Soft bones in smoked chicken
For lunch today, a coworker and I went to a neighborhood southern-style BBQ joint. I usually wind up with fried catfish and he fried chicken, but today we both sprung for the smoked goods, and I found myself ordering a barbecue chicken leg sandwich.
After ordering, I thought "I wonder how that works... legs on a sandwich?" I figured that meant is was leg meat. When Mabel brought it ought I was a bit surprised (and slightly disappointed) to find that this was whole chicken legs on top of two slices of white bread. Oh well, I'll just pull out the bones.
Then the strange part happened. I picked up a leg to start pulling on the bone, and it collapsed under its own weight. Well that was the exposed part of the bone... it must have just disintegrated. So I started picking the meat apart to get to the bone, and when I found it in the middle and squeezed it to give it a yank, it collapsed under the pressure of my fingers.
As I worked my way through all the bones in the legs, I found this pattern continued: all of the bones were not just brittle, but downright soft! It was a bit hard to pick it all out, and I think some even got left behind in the meat--and even still it was barely even noticeable when chomping down.
What would cause bones to become so utterly soft?
I assumed Mabel must cook these things for a week, but when I asked, she said it was an hour or two in the smoker. Does smoke really do this, or is there some other treatment.
Best Answer
Boiling chicken bones for an extended period of time (4+ hours) will cause bones to go squishy. I'm assuming any long duration slow cook method will do the same.
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Is it OK to eat soft chicken bones?
(If you're interested in learning more, here's a blog that gives a few culinary tips: Chicken Bone Snacks). Suffice to say, as long as the bones are thoroughly chewed, there's absolutely no harm in doing so.How do you keep chicken from getting rubbery when smoking?
First and foremost, smoke your chicken at higher temperatures. The ideal temperature to cook your chicken should be around 275 \xb0F \u2013 320 \xb0F (135 \xb0C \u2013 160 \xb0C). As you start to decrease temperature beyond this threshold, the skin will become rubbery.How long soften chicken bones?
Allow it to cook for 48-72 hours. Check it every day and add a little water if needed. Allow the bone stock to cool. After the bone stock is cool you will find that the bones crumble easily and are soft.How do you make smoked chicken skin crispy?
USE A SALT RUB 1-2 DAYS BEFORE SMOKINGSmoked Bone-In Skin On Chicken Breast
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Answer 2
A pressure cooker for a long time will make chicken bones go mushy. My father-in-law likes his chicken done that way. Goes well with the false teeth. Also I know a German lady how makes her chicken stock / broth that way.
Answer 3
Tremmors and Rincewind42 are both right, but it does sound strange that an hour or two in a smoker would make the bones that soft. Maybe Mabel pre-cooks them, possibly using a pressure cooker?
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