Smoked Chicken Times

[Johnny Guitar]

Hi All,

  I want to take my new DBS out for a ride.  I was thinking of doing split chicken because it doesn't normally take a lot of time, effort or cost. 

  Do, I will use probably two - three checkens split in half.  I'll brine them over night.  I have a pretty good rub that I have used in the past. 

  So, the questions for this group.

1.  How long to Smoke.
2.  What kind of Smoke.
3.  What Temp and how long.

Cheers, John

[Habanero Smoker]

Chickens with skin produce a lot of moisture, so make sure you keep you vent 1/2 to 3/4 open. You have the DBS so you don't have to worry about moisture seeping into the circuitry that controls the heat. You do have to worry about moisture ruining the skin, and it keeping the cabinet temperature down.

I like apple or maple on chicken, but hickory and pecan are also good choices. I only apply 2 2/3 hours; never more then 3 for chicken.

Smoke at a temperature of at least 225°F. For me every event is different, so I can't give a time frame. They're done when the thickest part of the thigh is between 162F to 165°F.

Some like to finish off in an oven, which seems to improve the skin.

[icerat4]

Habs has it right on the money.Go with that.

[Johnny Guitar]

How about finishing on a grill to crisp up the skin?

[Wildcat]

That works too.  I like to add some of Ice's sauce and finish on a charcoal grill.

[Habanero Smoker]

How about finishing on a grill to crisp up the skin?

That also helps improve the texture of the skin.

[Johnny Guitar]

OK - So I went baseline,  All I did was split the chickens.  I didn't brine, I didn't rub.  5 hours at 220 and 2 hours of special mixture wood.  I wanted to see what baseline does.

Believe it or not, it was fabulous.  The skin was a little rubbey.  The flesh was very moist.  The thight could have been done a little more, but it was wonderful.......

[West Coast Kansan]

Next toy is a temp probe for measuring internal temps. It is the guide to cooking with the bradley.  You will be happy you did.  ;D

[cingnut]

I did 2 whole chickens yesterday, I butterflied them so they would lay flat on the rack.  4 hours of pecan, cooked at 220 degrees until the breast reached 170.  I did finish it off on the grill for 15 minutes or so to help crisp the skin and add sauce.  The meat was excellent, flavor and moisture were perfect, my only problem was the skin, it was somewhat crisp, but it was sooo tough and rubbery. 

[jfalls55]

I've never been able to achieve crisp, tender smoked chicken skin. It's easy to do on the grill, but once you smoke it awhile, I'm afraid the skin is going to be tough. I inject my chickens with a good marinade, sometimes homemade, sometimes store-bought. I loosen up the skin with one or two fingers under it and get it good and loose. I then rub the chicken down with a good rub UNDER the skin. Then I smoke it up. Generally I throw the skin away on a smoked chicken, but for those who want to, it's still there if you want to eat it. Putting the rub under the skin allows the rub to give some flavoring to the meat and doesn't result in wastage by throwing the skin away.

[SKSmoker]

Dead on the money jfalls55. I regularly do a garlic and rosemary compound butter that I rub all over the outside, then wiggle my fingers in under all the skin I can. That butter just melts under there and wow is it good. I couldn't believe the difference when I started putting rub, or butter, etc under the skin. I don't eat chicken skin, so most of my flavouring I don't get to taste!