Newbie's first time smoking whole chickens...

[DivotMaker]

For what it's worth, here's how I do whole chicken:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1054.0

Enjoy!

[NDKoze]

+1 on the brining. I always brine my poultry prior to smoking.

I haven't really brined for stuff on the grill/oven, but I can see why it would be good to do for these cooking methods as well.

[Pork Belly]

I did chickens for my first smoke in my Model #3, they turned out great, typically I brine birds but was in a rush to cook something. I Spatchcocked three birds. That's splitting them at the backbone then laying them flat. Sometimes a small cut is necessary on the back side of the breast bone to get them flat. On Poultry I peal back the skin so I can get the rub directly on the meat. When you think about it skin is designed to be non permeable, I like getting the spices and salt directly on the meat. and a little extra on the skin. With a brine the flavor and moisture go directly to the meat. I ran them at 240 with 2oz of cherry to an internal of 175, they were super moist. Which was fortunate because I didn't realize I had failed to add a water pan until the birds were nearly done. Total cook time was 3.5 hours. I ran a cast iron skillet of beans on the top shelf for the entire cook time.

[NDKoze]

Hey Brian, your birds/beans look delicious!

That is a good idea to pull the skin back and then apply rub.

I am curious how your skin turned out. Some have had problems with it being too rubbery.

I have smoked a lot of chicken in my previous smokers, but am guilty of not trying any in the Smokin-It yet.

[Pork Belly]

Ha' I knew from reading old posts that the skin was not going to crisp. My Lab loved it. It had a lot of flavor but I was too lazy to fire up the broiler to try and crisp it . As I said the dog thought he was in heaven. The under the skin trick always works. if you grilling or oven roasting whole fresh herbs can go between the meat and skin. Sometimes you might have to pin the skin with a toothpick if it gets overly loose or gets a tear.

[DivotMaker]

If you have a bypassed unit, with a PID, you can exceed the 250° "sound barrier" (push that envelope, Maverick!).  I haven't done poultry like this yet, but plan to try a chicken with a different cooking profile:  Smoke at 250 until it hits 140 IT, then jack the temp to 325 until it hits 165.  I normally do chicken at 250, and can tell the skin is "just on the verge" of being crispy.  I think doing the last 25° at 325 will push it over the top! 

[Pork Belly]

I agree with the added heat would help but you might want to add your jerky dryer for that last 25. I don't have one but have borrowed one for making jerky today. It is so wet inside these smokers, seems like sucking out some moisture will increase your the hot dry oven affect. Is all the rewiring and reconstruction I see in the PID topics necessary, or is that done to simplify cord length and use? Can I just plug the PID into the wall and the smoker into the PID? Also what do those initials stand for? Do you get everything you need in one  package? Is there a PID link you recommend?

[DivotMaker]

Great idea on the jerky dryer for chickem, Brian!  Never thought of that!  As far as your Auber questions:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?board=31.0

It's the "Auber Tips and Tricks" section.  You'll find lots of answers about it there.  In a nutshell:  You only have to bypass the stock controller if you want to break the 250° limit of the on board controller.  If 250 is ok, then set the dial to 250 and rock on.  The Auber will control the temp through the stock controller.