jmagaram Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 I'm heating up my KK right now and plan to cook 2 spatchcock chickens. I made a chicken using indirect heat a few days ago and it was tasty but the skin wasn't that crispy. My recipe from Cooks Illustrated calls for direct heat and that is what I want to try. I'm heating it up to around 400 (guessing here what "medium hot" means). I plan to put the chicken on skin side up on the MAIN grate for about 15 minutes and then skin side down to finish it off. I assume I should keep the lid closed the whole time and am worried about flare ups. A few questions... Do flare ups happen on this grill, or is the main grate high enough over the coals that it doesn't happen? Should I put it on the top grate instead? I have a basket splitter. Should I be using that? I can imagine cooking it indirect at the beginning over the indirect side and toward the end, after a bunch of the fat has rendered, move it over to the direct side where presumably there will be less fat to cause flare ups. Not sure I can fit 2 chickens over the indirect side. Sent from my 2081CTO using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 You won't have flare ups on this grill, until you open the lid, and even then it probably won't happen. The basket splitter is your choice, it's just whether you care to use it. 400° sounds good for cooking chickens, it sounds like you have a good plan. <br /> <br /> <br /> Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmagaram Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Live blow by blow coverage here. I put the chickens on. Grate temp is 345 according to my Thermoworks. The TelTru says only 260. Something must be wrong because there is such a huge difference. When I open it up I'll check to see where the probe is. Maybe it is touching metal or the edge. All my past cooks the temp has gotten higher than I wanted so I'm taking precautions today, like letting it come up to temp for 1 hour and keeping vents pretty closed down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 I agree, thats too much difference. I'm curious as to whats causing it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmagaram Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Not sure. I moved the thermoworks probe and now they are nearly identical. I don't have it firmly secured. I didn't buy one with an alligator clip since I didn't think it would fit through the hole in the side of the grill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 I started cooking chickens on the KK per the late Judy Rogers' method. Unbeatable in my book and I heartedly recommend trying it at least once...but if you're a fan of crisp skin and moist, succulent and flavorful yardbird you'll do it this way more than once Use the 1/2 charcoal basket and orient the basket so that the coals are at the back, or parallel to the rotisserie, of the KK...no flare ups. Sorry this ended up inadvertently under "Beef". http://komodokamado.com/forum/topic/4739-youll-just-have-to-take-my-word-for-it-d/?p=44681 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 When I cook spatch-cock chicken I always use the drip pan lined with foil. Dome temp between 350-400 cook skin up for 100% of the cook. cook for about 2hrs or so. skin is always crispy - note: do not cover the chicken when you take it off, this will cause the skin to get soft. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 When I cook spatch-cock chicken I always use the drip pan lined with foil. Dome temp between 350-400 cook skin up for 100% of the cook. cook for about 2hrs or so. skin is always crispy - note: do not cover the chicken when you take it off, this will cause the skin to get soft. Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmagaram Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Thanks for all the suggestions. Still learning to control the temp and undershot this time. Cooked at around 310. Skin not crispy. Threw the pieces on later at high temp to crisp them up slightly. Did not get any flare-ups. I'm wondering why I didn't get those flare-ups. Did I get lucky? Is the fire too far below? Or maybe with not much air coming into the grill unlike some gas grills the fire couldn't get raging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Like you surmised, not enough air to cause a big flare-up. You weren't "lucky," except for the fact that you own the best engineered ceramic grill on the market! I prefer to do my chickens indirect (drip pan on lower grill) on the upper grill skin side up, so that they get the radiant heat off the dome better**. Will give you that crispy skin that you're looking for. Also, your temp was a bit low for crispy skin; need to be in the 375 - 425F range. Lastly, don't be afraid to cook them a bit longer than you're used to, as the KK will retain the moisture, so you don't end up with dried out chicken, but the extra time will allow for the skin to crisp up. If you want to do the main grill, direct, my advice is to do the majority of the initial cook (30-45 mins) skin side up, so you don't burn it. Finish off skin side down for the last 20-30 minutes to crisp it up. YMMV If you do get major flare ups, think about your source for poultry - free-range birds don't have as much fat as the confinement raised commercial chickens. With the KK, you don't need extra fatty birds to stay juicy like with metal grills (gas or charcoal). But, if you're worried about juiciness, you can always brine or inject! ** I like this configuration rather than the drip pan directly underneath on the main grill, as it allows for better airflow around the birds from the extra space between the drip pan (heat deflector) and the grilling surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMedik Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 I do my spatchcock chicken at 375 degrees. I do about 30 minutes rib side down, then flip it over on skin and cook another 40 minutes or so skin down. This is usually the right amount of doneness on the skin. If the skin gets too dark, i can always flip back over on the bone side down. I love this chicken this way. Direct heat, no deflector stone. No flare ups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I don't get flare ups. It took me several reads to confirm that no one on this thread is reporting actual flare ups. Are people using drip pans as a precautionary measure, or do they find it necessary and prefer the effect on the bird? I cook direct, no drip pan. I sometimes spatchcock, but more often spatchcock then separate the legs, for a chance to cook the legs longer than the breast. This depends on the proportions of the bird. What temperature? Ah, there's the rub. We all have an astonishing reliance on a single number to describe the state of our cooker. This reasoning is appropriate while driving: How fast am I going? How much gas is left? This reasoning is less appropriate while cooking. The current temperature of the air inside a KK is only a partial description of the KK's state. The temperature history over the past several hours, together with a sense of how the fire is doing, is a more complete description of the KK's state. Food cooks in the KK through a combination of the effects of hot air, and the effects of radiant heat. The "why" in why food tastes better from the KK than an indoor oven is largely the radiant heat effect. The "why" in why a KK is worth several times its competitors is largely how well it enables cooking with radiant heat. Cooking indirect, if one ignores the radiant heat effect and starts as soon as the air reaches the desired temperature, one might as well be roasting in an indoor oven. Cooking direct, the radiant heat at this point is mostly from the fire below, and one might as well be broiling in an indoor oven, while hanging upside down. On the other hand, if one starts a fire as early as possible, and cooks on the trailing edge of a viable fire, one is cooking mostly with radiant heat, coming more evenly from all directions. The air temperature will make no sense; it will mock our desire to believe in a single number. But watch how the food cooks. I'm used to cooking both bread and chicken at air temperatures of 450 F to 500 F. Lately we've moved to holding the air temperature at 400 F for several hours, till the fire is waning, then baking the bread. Last weekend, I then removed the bread hardware (a stack of baking stones, cast iron skillet filled with SS chains for initial steam) and baked our chicken. 400 F under these conditions behaved nearly like 475 F with a younger fire, only better. The bread had a thicker crust without burning, and the chicken had a crispy skin while cooked perfectly through, with no need to turn the pieces to avoid burning. So why do we believe in air temperatures? Certainly, hardware such as a BBQ Guru depends solely on air temperature. And I used my KK thermometer, holding it steady at 400 F for hours, to achieve the effect I'm describing. But that's with a mental model of the interaction of air temperature and time. I'm told that when one plays a pipe organ in a church, the sound comes out at various delays, many seconds later. One adapts, but one can't simply walk up and play as if it is an electric piano. Same with a KK? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 "On the other hand, if one starts a fire as early as possible, and cooks on the trailing edge of a viable fire, one is cooking mostly with radiant heat, coming more evenly from all directions. The air temperature will make no sense; it will mock our desire to believe in a single number. But watch how the food cooks.: I think this is key......I like the "drip pan" to make my heat a little more uniform and omnidirectional a little sooner....but I may be fooling myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMedik Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 So, what you are saying is, "don't light the fire and as soon as you can start cooking". Consider lighting the fire 2 to 3 hours before you want to start cooking, radiant heat will be set, and the food cooks better and moister. I like this theory... can't say i have really done this. I usually give my self at least 30 minutes, often 45 minutes. For low and slow at 250, i give myself an hour to get heat.....but often i will feel rushed, heat is not ready, and cook away when it is not "radiant" ready. I will attempt to start a fire 2 to 3 hours ahead of time....let it take its time, cook when i want. For newer KK enthusiasts, as long as you start with a full basket of coals, you will NOT run out of coals. Interesting thoughts, per usual for Mr Syzygies !!!! MadMedik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aconserva Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Instead of an alligator clip probe you may want to pick up a Probe Tree from BBQGuru. I have one and it makes dealing with the probe easier. http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/BBQ%20Guru%20Probe%20Tree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 I use a simpler solution to the "tree" - stick a toothpick into a wine cork (use a real cork not a plastic one!) Trim the cork to fit between the grill rods. Clip the probe to the toothpick and viola! I made several and keep them in the box with the Guru. Easy, peasy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
