Whole chicken

[smokinfool]

Hi there I have been wanting to smoke a whole chicken in my Bradley for a while now,and after reading quite a few of the posts on here just was wondering if it was necessary to put it a brine first or can I just season it or....??? then put it in the smoker thanks for all your help.

[Ka Honu]

You can just season and smoke but almost all poultry (especially whole) is better when brined.

[TTNuge]

Just a 3 to 4 hour brine makes the chicken so much better.  We have a bucket(bout a gallon)that fits a large whole chicken perfectly.  Put in chicken, fill with water, remove chicken, add 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, some garlic powder, put chicken back in.  Wait four hours, take out chicken, rinse, spatchcock and smoke until desired temp. 

Just made one last night but did it on the Lil' Tex, some of the most moist and juicy delicious chicken ever!

[smokinfool]

Thanks I will try it and let everyone know how it turns out

[Habanero Smoker]

Check the package on the chicken, it may already be injected with a brine solution. If it is injected with more then 2%, it may not benefit much from additional brining.