2nd attempt at Chicken

[VintonVa]

My second attempt at chicken.  Number 2 at 250 for 3 hours.  1st attempt resulted in black torched skin.

 

[DivotMaker]

There you go, William!  Those look great.  How'd they taste?

 

[VintonVa]

Great  my son tells me that I need to smoke everything I cook from now on.

 

[DivotMaker]

Can't ask for better than that!! 8)

 

[swthorpe]

+1, looks great William!

 

[BedouinBob]

Nice looking birds William!

 

[Jsorn]

Nice! I'm give it a try

 

[Moscowbni]

Ok, I've finally had time to start my smoking experience here in Kuwait with my 2d.  First attempt at smoked salmon came out perfectly. So moist, and full of flavor.  After this I immediately started with a while chicken.  Brined it overnight, (yes, that was too long and the extremities were over salted) spiced it up, and set it at 240, with the temp probe at 165.  3 oz wood (3 chunks). And waited.  Came out black as a chimney sweeper.  Once I peeled away the slightly chewy skin, the meet was wonderful, and also very moist, cooked perfectly.

So, what did you do differently between your first attempt that you reference above, and this second attempt that made the difference?

 

[SuperDave]

Stephen, the black skin is a result of one or two things. It is either too much sugar in your rub/brine or combustion of your wood if that helps you identify any necessary modifications in your next chicken smoke.

 

[Moscowbni]

Probably combustion.  I guess next time I'll leave the chip tray in even when doing chunks.  If that doesn't work, I'll foil up the bottom of the wood chunks.  Live and learn...I hope.
Thanks for the input.

 

[VintonVa]

Sorry I saw the post late.  My mistake was not foil wrapping the wood before smoking.

 

[Moscowbni]

Thanks William.  I'll do that next time.

 

[Moscowbni]

Well, I guess that I'll join the club of second time is the charm.  This time I brined two chickens for about 2 hours, (salt, brown sugar, water) seasoned with lemon pepper and garlic, and cooked at 235, with internal temp of 165.  3 wood chunks, with the bottom of the chunks covered in foil AND the chip tray inserted in the wood box.
It took about 2.5 hours, but they came out wonderful.  The skin was even good and not chewy.  Picts below.

 

[VintonVa]

Great job!  Thank you for your service and Merry Christmas.

 

[SconnieQ]

That's interesting that you smoked them breast-side down. Most people would do breast-side up. Thoughts?

 

[Moscowbni]

my bad...but didn't seem to make a difference.  Breasts were moist (as was all the rest), and flavor sunk in rather deep.  These were rather small chickens, not the all breast types.  In Kuwait, the chickens are more natural (read this as skinny), and less modified than what you normally get in the states.
Cheers.

 

[Durangosmoker]

I have cooked a goose breast side down, and the breast meat came out much juicier that a breast up one.  I now rest them after cooking with the breast down, which is almost as good at getting the juices back into the breast meat, so your cooking technique may not be a bad idea, especially with a skinnier bird.

 

[DivotMaker]

Stephen, the birds look fantastic!  I used to cook turkey breast-down, when I did them in a pan in the oven.  But, since smoking them in the SI, they are always breast-up.  The reason is heat... The heat source is below the bird, and the dark meat takes longer to cook.  So, with the dark meat down, they tend to cook more evenly; by the time the breast is at 165, the lower dark meat is also perfect.