How to get the right tenderness and colour in poultry

There’s nothing better than throwing a backyard barbecue and smoking delicious poultry. If you’re like us, we love juicy, tender and moist chicken or turkey that’s bursting with flavours. The key to achieving well-cooked poultry is to make sure that you create a perfect colour and texture for the skin without compromising the quality of the meat.

Here are some helpful tips on how to get the ideal colour and tenderness, all achievable on your Oklahoma Joe’s smoker.

Print How-Tos > How to get the right tenderness and colour in poultry

Instructions

Brining your birds

The first step to getting that beautifully tender poultry is to brine it. Brining is a process that helps add moisture to poultry, but it can have a negative effect on getting good bite through skin. This is why it’s important to air dry your poultry for at least an hour when brining to help dry the skin back out.

Rub the skin with butter

Lathering the outside of your bird’s skin with butter before putting on a coat of rub will not only help the skin get a beautiful golden brown colour but will also help to crisp up the skin. You can also spray the chicken or turkey skin with a spray margarine to help crisp it up.

Cover the bird

Once you reach the perfect colour, cover it with aluminium foil. This will not only prevent the skin from turning too black, but it’s also a good technique to steam it for a perfect bite.

The next time you’re smoking poultry in your backyard using Oklahoma Joe’s smoker BBQ, combine these steps and we guarantee that your family and friends will love the result!

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