Legs n Thighs

I cook  a lot of legs n thighs. I will post an experiment I did and then follow that with pics of other cookouts. 
My method of how I cook these is explained on the previous page.


I love the way I do chicken and everyone else does too. that's why I have changed very little in my method in almost 20 years.
I cover with lowry's seasoned salt and cook over charcoal and mesquite in a kettle. I use an old smokey because it has a lot of space between the rack and the coals for a predictable cooking environment.
about 7 minutes before it's done, I put a mild, bbq sauce on lightly.
it always works and it's always loved so I haven't experimented.

well, it was time to learn again.
I got 15 lbs of leg quarters and broke it up into 4 groups.

group 1, done the way I described above

group 2 Big Ron's HOH.
Big Ron said to cover some with HOH and salt, then cover with ice in the cooler overnight. I layered it with ice in a gallon ziplock. i didn't think the temp would stay above the danger zone if I put it in a cooler so I put it in the fridge with the rest.



Group 3 was brined overnight then I dumped two bottles of lemon pepper marinade on it and put it back in the fridge.


Group 4 I did the same as 3 but used generic Caribbean jerk marinade



Now for the fun!
I fired up 2 old smokeys and went to work.

placement on all grills and platters:

top/right: the usual. Lowry's seasoned salt.

bottom/right: Big Rons done as he instructed. (I overseasoned it when it went on grill but it didn't effect it much)

bottom/left: brined for 9 hours then 2 bottles of lemon pepper marinade for 3 hours

top/left: brined for 9 hours then 2 bottles of fake, mild, generic Caribbean jerk marinade for 3 hours

the pics with an empty space on the top/right were over apple and cherry. the others were over mesquite (no seasoned salt chicken on the apple/cherry grill)





The "old Smokeys" are steady and predictable. they didn't waiver. all the gauge pics were at least 15 mins apart. I kept it low and slow because I was scared the marinade would burn. actually the marinated chicken cooked slower, so it wasn't an issue.













Mesquite



Apple/Cherry





I invited some neighbors to help eat and judge so we had 6 at the table (if you didn't count the mosquitoes).
one of my neighbors hates chicken. wont eat it, unless I cook it. 




my wife was happy. we finished and then we watched her eat for quite a while!  this was her trying to push her plate out of the shot because she knew I would do this.




Results

Mesquite beat apple/cherry 6-0
I use apple for ribs so I'm familiar with it. I kept it light. it was good but we like mesquite on chicken.

my seasoned salt chicken came out great.

Big Ron held his own. no complaints.

the lemon pepper totally failed. 5 of 6 thumbs down (my wife liked it). the initial taste was agreeable but the after taste was OFF. that may be why she liked it. she never stopped eating long enough to experience the after taste

The Caribbean jerk got 6 thumbs up but it was real mild and I assume it was nothing like "Caribbean jerk".

personal opinions:
I'm sticking with mesquite.
I'm not buying any more store bought marinade.
I feel Big Ron and the seasoned salt tied but both had something the other needed. I want to blend the two methods and ingredients together to see where it goes.
I want to see my Caribbean jerk options in rural Illinois.
I know the marinades I used are bad examples to base this on but I like rubs over marinades.











Wings: