Smoked Chicken

[nolan]

8 large leg & thigh quarters (approx. 9 lbs)
5 large chicken breasts (approx. 5 lbs)
Washed with cold water and lime juice, rinsed well
Placed in bucket to brine
   ⁃   Smokehouse Rob's Apple Juice Turkey Brine
   ⁃   1 gallon apple juice
   ⁃   1 cup kosher salt
   ⁃   3/4 cup granulated sugar
   ⁃   1/2 cup honey
   ⁃   1/4 cup brown sugar
   ⁃Brine chicken for 8 hours (I leave it overnight)
   ⁃Rinse chicken thoroughly and dry with paper towels.
   ⁃Apply dry rub (Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb Grinder or Cavendar's Greek Meat Seasoning)
   ⁃Align chicken on 3 smoker racks and return to fridge for 8 hours (I leave it overnight) to continue to air dry the skin
Preheat smoker (I set to 280* until it reaches 230).
Place racks in smoker and smoke at 220 - 230 for 4 hours with apple wood
After four hours, top off the drip pan with apple juice, rotate racks (top to bottom, bottom to top), spray with apple juice and continue to slow cook at 220 - 230*  
            In about 1.5 hours, I sprayed with apple juice and moved the bottom rack to the top.  So the middle shelf never moved but is now at the bottom of the stack.  Subsequent rotations were based on looks and temp every two hours and apple juice spray.

Continue to cook at 220-230* until chicken IT reaches 165*
Spray with juice, foil, and wrap in towels and put in cooler (FTC) to keep warm until dinner time












The skin was inedible and the white meat was a tad on the dry side.  Next time I will not rotate racks or take time to spray the chicken and see if it reaches 165 faster.  It took about 9 to 10 hours to cook.  I noticed the chicken was 161 when I would open to spray and rotate (about every 2 hours).  The meat temp would drop and then slowly come back up.  Perhaps this led to the breast being a bit on the dry side.  Otherwise we peeled off the skin and dug in.  It tasted very good.

[SoCalBuilder]

Looks good Nolan! No real reason to FTC the bird unless you just aren't ready to eat yet. I'll be interested to hear if spraying them every hour makes a big difference. Just make sure that vent is open all the way!

[squirtthecat]

That's gonna be some good stuff!

I FTC my chicken pieces/parts, as we discard the skin and shred the meat..

[nolan]

We're having guests over around 6PM.  The chicken could be done in the next hour or so.  So I have to keep it safely warm for 3 hours or less.  I thought the FTC might get the job done?

[hal4uk]

Nolan, the one problem with chicken (assuming you're serving skin-on) is that the skin can be chewy/rubbery.
FTC will keep it warm for a while, but doesn't do the skin any good.
FTC will do ya fine, but right before time to serve it...
I would give a few minutes either on a very hot grill or in a very hot oven.
Just long enough to improve/crisp the skin some (not long enough to dry it out).

[nolan]

Yep, the skin was inedible.  I knew it would be because both turkey's I've smoked did the same thing.  The skin looks golden brown and then you try to bite it and realize it's like duct tape...  I normally cook this chicken (brined part) and then grill.  I thought I'd try smoking it this time...  The dark meat was very good, the breast I had was small and a little dry (needed BBQ sauce to enjoy it).

[hal4uk]

Wow...  10 hrs?  That sounds way too long for chicken...
I like to smoke chicken at 275, for a couple of hours or so (? until hits 165)...
Then finish on the grill.

[SouthernSmoked]

Heck yeah! Looks pretty darn tasty!

[KyNola]

Wow...  10 hrs?  That sounds way too long for chicken...
I like to smoke chicken at 275, for a couple of hours or so (? until hits 165)...
Then finish on the grill.

Nolan I'm not trying to diss you at all but I'm with Hal on this.  When I saw it took 10 hours to get to 160 it really concerned me.  This is just my opinion but for me that's way too long in the danger zone.

[Tenpoint5]

I am thinking it took so long because he kept opening the door and spritzing every 1.5-2 hours. I think I remember someone saying it adds about 30 minutes to the cook every time you open the door. I know the old saying applies here "If your lookin you aint Cookin!!"

[KyNola]

I am thinking it took so long because he kept opening the door and spritzing every 1.5-2 hours. I think I remember someone saying it adds about 30 minutes to the cook every time you open the door. I know the old saying applies here "If your lookin you aint Cookin!!"

True and 14 pounds of poultry is going to give off a lot of moisture.  Moisture holds cabinet temp down.  Vent 100% open required on poultry.

[radamo]

Would Chicken come out better (skin at least) if you smoked for X # of hours and then finished off on either a grill with indirect heat or in the oven?
RA

[OU812]

Would Chicken come out better (skin at least) if you smoked for X # of hours and then finished off on either a grill with indirect heat or in the oven?
RA

One word,.. Yes

I always smoke poultry for 3 hr at 250 F then transfer to the grill or now TBE (inferred cooking system)

Perfect skin every time.

[radamo]

I think I am going to like this .... :-)  and my grill won't feel left out!
RA