First Chicken smoke

[kona77]

Tried my first chicken and it turned out great.. Had a 8lb bird that I brined for 8 hours. Filled the cavity with
celery/apple/carrots and used 2.5 oz. of cherry wood. Sprinkled some garlic pepper/garlic and poultry seasoning on the bird
and used the pre-program recipe (C-1).. 275 temp and it took 2 hours 45 minutes to hit 165.

I have to admit I was skeptical about all the posts I read about the skin not being good to eat.. It looks so darn good 8)!!
Oh well the rest of the bird was so moist/juicy and it even beat my normal beer can cooks. Will look to move up to a turkey breast and maybe a whole bird later this year.. 

 

[BedouinBob]

Looks great Gene! I go ahead and eat the skin....chewy but tasty! You can also pull the bird a couple of degrees early and finish in a hot oven to crisp up the skin. Good eats!

 

[TX Gent]

WTG Gene ... Yard-birds are one of our favorites as the meat can be used for all sorts of additional dishes. One way we like is to pull the skin off after smoking, remove the meat from the bones and use a BBQ dipping sauce. We've made tacos, enchiladas and last but not  least "as is" when the bird comes out of the smoker.

Most of the fruit woods really work well and I also like to use maple occasionally to change the flavor profile up.

 

[kona77]

Bob-  I saw the information below from a previous post and it looks like a good way to get edible skin. (Thanks to SUM 1). I may try this next time. Also saw a poster using his beer butt set-up in in SI and that also looked interesting. Really happy I tried chicken and the ease of this smoke was another benefit.. My 3-D will definitely see more chickens in the future 


Directions
1. Mix the brine ingredients well until the salt is dissolved. Brine for 12-24 hours in the fridge.
2. Remove the chicken from the brine, wash briefly and pat dry. Leave to dry on a rack in the fridge for several hours.
3. Mix all the rub ingredients in a small bowel until well incorporated.
4. Oil the chicken and spread the rub liberally all over the chicken, including the interior of cavity.
5. Place the chicken in the smoker on the lowest rack, along with a dish with 2 cups boiling water.
6. Smoke on 225F, set internal temperature to 145F.
7. When the chicken reaches around 130F, turn oven on to 375F.
8. Once smoking is done, place in oven for 35 min.
9. One the 35 min are up, turn up the heat to 450F. Once it reaches 450F, roast for another 2-3 minutes. This will crisp up the skin.
10. Let it cool for 10-15 min before serving.

Net cooking time (without brining and cooling): around 2.5 hours  

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks great, Gene!!  My only difference is the length of brining.  I only do chickens for 3-4 hours in the bath.  Poultry takes brine very quickly, and long brine times increase the risk of the final product being too salty.  But, if you're happy with the results, that's what counts!

 

[kona77]

Tony;

As I do with all of my initial smokes I always check the forum for tips.. Noticed most of the posts featured 3-6lb birds
and 3-4 hour brine times were mentioned several times. I believe Kari had recommended an hour per pound for larger birds so I tried that on this first attempt. Bird had a great lighter smoke flavor and I did not notice any excessive salt/brine flavor.     

 

[SconnieQ]

Tony;

As I do with all of my initial smokes I always check the forum for tips.. Noticed most of the posts featured 3-6lb birds
and 3-4 hour brine times were mentioned several times. I believe Kari had recommended an hour per pound for larger birds so I tried that on this first attempt. Bird had a great lighter smoke flavor and I did not notice any excessive salt/brine flavor.   

Yep, that was me. 8 pounds is a good size roaster. Most people probably do fryers in the 4 pound range, which would only need about 4 hours in the brine. I still recommend 1 hour per pound as a good rule of thumb. I would brine that 8-pounder for 8 hours like you did. It takes longer when the meat is thicker. So a 12 pound turkey would brine for 12 hours, etc. I've never had a chicken or turkey come out too salty. And I even brine the "pre-injected" turkeys.

 

[Roostershooter]

I am a little different than most when it comes to brine times.  I like to brine for 2-3 hours for a 4-5 pound bird.  Not that I think the bird gets too salty.  The meat texture is more soft and less firm when i brine for longer times.  I just use salt and brown sugar to brine in.

 

[SconnieQ]

I am a little different than most when it comes to brine times.  I like to brine for 2-3 hours for a 4-5 pound bird.  Not that I think the bird gets too salty.  The meat texture is more soft and less firm when i brine for longer times.  I just use salt and brown sugar to brine in.

It is true that brining for longer makes the meat texture softer. Some people interpret this as "mushy". Others interpret this as "moist". This also applies to the way that chickens are processed. The vast majority are water-chilled (after slaughter) floating around in a big community vat of chlorine and water, soaking it all up. This makes the meat mushy, before you even brine. If retained water is listed on the ingredients, then you know your bird is water chilled. A couple brands, which you pay more for, are air chilled. Bell & Evans, Mary's Chicken, maybe Smart Chicken, and I believe a brand of Perdue, but not all Perdue chickens. Less than 1% of all chickens are air-chilled. Even most organic chickens are water chilled. If you are worried about texture, the chilling process has a much greater effect on texture than after-market brining does. I only buy Bell & Evans for smoking. And I brine for as long as I want. If you are buying standard Tyson, Gold n Plump, etc, and are afraid to brine because it might become too mushy, it might actually be more about the brand and processing than the brine time.

 

[Roostershooter]

Good point, I never thought of that with chickens.  I use the Pilgrim brand that Sams sells here.  The package says 9% added water.  I think next time I smoke one of these I will not brine and see what the out come is.  A longer brine with these chickens does result in a more mushy meat.

 

[TexasSMK]

Great sounding smoke.  How did the stuffing come out--"celery/apple/carrots"?