"Basic" smoked chicken

[DivotMaker]

Threw a 4.27 lb yard bird in the #1 today.  Kind of a last-minute idea, so I didn't do a lot of planning.  Wished I'd seen Joe's (UWFSAE) post a little sooner about the poultry rub for all seasons, but I didn't.  I used my basic pork rub on this bird, because that's what I had in the cabinet!  I fully-intended to inject the bird with Tony Cachere's roasted garlic & herb injection (really good in chicken), but got distracted by a phone call during prep.  Next thing I knew, bird was in the #1 with temp coming up, and no injection!  Oh well, I then decided this will be a good "control" for the outcome on a chicken with a basic rub and nothing else.

Olive oil & rub, 6 oz of peach and hickory, water pan and 225 set on the dial.  Didn't touch the bird for the 3 1/2 hours it took to hit 165 in the breast.  Once it hit temp, I pulled it out and foil-wrapped it for 15 minutes.

The little bird was done and very moist!  The pork rub produced a nice dark-brown skin, and tasted good!  The control experiment was a success!  Next one will get the injection.  I haven't tried brining on a chicken yet, but will in the future.

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[smokeasaurus]

I am quite surprised with 6 oz of wood your chicken wasn't oversmoked. When I do poultry I try to use the smallest chunk I got and sometimes I axe em smaller......glad your chicken came out good.

[afratki]

Wow, love the color on the bird.

I suspect the skin is what kept the meat from getting over smoked. Poultry generally takes smoke very easily, because of that I usually smoke my chickens with fruitwoods preferably apple.

[DivotMaker]

The biggest chunk of wood was peach, with a small hickory dowel.  I've found, at least with the #1, you have to add a little more wood than those of you with the # 2 or 3 - probably due to the size/wattage of the heating element.  I always have unburned wood in the box at the end of a cook.

The meat wasn't over-smoked at all, and we tend to pull the skin off.  If we were big "skin eaters," (not the Zombie kind), I'd probably back-off on the amount of wood.  The rub & skin definitely keeps the meat from being too smokey, imho.  I was surprised at the even color of the skin - thought it looked pretty cool!  I've never had a chicken come out so even in color.

By the way, the brand of chicken I always use is Smart Chicken.  It's hard to find in NW Arkansas due to this being the home of Tyson Foods, Inc., but some stores have it.  Their chickens are minimally-processed, never frozen, and no additives at all.  I find the quality of the meat far superior to any of the other "big name" chickens I've used.  I bet organic, free-range birds are even better yet, but I just can't find anything like that in my area.

[es1025]

A winner, i like basic recipes. 165 and 3.5 hours @225. I tried chicken thighs and they smoked pretty quickly as well.

[swthorpe]

I have done several 5# chicken smokes, usually two at a time in the #2.   I typically use cherry wood for poultry.  What I have noticed is that the night of smoke, the chicken does not have a lot of smoke flavor, but the next day when you try a piece, the smoke is very prevalent.   Has anyone noticed this? 

[DivotMaker]

I have done several 5# chicken smokes, usually two at a time in the #2.   I typically use cherry wood for poultry.  What I have noticed is that the night of smoke, the chicken does not have a lot of smoke flavor, but the next day when you try a piece, the smoke is very prevalent.   Has anyone noticed this?

Yep, especially if you leave the skin on (which is holding most of the smoke flavor).  I guess it's the same concept as holding smoked cheese in the fridge for a week after smoking to let the smoke "penetrate" the cheese.  The meat is porous, so it's bound to absorb more smoke flavor after it sits awhile.  But, my opinion on this is solely based on conjecture and innuendo - not science.