First timer, smoked some chickens last weekend

[marxbrew]

Hi All

Just wanted to share: I lit off my new BS original for the first time on Sunday, and although there were a few bumps in the road, it all came out OK in the end.

I smoked 4 whole chickens, about 5 lbs a piece. Following the advice and recipe suggestions found here on the forum (Thank You!) I lit the BS off at 7am to preheat and pulled chickens out of fridge, Slathered the chickens with a mixture of italian salad dressing (Newman's Own) diced garlic (6 cloves) and some olive oil. Into the smoker at 8am, and loaded 3.5 hours of maple.

It was chilly (mid 30s) and fairly windy, and the day continued cold, in the 40s with a fair wind. The smoker is in my carport and is somewhat exposed. No matter what I did, could not get the smoker temp over 200, even with the vent almost closed. I was afraid to close it all the way, 'cause I understood that I needed to let the moisture escape. Hmmm... Had another homebrew and tried not to worry.

I told the folks coming for dinner they could get there in the afternoon, but that dinner would be "when it was done", and I hoped for 3-4 pm. Well, at about 2:30, still struggling with the wind, the breast temp was only 135. Dang!
Yanked the chickens (which looked beautiful, BTW) and stacked 'em in a big roaster pan, covered with foil and into the oven at 225. A quick look at the forum again assured me that it wasn't necessarily an admission of defeat to finish a smoke session off in the oven. *Whew*!

By 5pm, I was fighting off hungry friends with a poker over by the stove... the smell was pretty intense. Breast temp was 165. Yay, let's eat! I quartered the chickens, and the chunks disappeared rapidly, and everyone proclaimed it a success. The best part was the leftovers, which I have been eating ever since.

Flavor is wondeerful, the skin's too rubbery to eat (no big loss) and the meat is tender and moist. I'm pretty happy with the way it all went.

The main question I have is:  Was it the wind that was killing me? I used a digital thermo to measure the inside temps, so the door thermometer wasn't lying.

Can't wait to try it again, but will hope for a little better weather!

[West Coast Kansan]

Wind was likely a factor.  Also there is a lot of discussion about moisture in poultry on the forum.  You may have been working at cross purpose with the vent.  You wanted it closed to hold in temperature but that also held in moisture that reduces the ability to build temperature. Will be interesting to see the feedback on wind vs moisture as contributors.

Welcome and Congrats on pleasing the crowd with a 20# chicken smoke.  Sounds like a great start.

[Habanero Smoker]

I can't put it any better then WCK, and as stated you may want to read the recent post on this subject.

Four whole chickens is a lot for the BS. When I do four, it's rare that my BS will get past 190°F until the chickens are almost done, then it may get up to around 200°F-210°F.

[iceman]

Congrats Mark and welcome. 4 chickens was quite a load for the smoker. I'm sure the wind wasn't your best friend either. If you want crisp skin you can always pull the birds and crank the oven heat up around 350 and finish them the last 30 minutes to an hour in there. Glad to hear the folks enjoyed them. :)

[marxbrew]

Thanks, all!  I guess 4 chickens was a bit ambitious, but all 4 fit in there, so I figured "what the heck'.

I just finished the last of the smoked chicken, so now I need to smoke something else. I have a pair of 7 pounder boston butts, just need to wait till we'll have a night that's not so cold to do them. Based on what I read here, I should probably figure 12-16 hours? I'll be watching the weather forecast!

Can I keep the top vent mostly closed during the smoke, then close it all the way once the smoke is finished?

Been reading and looking at the pix posted by icerat4, and it's got me salivating!

I'll let you know how it comes out!

[Habanero Smoker]

When doing butts always leave the vent open enough so that no smoke and moisture backs up into the generator. I have never tried closing my vent completely. Even if there is no smoke, the meat is expelling moisture, and you need to have a way for the moisture to escape other then through the generator opening. If smoke and moisture backup through the generator, it could mess up your electrical components and/or gum up the moving parts.

[marxbrew]

Thanks! Excellent point, and one that hadn't occurred to me. Gotta have some air flow, no matter what, eh?

Read a couple here that say they leave it open all the way. What's a newbie to do?   ;D

I guess this will all become more clear if I just smoke some more, so I'll get going in that direction...

Thank you all!!

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Read a couple here that say they leave it open all the way. What's a newbie to do?   ;D

Well, I would have a drink and think about it... :D :D :D

Arcs_n_Sparks

[marxbrew]

Best suggestion I've had all day!

Host: "Would you care for a beer?"

Guest: "Yes, tenderly!"

[Gordo]

Okay, despite popular theory, I did 5 chickens in the Bradley this weekend ( I actually cooked 9 chickens total, but 5 the first go around then 4 the next).  I usually choose the smallest chickens I can find.  Usually 3.5 to 4 pounds (which is a big difference from your menu).  They worked out fine.  I noticed one very important thing this time - if you have the vent only 1/4 of the way open, and steam is shooting out like from a tea kettle, open the vent full for a minute or two.  First it is fun to watch, second it removes a lot of pent up moisture.  I did not see the box temp rise, but the temp of the chickens rose almost twice as fast when I did that. :o

Important note:  I cooked the chickens after first cold smoking 4 blocks of cheddar, and hot smoking two pork butts the night before.  These butts were from Tyson and they actually had part of the leg bone, and the sholder (ball joint and all) in them.  That is a first for me, it is usually just the blade.  I did not like the results as much as the blade cut.  Maybe there was not enough fat content.

Anyway, I am glad they worked out for you. 

P.S.  I also made 24 - 4 oz. jars of Pepper Jelly.  If you haven't guess, many of my Christmas gifts will be "consumables." ;D

[manxman]

Nothing to add other than to say welcome to the forum marxbrew.  :)

[Habanero Smoker]

These butts were from Tyson and they actually had part of the leg bone, and the sholder (ball joint and all) in them.  That is a first for me, it is usually just the blade.  I did not like the results as much as the blade cut.  Maybe there was not enough fat content.

Anyway, I am glad they worked out for you. 

P.S.  I also made 24 - 4 oz. jars of Pepper Jelly.  If you haven't guess, many of my Christmas gifts will be "consumables." ;D

Are you sure that was the butt end. It sounds like you got what is usually called the picnic cut, without the skin.

[West Coast Kansan]

Pork sholder. They are good too.  I will slice sholder for sandwiches or just carved slices, and pull the pork butts. Will be nice when everyone calls the same thing one thing.  Even pack houses on the internet have diagrams with call outs pointing to the same parts with different names.

[Gordo]

Yeah, it will be nice when a butt is a butt.

Hab, this one had the skin on it too!  But it was called a butt roast - at least I would not have picked up a shoulder if it said so on the label.  Garbage comes on Mondays, so I don't have the packaging.  You may be entirely correct though.  They were pullable though - just not what I was used to. 

Note to self, make sure they are butts...

[Habanero Smoker]

That is the cut we call a picnic cut in my area, it's the section of leg just below the butt. I have smoked them before for both slicing and pulling. I like the flavor of the picnic (butt roast) portion.