1st Chicken

[lukeface]

Did a spatchcocked chicken here yesterday, 250 with 1.75 oz of pecan for about 3 hours on my 2D.

I know DM mentioned in another thread that he gave up on cooking chicken at higher temps than 250, is that still the case?  When you get the skin to shrink up at say 325 or 350, is it edible (I know it shrinks a ton)?  Does this work with wings if I wanted to smoke just wings? Would finishing it in a hot oven or broiler help?

I don't have a problem with simply smoking at 250 and discarding the skin, the meat turned out great, but I just want to make sure I exhausted my options.  Most of my research on here is leading to being resigned to this chicken skin fate, but, just had to ask in case there's been any recent realizations or breakthroughs.

Edit: CURSE my upside down photos!

 

[SuperDave]

Luke, I always finish my wings either under the broiler or on the grill before saucing them to serve.  I recently bought a shallow fry pot for my turkey fry burner and want to try dunking them in the fryer after some smoke to see what I get. 

Color looks great on your chicken.

 

[SconnieQ]

Your chicken looks great! I think it's worth the trouble to try and get crisp skin on wings. That's a big part of the wing experience, so finish those on the grill or under the broiler. I think the rest of the skin renders out too much fat during smoking to allow for good skin crisping after the fact, so even though I like poultry skin, mine goes to the dog. She's gotta eat too. Since you have a D model I think you should try smoking a chicken or turkey at 325 or 350, and see what you think. Everyone has different tastes. My #1 only goes up to 250, and for me personally, the meat is so much better, tastier and moister than an oven roasted bird (done at 325), that I don't think I would smoke at a higher temp just for crisp skin, even if I could.

 

[lukeface]

Thanks for the feedback gang, on my next chicken smoke, I'm going to try and turn it up to 325 or 350, just to see what it does.  Either way, I was real happy with how the meat turned out at 250, and have a great tasting fallback in case my future experiments don't yield the results I'd like.

 

[SuperDave]

Thanks for the feedback gang, on my next chicken smoke, I'm going to try and turn it up to 325 or 350, just to see what it does.  Either way, I was real happy with how the meat turned out at 250, and have a great tasting fallback in case my future experiments don't yield the results I'd like.

Based on a recent post by someone else with  D model, check you high heat alarm settings before going over 290 which seems to be the default setting for the D models.

The controller is factory-set to a high-temp alarm at 290.  Press and hold the SET button until Lck appears in the left window.  Then, put 155 in the right window (+/- buttons).  Each time you press SET, the next program parameter will appear.  You are looking for AH1.  When you land on it, put 375 in the right window, and press SET again.  I would also recommend setting the AH2 (probe 2) high limit to 210, not the factory preset of 200.

 

[lukeface]

Thanks Super Dave, I was perusing and saw that as well and put it in my mind to do before I try another chicken.

 

[Airchair]

Hi Luke, Looks like you had great results. I have 3 smokes under my belt now and 2 out of the 3 were chicken. My family loves it so we smoked 2 chicken to use in other dishes.
As far as chicken wings are concerned.....the best I have ever consumed is at a restaurant nearby. They smoke then dip in oil for crispy skin. Fall off the bone amazingness. I have yet to try myself.
Whats next on the smokin' agenda?

Court

 

[lukeface]

I did some Atomic Buffalo Turds for the super bowl, they went over really well.  Been doing a lot of ribs here lately, but going to give Brisket a shake here on my next smoke I think.  Thanks for the encourage words!  Smoked chicken seems to really lend itself well to all kinds of applications, we ate it straight up the first night, some smoked chicken tacos the next, and enough left over for some quesadillas and soup.