will prolly do a turkey breast under neath the packer for variety. Perhaps a couple sausages too.

The next day, I'm going to grill some chicken parts. I want them to be flavorful, juicy and crisp. Going to use my Weber 22" (in retrospect I should have gone larger), my vortex and Kingsford blue brickets.

Tossing around the idea of thighs, boneless would be cleaner and easier for folks to eat, but I believe the consensus is bone is is tastier and stays more moist.

My wife wants breast meat. As much as I want to accommodate my bride, breasts are hard to not turn into dry, flavorless, chewy underwhelmingness. One the other hand, she likes over cooked dry meat!?!? I would only do one for her. I AM NOT serving that to my guests.

The options I'm considering is to wet brine, & or inject, & or simply dry brine and add some basic seasonings just before going on the grill, in order to maximize crispiness.

How do you like to do yours?
Thanks in advance,
JD

A couple details I am wondering about:
* Is it worth it to inject thighs?
* Will wet bringing w/ phosphates (i.e. commercial brine) turn the skin spongey?
* Can I wet brine and then allow skin to dry uncovered in fridge to create crisp skin, or does that negate the reason for the wet brine?
*If not using a commercial rub, other than pepper, what other seasons would you use? I'm considering granulated garlic & onion and paprika to add color. I've seen guys use celery seed to add texture to the bark, ever done that?

Looking forward to some great tips here.

Thanks in advance!
JD

 

[tom b]

Vortex is a mean tool, I like to dry brine uncovered it fridge overnight or longer. Flip if you want but I find it not necessary. Always turns out great. I never tried any of that other nonsense.

 

[bowhnter]

Agree, dry brine if ya want, run the vortex and be done!

 

[Smoking Piney]

Thighs on the Vortex is always a winner. I don't brine or inject: I just rub, and they come out awesome.

 

[JRDINCC]

I'll 3rd the vortex on kettle. Apply rub & cook.

 

[Callahan-que]

I've always just done them indirect on my 22" kettle.

 

[Hoss]

You can cook tender,flavorful chicken breasts.Use Split Chicken Breast.Cook indirect on a 400 degree grill until internal temp hits 160.I cook them for my grandson and he calls it “ White Juicy Chicken”. You do have to debone after grilling but that is no big deal.I would not do it for a big crowd but it may keep your wife happy if you tried a few.Good luck!

 

[SmokeOCD]

You can cook breast to a lower temp to keep it juicy (still safe).
I don't know which BBQ board I got this from (likely here in another thread), apologies for not being able to credit whoever I got this from.

https://tasteofartisan.com/smoked-chicken-breast/

 

[Shadowdog500]

I really like the vortex on my 22 and used it today for chicken thighs.

Bone in and skin on is the way to go.

We wet brine them for about an hour or two in a simple salt & sugar solution, then put some salt, pepper, and garlic powder on them before cooking.

We made them without bbq sauce today, but I do like to put Kraft original bbq sauce on grilled chicken because it reminds me of the sloppy burnt bbq chicken that I had as a kid.

 

[oldgfbbq]

Sounds fun, good luck! FWIW, I wet brine chicken parts, not whole, when grilling or smoking. Brined turkeys have only seen a smoker at my house.

 

[jjdbike]

Thanks everyone!
JD

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I wet brine the thighs using thirdeye's lite brine recipe and then cook them on the Egg. The Vortex does a great job from the pics I have seen

 

[jjdbike]

Thanks everyone.
I thought it would only be fair to post my post cook report.
I did an experiment to see which method we preferred.
I did one of each of the following:
Dry brine w/ my own basic rub.
Dry brine injected
Wet brine w/ TX sugar
Wet brine w/ Holy Gospel
Wet brine injected w/ Honey Hog

On the Weber over Kingsford Blue in the Vortex.
Came out juicy w/ crispy skin. All were too salty.
A fail in my opinion, but lesson learned.
JD

 

[oldgfbbq]

FWIW, my wet brine is 3/4 cup salt, 1 cup bbq rub (any will do), in 1 gal of water. wings soak 45 min, boneless skinless chicken breasts soak 30 min. it's a quick brine and a little more time soaking does yield salty results. boneless skinless thighs also work. it's not hard to dial it in with a few cooks.

 

[jjdbike]

FWIW, my wet brine is 3/4 cup salt, 1 cup bbq rub (any will do), in 1 gal of water. wings soak 45 min, boneless skinless chicken breasts soak 30 min. it's a quick brine and a little more time soaking does yield salty results. boneless skinless thighs also work. it's not hard to dial it in with a few cooks.

Thanks oldgfbbq,

I want to try it again but am gun shy. I thought I followed directions to a T. The saltiness was overwhelming and I like salt. I wonder if it was because I used "course Sea Salt", instead of "course Kosher salt"?

I have a question old, does the rub you use contain salt?

I wonder what the difference is, if any, between a wet and dry brine?

Thanks in advance!
JD
P.S. I'm going to start another thread about brining. It seems like a very basic and important technique but mine was a major fail.

 

[oldgfbbq]

There is a difference in salts and the grinds, thus introducing two variables.

There is also a difference between dry and wet brines, both with advantages and disadvantages. Trying different combinations will create a fund of brine knowledge that you can build and apply as experience increases. Try 3-4 wet brine cooks, then try 3-4 dry brine cooks and see what suits your style of cooking. Time spent with a single brine is valuable because it is a data point. You either like it or you don't, and you know why.

My brine offering was simply a data point. It's not a sophisticated rub but is useful as a starting point. The rub is 2 cups paprika, 1 cup table salt, 1 cup ground pepper corns, 4 tsp each of granulated garlic, granulated onion, and ground cumin. Nothing magic about it, just a starting point.

You can figure this out. If your gunshyness is due to meat prices, join the club, they always seem high, but now is particularly noteworthy. It takes time and meticulous notes. Figuring it out on your own will benefit you greatly. I like the way you divided up your various recipes on the last cook. You can gain just as much knowledge cooking 4-6 pieces as you would cooking 12. Just go cook!

 

[BobBrisket]

I simply season and toss on the grate. I use the 22 Weber as well. I bank the coals on the side opposite the bowl handle. I arrange pieces all the way up to/close to the coal side. I will second what Hoss said about using split breasts. I guarantee if you make these once for your wife, she will love them!!! I also run a slightly cracked lid. I put the lid vent over the meat side and place it so the lid is cracked open on the meat side by a little under half an inch open. I then open and rearrange pieces every so often. Best damn bird ever!

Bob

 

[jjdbike]

You can cook tender,flavorful chicken breasts.Use Split Chicken Breast.Cook indirect on a 400 degree grill until internal temp hits 160.I cook them for my grandson and he calls it “ White Juicy Chicken”. You do have to debone after grilling but that is no big deal.I would not do it for a big crowd but it may keep your wife happy if you tried a few.Good luck!

Sounds right up my wife's alley.
Gonna do this.
Thanks!

There is a difference in salts and the grinds, thus introducing two variables.

There is also a difference between dry and wet brines, both with advantages and disadvantages. Trying different combinations will create a fund of brine knowledge that you can build and apply as experience increases. Try 3-4 wet brine cooks, then try 3-4 dry brine cooks and see what suits your style of cooking. Time spent with a single brine is valuable because it is a data point. You either like it or you don't, and you know why.

My brine offering was simply a data point. It's not a sophisticated rub but is useful as a starting point. The rub is 2 cups paprika, 1 cup table salt, 1 cup ground pepper corns, 4 tsp each of granulated garlic, granulated onion, and ground cumin. Nothing magic about it, just a starting point.

You can figure this out. If your gunshyness is due to meat prices, join the club, they always seem high, but now is particularly noteworthy. It takes time and meticulous notes. Figuring it out on your own will benefit you greatly. I like the way you divided up your various recipes on the last cook. You can gain just as much knowledge cooking 4-6 pieces as you would cooking 12. Just go cook!

Thanks oldbbq! I appreciate your advice and perspective.
Best regards.

I simply season and toss on the grate. I use the 22 Weber as well. I bank the coals on the side opposite the bowl handle. I arrange pieces all the way up to/close to the coal side. I will second what Hoss said about using split breasts. I guarantee if you make these once for your wife, she will love them!!! I also run a slightly cracked lid. I put the lid vent over the meat side and place it so the lid is cracked open on the meat side by a little under half an inch open. I then open and rearrange pieces every so often. Best damn bird ever!

Bob

Thanks Bob,
Gonna take you and Hoss's advice as I know this will make my very particular happy, along w/ anyone else who doesn't like smoke.

Cheers!

JD