I cooked chicken thighs at 380 vs 400 and the 380 batch won by a mile
I did a side by side test last Saturday with two packs of thighs from Costco, same seasoning, same 6 thighs each batch. The 400 degree ones hit 175 internal in 14 minutes but came out dry around the edges and the skin was spotty. The 380 batch took 22 minutes, but I flipped them at the 12 minute mark and the skin came out way more even and the meat stayed juicy the whole way through. Honestly the slower batch tasted like something off a real grill, not a hot box. Tbh I think the extra 8 minutes lets the fat under the skin render instead of just burning. Ngl I'm never going back to 400 for thighs, that's a lesson learned. Has anyone else messed with lower temps for dark meat or am I late to this?
Yep learned this the hard way with drumsticks last summer. Did 375 on the smoker and pulled em at 185, way juicier than the quick hot oven ones I used to make. That flip halfway through is the real trick too, skin gets all crispy on both sides instead of just the top.