Chicken Drumsticks in #1 - Time?

[PAHuntAndEat]

Tonight i tried 4.5lbs of chicken drumsticks in my #1. Brined for 4 hours, dried and lightly seasoned with garlic salt and pepper then into the smoker @250 for 5 hours. At 5 hours they  were still pink and watery (i didn't take the temp but wish i did). With the kids getting hungry and it getting late i took them out of the smoker and put them in the oven at 450 for another hour til cooked. Then covered with franks hot sauce and honey. They turned out pretty good and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

i'm curious about the time it took to cook. I was surprised that it took so long. about 6 hours. Ever cook drumsticks? Did you have a similar cooking time? Any other tips to getting a good result would be appreciated.

 

[SconnieQ]

Chicken drumsticks should not have taken that long. I'm thinking about 3 hours at 250 at the MOST. At 5 hours, they should have been completely cooked, if not overcooked. If we eliminate the whole smoke phase from the question, an hour in the oven at 450 is way long enough from raw to fully cook chicken drumsticks. Just cooking in the oven at 450 for an hour by itself would have overcooked them. I'm stumped. Were they not dry after 5 hours in the smoker, then an hour in the oven at 450? Maybe you just have a different idea of chicken doneness? Sometimes fully cooked smoked poultry can look pink. Especially the dark meat. Are you sure that was not the case?

I'm looking at the photo. Did you smoke on a pan? You should be smoking directly on the racks.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

I'm glad i'm not the only one stumped. I may fire up the smoker empty and check the temperature to make sure everything is working properly. I've read the temperature can fluctuate but i just want to confirm i'm getting enough heat. That's the only thing i can think of. After 5 hours in the smoker the outer layer of the wings were brown and cooked but cutting them open they were very pink with lots of liquid. I didn't think they looked safe to eat.

The photo shows the end result after they were taken out of the oven. I only used the tray in the oven. I put them directly on the racks in the smoker.

 

[SconnieQ]

You might want to put some sort of heat sink in there when you fire it up to measure the interior temperature. A pan of sand, or some bricks. It will better simulate a real cook. Or better yet, put some wood and meat in there. A chicken or some ribs. Ribs require very little prep-ahead time. You can always finish the meat in the oven if you find you have a problem. Running these things empty makes the temperatures go wacky, so you might just get confusing results. You might first want to try opening the door, without the wood box inside, turn it on full blast, and observe the element. Does it get red? Then do your other test with with meat or heat sink in there.

 

[DivotMaker]

Dee, when you said they were "very pink with lots of liquid," what color was the liquid?  As Kari said, dark meat will appear pink (it's not "white" meat).  If the liquid was clear, they were fine!  You could have also probed your drumsticks and pulled them at 165° internal temp.  There's no way that drumsticks should have taken 5 hours in the smoker, at 250, then another hour in the oven!  I can smoke a whole turkey in that time, at 250!  Parts are quick.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

I had time this weekend for another smoke. this time i smoked 2 lbs of chicken breast. I didn't brine but just put a light rub on the meat before putting it in the smoker. Smoked at 250 for 3.5 hours and the chicken never reached 165. it stalled at 142 for about an hour. I grew frustrated and at 3.5 hours took them out of the smoker. I had an oven thermometer in the smoker and the highest temp i saw reached was 190. Attached is a pic of the chicken after 3.5 hours. Outside appears cooked but inside not only at 144. The temp actually rose after i took it out of the oven.

Before smoking are you leaving the meat out for several hours to reach room temperature? I wonder if that is the cause? I had the chicken out of the fridge for about 30min before cooking. the chickenn was never frozen and spent two days in the fridge before cooking.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

pic attached

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

Not sure if this helps troubleshoot but the outside temperature today was low 50s. Unseasonably warm and not cold enough to have effected the results of a smoke i would assume.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

Dee, when you said they were "very pink with lots of liquid," what color was the liquid?  As Kari said, dark meat will appear pink (it's not "white" meat).  If the liquid was clear, they were fine!  You could have also probed your drumsticks and pulled them at 165° internal temp.  There's no way that drumsticks should have taken 5 hours in the smoker, at 250, then another hour in the oven!  I can smoke a whole turkey in that time, at 250!  Parts are quick.

I agree with you. I was shocked that it took that long. It's been over a week but i believe the juice was pink in color and very watery. Seems like i am getting very slow cook times with my #1 ( see my recent post). Hopefully it's not a sign of a mechanical issue and it's just an issue with the chef. 

 

[RSNovi]

I made some drumsticks tonight on the pellet grill.  I smoked at 225 for 50 minutes. Most of the drumsticks were at an internal temp of 135 when I removed them.  I cranked the grill up to 400 and put the drumsticks back on for 20 min.  Final internal temp was 175.  They were my best yet.

 

[curegeorg]

Just did some quarters today and they took about 2hrs at 250 in the 3 to get to 165 on the probe.  Set on 250, my in box temp fluctuated from 240-260 or so.  When I run it with the auber it only varies a tiny amount.

I'd see if ur unit can get to max temp on the dial (250?) inside, sounds like you may have a problem with the element or something else going on. 

 

[SconnieQ]

Dee, there is no need to allow meat to come to room temperature. It is best to go straight from the refrigerator to cold smoker. Cold meat takes smoke better. The outside temperature has little to no effect on these smokers, even in sub-zero temperatures. It sounds like you feel your box temperature is not reaching 250. How did you measure your box temperature when you said it was 190? Did you use a wired temperature probe dropped down through the top hole? Or did you use an oven thermometer where you had to open the door to look at it? You should be using wired probes that you drop down through the hole for both the meat thermometer, and a separate probe to measure the box temp. I see you already have a wired food probe. You should also use one to measure the box temp. Your chicken breasts look done from the picture, even though the probe shows 144. The first thing to check (and rule out) is the accuracy of your probe, whether it is an ambient probe or a food probe. Drop it into some ice water. The temperature should register around 32. Put it in boiling water. It should be around 212. If the probe(s) are accurate, set your smoker to 250 and try measuring your box temp with either some food in there or a heat sink. Watch the box temp over a period of a couple hours. It should get to 250 or higher, and will swing back and forth, above and below by as much as 30 degrees. Let us know the results.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

Great info sconnieq. The thermometer is a food thermometer and i had it inserted through the smoke hole and into a chicken breast during the entire smoke to monitor the temp. I just pulled it from the smoker for the pic. The oven thermometer that i used was just a basic oven thermometer (not digital) that i placed on the top rack and was visible through the smoke hole. i used just a small amount of wood for this smoke and simply looked through the hole every so often to see the temp. I only opened the door of the smoker after 3.5 hours. it remained closed the entire time.

i just tested the thermometer using ice water and boiling water  and it is spot on.

 

[SconnieQ]

Then it sounds like your box is not getting up to temp for some reason. Partially bad element, or knob out of adjustment? Any of you experts out there have some ideas on what to do next?

 

[NDKoze]

Did you cook them on the pan that you have in your screen shot?

If so, my guess is that was what caused the problem. Using large pans like this really messes with the Smokin-It controller probe.

I general, it is recommended to not use any large pans to catch drippings or to add water as it will cause these problems. FYI water pans are typically not recommended/used for skin-on poultry. For skinless cuts, you would want to use a water pan. Most use a disposable mini-loaf tin filled with water, beer, apple juice, etc placed on the floor of the smoker rested right up against the smoke box. Do not EVER place a water pan on a shelf above the smoke box.

The only exception is if you have a #4 which is large enough to usually overcome the issues caused by the drip pan.

Line the bottom of your smoker and the smoke box with foil and you should not need the pan. This will also allow for the smoke to hit your meat a lot better too.

Hopefully this helps.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

Did you cook them on the pan that you have in your screen shot?

If so, my guess is that was what caused the problem. Using large pans like this really messes with the Smokin-It controller probe.

I general, it is recommended to not use any large pans to catch drippings or to add water as it will cause these problems. FYI water pans are typically not recommended/used for skin-on poultry. For skinless cuts, you would want to use a water pan. Most use a disposable mini-loaf tin filled with water, beer, apple juice, etc placed on the floor of the smoker rested right up against the smoke box. Do not EVER place a water pan on a shelf above the smoke box.

The only exception is if you have a #4 which is large enough to usually overcome the issues caused by the drip pan.

Line the bottom of your smoker and the smoke box with foil and you should not need the pan. This will also allow for the smoke to hit your meat a lot better too.

Hopefully this helps.

Thanks for the information NDKoze. The pan was only used in the oven after removing them from the smoker. The drumsticks were placed directly on the top two racks in the smoker(the racks that were provided with the smoker). I did not use a water pan or drip pan and there was nothing else in the smoker except the drumsticks and the two racks that came with the smoker.

 

[PAHuntAndEat]

I just did an experiment with the smoker. I believe this shows that the smoker is working properly...

I wrapped a standard size regular construction old brick with aluminum foil and placed it in the #1 on the centered on the middle rack. On the top rack i placed a regular analog oven thermometer on the top rack so it is visible from the smoke hole. I also used a food thermometer and put the probe through the smoke hole slightly below the brick. I turned the smoker to 250 with no wood.

11:45  start cold
12:15  bottom temp 250 top temp 200
12:30  bottom temp 295 top temp 250
12:30 turned off smoker (i did this to see how long it would retain heat)
1:00  bottom temp 196 top temp 200

I think this looks pretty good right? Is the problem i am not putting enough meat in for each smoke? Maybe 2lbs of meat is not enough to have a consistent cook?

 

[SconnieQ]

2 pounds of meat should not be a problem for the #1. If anything, less meat would just cause more temperature fluctuations, and you'd see your temperature spike above 250, no problem. Again, I'm stumped why when you have an actual cook, it takes so long, and appears not to get to temp. Anyone else?

 

[Gene]

I just did an experiment with the smoker. I believe this shows that the smoker is working properly...

I wrapped a standard size regular construction old brick with aluminum foil and placed it in the #1 on the centered on the middle rack. On the top rack i placed a regular analog oven thermometer on the top rack so it is visible from the smoke hole. I also used a food thermometer and put the probe through the smoke hole slightly below the brick. I turned the smoker to 250 with no wood.

11:45  start cold
12:15  bottom temp 250 top temp 200
12:30  bottom temp 295 top temp 250
12:30 turned off smoker (i did this to see how long it would retain heat)
1:00  bottom temp 196 top temp 200

I think this looks pretty good right? Is the problem i am not putting enough meat in for each smoke? Maybe 2lbs of meat is not enough to have a consistent cook?

I have a thought that might be a long shot worth trying.  It looks like from your test above you've proven that your smoker will reach the desired temperature on it's first cycle.  But then you turned it off.
What if it is having trouble returning to the higher temperature after it "cools down" ?  Maybe try watching to see if it is cycling back up soon enough.  If it is taking too long between highs that might explain the long cook times.
Hope this helps.

 

[DivotMaker]

If you try this test again, Dee, and leave it on longer, don't wrap the brick in foil.  The idea of a heat sink, during testing or an autotune (D models) is to absorb the heat, like meat would.  Wrapping in foil reflects the heat.