Go to the Recipe: These Grilled Chicken Legs are Pure Magic
Two Questions:
1) Since I have grillgrates and pellets, could I skip the liquid smoke and finish with "close smoking" to get the same flavor?
2) Could I add white miso to the molasses to balance and salt? How much would be a good start?
Thanks!
@Benjamin Gosseen
1. If you want to.
2. Of course you can. That depends on your own preference.
Will bone in thighs cook at the same rate as legs?
Would you be able to freeze the chicken after cooking, or is refrigerating the only option? I only eat for one and i feel like these legs might feed me for a while.
These chicken legs are good. But pure magic? No. I made them as specified, and they were somewhat bland.
How much salt did you add, by weight?
You can freeze them. I'd personally freeze them before grilling them, but that's just me.
@Jonathan Mandel How much salt did you add, by weight
@Nick Rolland yes
These turned out well -- meat cooked perfectly with mahogany skin. But the skin was pretty rubbery even after a night in the fridge. Any tips on how to get crispy, hugging to the flesh skin? I'd like to reduce the subcutaneous fat.
@Matty did You finish it off in the grill as recommended?
Yes. They had good marks and color but not crispy.
My Joule just arrived, and I plan on this being my first use recipe. For the "secret sauce" I was thinking of using a smoked balsamic vinegar instead of liquid smoke, making a molasses (or honey) smoked balsamic vinaigrette. My question is: Will the prolonged exposure to vinegar be bad for flavor and/or texture?
I had the same experience with my first batch. The second time around I used indirect heat on my charcoal grill and left them on for about 4-5 minutes per side. The skin was truly crispy and had turned a great mahogany color. Surprisingly, the overall flavor was much improved as well.
I agree. They taste good but not like "Wow, I have to make this again!". Overall, this is a mediocre sous vide recipe from chefsteps.
Yeah, I had the same experience with kinda limpid skin. I did think that just sous-viding boneless skinless thighs to more of a confit texture with this recipe and then chopping up would make for a good salad tho.
Hi
I made these according to the instructions. Unfortunately they came out very dry. They looked like yours when they came off the grill, but wow, dry and certainly not falling off the bone. Any ideas on what I could have done wrong?
Meathead Goldwyn over at amazing ribs points out that smoke sticks to cold meat much more effectively than hot meat. You may not get a lot of smoke flavor smoking for a short period of time at the end...
I think the term to focus on here is "Once your grill is rippin’ hot!".... You will need that high temp to crisp the skin
Tried this one and could not taste much smoke flavoring. Disappointing.
Made this recipe tonight with thighs and was really happy with the results. Despite what many have said it was very moist and the skin was very crispy after only a few minutes on the grill. After sous vide (70C for 3 hours) I took them out of the bag and left them in the fridge for a few hours uncovered which really dried them out. On the grill put them skin side up covered on indirect for a few minutes to dry the skin even more before finishing over the coals. I will definitely make this recipe again.
Can anyone comment on what the average weight of 4 chicken legs would be? I’m planning on making this, but only have thighs rather than entire legs. I have a little over 3 lbs of chicken, and am not sure if I need to scale up the “secret sauce”.
skin was rubbery and ribbed easily. Color was beautiful and had charred areas and grill marks. Chicken quarters were very tender and moist. I will try a different chicken recipe next time. I give is a 5 out of 10.
Why are the grill grates installed upside down in the photos? I've seen other people do this and it always bothers me...😂
Made this with boneless skinless chicken thighs. Tender, looked great, minute on the grill but not very tasty. All of the sweetness of the molasses had completely disappeared. Almost bitter (used fancy molasses which i assume was correct) Also too much smoke flavoring. Will have to slather these with some BBQ sauce to make them edible, if possible. Too bad, they looked perfect
I didn't have a problem getting crispy skin like many of the commentators. I finished over super hot charcoal which might have been the difference. I did have an issue with water released from the thighs while they were sous vide. There was a lot,and it washed off much of the secret sauce. Next time, I will empty the bag of moisture once or twice while they cook and maybe even add extra sauce back to the bag at that time.
Not having liquid smoke, I substituted liquid aminos with the molasses and thought I would try to get my smoke from the grill. I put one chimney full of hot coals over 2/3's of my Weber (to maintain a cool side just in case) and added two generous chunks (about 3''x3") of cherry wood chunks on the hot coals, patted dry the sous vide chicken leg quarters and put them meat side down for about 6 minutes (I would try 3-4 minutes per side in the future). After I flipped to skin side down for 6 minutes, I moved them to cool side of the grill and used a squeeze bottle and brushed on a layer of Trader Joe's Bold & Smoky Kansas City Barbeque Sauce and left them smoke and smoulder with the grill cover on, meat on the cool side for 3 more minutes. What I loved about his recipe is that the chicken was charred, smoky and sweet on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. I had to devour two charred chicken leg quarters at one sitting. I also tasted the bag juices (with molasses and liquid aminos) and it would make a fine gravy if thickened or a delightful pan sauce with butter and shallots.
I made this recipe tonight exactly as directed and it turned out amazing. After 3 hours in the sous vide, I lightly patted it dry and placed it in the freezer while I grilled corn on the cobb. Fifteen minutes later I placed the chicken legs on the grill for around 3-4 minutes per side. They came out as advertised! But here is the trick - you HAVE to make the Bright Red Barbeque-Chicken Sauce with Achiote. To be honest, I still don't know what Achiote is, but I know its not being sold by Whole Foods or Public. I ended up at a Mexican supermarket (Britto in Atlanta), and once they realized that I'm not just some cracker trying to rob them, they were the most helpful people ever. I could not leave the store until I explained to them what I wanted to do with the paste. They had lots of suggestions, but ultimately I stuck with the original recipe. Absolutely awesome! And by the way, don't let that bag juices go to waste!
I don't eat sugar. Is there a replacement for the molasses? can i keep it out?
Yesterday was the time to put this recipe into play. The idea of BBQ chicken with a sous-vide front-end seems to be the way to go. With the sous-vide, the chicken is cooked but it is such a gentle process that the skin stays intact.
The meal yesterday was mainly chicken legs along with a few thighs. I used the molasses/smoke/pepper mix and poured it over my 14 legs and 4 thighs and tossed them all around to be sure they were evenly coated. Then I fitted them all into 3 freezer bags then into the bath for 3 hours.
Afterward, I took them out of the bags and let them sit for 15 minutes before I added my own dry rub, I just sprinkled it over all the chicken. The meat was still tacky, so the rub adhered very well then the chicken went on a rack on a pan for another 15 minutes to let the rub stick onto the meat.
Next it was BBQ time and this is where the sous-vide process paid off. The meat only had to be on the BBQ or 15 - 20 minutes on low and it got nice ‘n crispy and there were no worries of undercooked, pink chicken parts. There were no flair-ups as most of the fat rendered off into the freezer bags during the sous-vide bath.
This chicken was perfect, especially when painted with some Alabama BBQ Chicken Sauce as it cooled on the baking rack after removing the pieces from the BBQ.
Nomnomnomnon.....
Thanks Chefsteps for the plan.
//bc
Amazing feedback
how many lbs. of meat can one Joule can accommodate?
@Bernardo Asuncion
In a well-insulated, covered container, Joule can heat up to 10 gallons (40 liters) of water. In a covered pot, it can heat about 5 gallons (20 liters). When you're cooking without a cover, we generally recommend limiting water volume to about 2.5 gallons (10 liters)
https://support.chefsteps.com/hc/en-us/articles/218242547-What-are-the-minimum-and-maximum-water-depths-for-Joule-and-how-much-water-can-Joule-heat-#:~:text=In%20a%20well%2Dinsulated%2C%20covered,2.5%20gallons%20(10%20liters )
As for how much meat that can accommodate: you'll need to ensure there's adequate water circulation, and full contact with the container.
In this recipe:
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/ultimate-modernist-bbq-pork-shoulder
They use 2.5 kg of pork shoulder, in a well insulated container. I can't say I've done anything larger than probably about 2.5-3 kg, but it works well enough.
I don't understand the need for ice bath "to stop residual cooking". The entire chicken is at exactly 158F / 70C. How can the chicken do anything but cool off once it is removed from the water bath? If chilling the meat has some other benefit, that's fine, but unless you introduce another heat source, it cannot rise above 158/70.
Hi Daniel, there are a few things that the chicken legs benefit from when cooling down before you hit the grill. The skin gells and firms a bit and this helps to keep it from sticking to the grill and tearing off. Second, it prevents the core temperature of the chicken to rise to high over the sous vide temp, which will make juices pull out of the chicken. But, that being said you can still just go right to the grill and get great results. It will just be better and easier to handle if the chicken is chilled first.
Kyle, you say "it prevents the core temperature of the chicken to rise to [sic] high over the sous vide temp".
How is this even possible, based on everything we know about physics and thermodynamics? How can any part of the chicken, once removed from the water bath rise to a temperature higher than the water bath's? Surely that isn't what you meant.
I'm a different Daniel BTW.
Im a little confused here guys. Are you missing that step 6 is then to take the chicken that you have cooked to a core temperature of 158°f and put it on a grill that should exceed 500°f? You most certainly can increase the core temperature of the chicken above the 158°f on a grill that is over 500°f.
Very good
Yeah,It’s very good and the color is very good.
Just the same grilled salmon and chicken.
Hi.
What would be the best choice to finish this without BBQ? Maybe grill in the oven or searing in a pan?
Hello Diego, under the broiler or using a grill pan on the stove top.
Deliciously juicy and just the right amt of smokiness. Doubled sauce with x8 drumsticks, ice chill, fridge overnight.
