Getting ready for the first smoke, shortly... :-)

[javelina]

Hi gang,

Wifey and I just finished the 4 hour seasoning of her new Xmas gift.  ;D

We currently have a 5lb fryer soaking in a nice brine.

For this first time out, we smoke the whole bird at 250F?  Understood that we need to have 165F internally to be finished.  So no matter if we start out at 210 <> 250F, we'll await the key internal temp.

Also, we should add a water pan inside the smoker to help with the moisture? 

We plan to use (2) of the supplied hickory dowels for smoking this initial bird.  (We used 4 of them for the seasoning).

thank you for the help!

-Jav

 

[DivotMaker]

The first smoke is SO exciting! ;D  Congrats!

Here's a couple of quick suggestions for the bird.  I see you're brining - great!  Another thing I do that really adds flavor and stabilizes the cooking process is to fill the cavity with "mirepoix."  Pigsmoke, on this forum, turned me onto that.  It's just equal parts chopped onion, carrots and celery, and a couple of lemon slices.  Discard it after cooking; it's just for flavoring.

Only use about 2 oz of wood for a chicken.  That should be about 2 2 1/2" of hickory dowel.  I like to split mine lengthwise, and lay them in flat-side down.  They smoke better, in my opinion.

As for temp, I use 250 for chicken.  I find it's slow enough to cook thoroughly, and still leave a good dark skin.

As for the water pan:  I always use a water pan to help stabilize the smoker temp swings, but it will add little to a chicken.  Since it has a skin on it, the meat won't absorb much of the moisture it produces.

Here's a brined chicken I did recently:

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

Good luck!  Let us know if you have any more questions!

 

[javelina]

Excellent!  thanks Divot, appreciate the help.  Will let you know how it goes! 

 

[DivotMaker]

No problem, Jav!  And, by the way, you're absolutely right about the temp.  165 in the thickest part of the breast.  When it's done, take it out and carve it up - no need to "rest" it, like beef or pork.

 

[javelina]

currently at 143F, after 2hrs, 10min.  For a just under a 5lb fryer....  getting close! 

 

[swthorpe]

Yes, a 5# fryer should require about 3 hours, so you are close!  How did the chicken turn out?