Someone suggested that I try doing the brine recipe with a chicken since they haven't put the cheap turkey's out for Thanksgiving yet, (to busy with Christmas setup) So I got a whole chicken, spatchcocked it and used the viper125 recipe for the brine. Brined it for 72 hours, rinsed it, patted it dry, rubbed half with paprika and half with Jan's Rub while letting it come up to room temp for the smoker, into the smoker at 220 with apple for 3 hours, cooked to an IT of 165, total cook time 5 hours for a 7lb bird, double wrapped in foil and into the microwave till dinner.



The taste was good, a bit to salty and the legs/thighs had some pinkish color but not the deep color I was hoping for, the meat definitely had a cured texture so I don't think it didn't get enough cure time to be completely cured. I picked up some turkey legs to try another round with.
My questions for the experts are:
1. Would soaking instead of rinsing help with the saltiness like it does for Canadian bacon or do I need to reduce the salt/Morton's TQ?
2. Would it be better to stick with the original recipe or switch to the smokehouse rob recipe with cure 1 added since it has more sugar's to counter the salt?
3. Do you think the color issue has to do with the difference between chicken and turkey meat or is it related to the difference between Cure 1 and Morton's TQ? This is the first time I've used the TQ.