First attempt

birdboy · December 23, 2004, 01:50:57 AM

I'm thinking of smoking a couple chickens cut in 1/2.

Couple hours in brine, then southwestern rub and probably pecan for the wood.

Any idea how long these would take? I would think they wouldn't take 4 hours. Is the 4 hours of smoke that I see referred to a pretty good rule of thumb for most product? If what your smoking doesn't take 4 hours, should you cold smoke first too make up for it?

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · December 23, 2004, 02:14:13 AM

might take 5 hours. give or take, smoke time is up to you and your taste buds try 3 hours or less, but its up to your taste buds. ps no need to cold smoke.

BigSmoker · December 23, 2004, 02:23:42 AM

Good advice from Rob on the birds. I usually rub mine down with some Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on and under the skin(mostly). I don't eat the skin but some do. Poultry absorbs smoke so an apple wood works good with a little pecan mix. Have fun.

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

Cold Smoke · December 23, 2004, 04:53:38 AM

Sounds like the boys are steering you in the right direction. I usually do about 3 hrs of smoke and have never over-smoked a bird to date. Total time will depend on size of bird and temp.

Enjoy!

Cold Smoke

birdboy · December 23, 2004, 10:27:46 PM

Thanks! I'll start with a little over 2 hours of smoke. Should I set the temp in the box to what I want the birds...20 degrees over? Do you smoke at a lower temp then increase?

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · December 23, 2004, 10:48:18 PM

crank that puppy up , put your birds in, make it fast. you will loose over half your heat putting them in. keep it crank up untill your smoker temp hits arounf 220 give or take, then start turning it down untill you can maintain that temp. then pull your birds when your breast hits 165

Cold Smoke · December 23, 2004, 10:49:11 PM

Birdboy- I ususally try to set it to coast around 200-225 and I start the smoke right away as well. 2 hrs of smoke is probably a good start. That's my $0.02- Good luck!

Cold Smoke

birdboy · December 23, 2004, 11:26:01 PM

Thanks guys, knocked down some more geese today, I think I'll brine those overnight, start the chicken brine tomorrow morning, wrap geese breasts in bacon, let dry in fridge, and start smoking by early afternoon tomorrow !