young hens

[stiffyman]

Did a couple of young hens in my Bradley, I am not a rookie at this but let me tell you, never again the skin was like leather and the dark meat bout the same, the white meat was not bad, what a mistake, have now done some research, which I should have done before I smoked them, the way they turned out is typical from what I have read. Save your money.

[muebe]

Sorry to hear they were not what you expected...

With the way the Bradley cooks the low temps do not allow for crispy skin. I have made cornish game hens and whole chicken with my Bradley that have turned out great. The key is to take them to about 130 IT in the Bradley with a good treatment of smoke. Then place in your oven, on the grill, or in your Big Easy if you have one for the finish. This produces a very good, moist, tender, and juicy smoked bird that everyone will enjoy ;D

[OU812]

I do poultry in the smoker all the time and love it.

Did you let the skin dry before applying the smoke?

I always let the bird set uncovered in the fridge over night.

Then when its time to cook put the bird on the counter wile the smoker is warming up.

Smoke for 2 to 3 hr with the vent wide open and cabnet temp at 225 to 250 (225 for small things 250 for big) and after the smoke is done transfer to TBE to finish.

I pull poultry outta the heat at 160 F allow to rest 10 min and perfect every time.

[KyNola]

Chickens that are 100% smoked at a low temp will always produce a leathery skin, regardless of the brand of smoker used.  The only way to crisp up the skin is to subject it to a high temp for the last 15-20 minutes of the cooking process.

What concerns me is that you said the dark meat was also tough or dry.  I accept and appreciate the fact that you're not a rookie but were you monitoring the internal temp of the chicken while it was coooking?  Is it possible that you inadvertently overcooked the chicken?  I'm just asking as I have never had a chicken to come out of the Bradley with dry meat.

One other thing you can try is to put the amount of smoke you want on your chickens and then transfer them to your house oven and roast them there like any other chicken.  Your chicken will have the smoke you're looking for and probably the skin you prefer.

Don't give up just because these chickens didn't come up to your expectations.  

[ghost9mm]

If you read through the forums which are a virtual university of information for experienced and less experienced, please don't give up on the bradley and chickens..in a short time you will be a master of the smoker...