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Chicken Thighs (1st cook)

Low and slow chicken is no doubt where you want to start if this is your first attempt at BBQ. Chicken is not only cheap to buy, it is also very forgiving with time and temperature fluctuations.  Best of all, chicken thighs can get just as many oohs and aahs as a slab of more expensive baby back ribs or a brisket. 

We will first concentrate on one cut of chicken: thighs.  These tasty morsels of meat are packed with flavor and the skin makes them stay juicy and tender. Whether you are a fan of skin on chicken or not, fat is flavor.  

Buying Thighs 

No matter what part of the country you live in, you are bound to have one of the following stores: Sams, Costco, BJs, Jethro, or Smart and Final within driving distance. These stores will definitely offer the most bang for your buck.  We can buy a huge package of chicken thighs (20 to 24 thighs) for under 10 bucks that will feed 8 to 12 people.  You can't beat it.  

KNOW YOUR CHICKEN

Preparing and Rubbing Thighs 

Little preparation is needed to get patio pitmaster quality chicken thighs ready for the BBQ. Start by trimming the leading edge of fat from the thigh with a sharp boning knife. If you don't have one (and you do need one) we recommend (and use) this great quality and inexpensive Boning knife. 

After you have trimmed and rolled your thighs (see video), lightly dust each thigh with Tang (yes, Tang) powdered drink mix and rub the thighs with our Patio Pitmasters Rub applying a liberal amount to each thigh. Pay close attention to get under the skin on each thigh.  Place the thigh on a cookie sheet or glass tray and allow them to "sweat" (the rub penetrates and seasons the meat) in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Let them sweat overnight if possible.

Hover over the picture below to watch us do it all here:

BBQing Thighs 

Prepare your BBQ smoker for low and slow cooking using the Minion Method. This is a relatively fast cook, so a 1/2 full ring of charcoal (if using a Weber Smokey Mountain), with a chimney starter full of charcoal, is more than enough. Add 1 fist-size chunk of Apple wood and one fist-size chunk of Hickory wood. Adding more wood on this short cook is a waste of good smoke.

Place all of the thighs on your clean grate and do not touch for the entire cook.  No poking, turning, or flipping needed.  Let the smoke do the work.  Cooking time will be 50 to 90 minutes depending on temperature (225-275).  No matter how tempted you are, do not lift the lid on the BBQ for the first 40 minutes for any reason! Each peek will add 10 minutes to your cooking time and screw up your thighs. This is the hardest habit to break.

The thighs are done when you puncture the chicken and the juice runs clear, and the internal temperature is 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. During the last 10 cooking minutes, lightly sauce each thigh with our Patio Pitmasters Sauce (diluted1:1 with water to make a light glaze) and allow the sauce to get sticky on thighs.

Serving Thighs 

The best part.  Invite the friends and family over to enjoy your first Patio Pitmasters inspired cookout. These thighs go great with these proven Patio Pitmasters side dishes.

 

Chicken Halves (2nd Cook)

Chicken halves are always a crowd pleaser because there is truly something for everyone.  The chicken snobs (they just don't know any better) will no doubt want to have the breast of the chicken.  We say fine, have at it. The legs and thighs are absolutely delicious cooked low and slow. 

Buying Whole Chickens 

Look for whole chickens to go on sale.  They frequently do and if you can pick up a whole chicken for under $1 per pound, you are getting a deal. If you can't wait for a deal, one of the big box stores will also have whole chickens in 2 packs for good buys 

Preparing Chicken Halves 

Cooking a whole chicken low and slow will require you to butterfly or spatchock the chicken. You will need a good  Boning knife and a pair of kitchen shears. These kitchen shears are great because you can take them apart completely for cleaning (we love this feature).  Learn how to butterfly your whole chicken in this quick video. 

Cut your whole chicken in half after you watch the last step in this video: 

Rubbing Chicken Halves 

Rubbing Chicken Halves
Lightly dust each thigh with Tang powdered drink mix and apply our Patio Pitmasters Rub. Allow your halves to "sweat" in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight if possible. Be sure to apply rub underneath all the skin of both chicken halves. 

BBQing and Saucing Chicken Halves 

Prepare your BBQ for low and slow cooking using the Minion Method. This is another relatively fast cook, so a half ring of charcoal, with a chimney starter  full of charcoal, is more than enough.  Add 1 fist-size chunk of Apple wood and 1 fist-size chunk of Hickory wood. Any more is a waste of good wood. And wasting good wood is never recommended!

Place the chicken halves on a cleaned grate breast sides out, and skin side up. Cooking time will be 60 to 120 minutes.  Do not lift the lid on the BBQ  for the first 60 minutes for any reason!  The thighs are done when you puncture the chicken and the juice runs clear or the internal tempature is 160 on an instant read thermometer. Start checking the chicken every 15 minutes after the 60 minute mark for doneness.

Just like the thighs, during the last 10 cooking minutes, lightly sauce each halve with our Patio Pitmasters Sauce (diluted 1 to 1 with water) and allow the sauce to glaze the halves. 

Serving Chicken Halves 

Invite the friends and family over again to enjoy your second Patio Pitmasters inspired cookout. These havles go great with these proven Patio Pitmasters side recipes. 

Serving Chicken Halves
Invite the friends and family over again to enjoy your second Patio Pitmasters inspired cookout. These havles go great with these proven Patio Pitmasters side recipes.

Fellow Chicken Heads

Did you make some great Patio Pitmaster-inspired chicken? Send us some pictures and we will put your pictures in the Patio Pitmasters Hall of Fame. Your picture submission will enter you into our monthly drawing for a World Famous Patio Pitmasters T-shirt.  You know you want one.  Send us those pictures! 

Best. Chicken.
​Cutting Knife.
Ever.

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