Gonna Smoke a chicken for the 1st time..HELP!

[sancho]

So i'm gonna take my first shot at smoking a whole chicken this weekend.  im gonna do this alongside a brisket and some sausage.  I have a few questions for anyone that can help or point me in the right direction.  I'll be cooking this on my offset stickburner with charcoal to get the fire started and hickory/oak afterwards. 

First, i know im shooting for 165 degrees between the breast and thigh.  i plan on keeping a digital probe in there during the cook.  I'm gonna cook the chicken closer to my firebox shooting for around 280-290 since im cooking on the opposite end at 275 for the brisket. 

Not gonna do a brine this time, Im gonna just rub it and plan on injecting with butter, minced garlic and jalapeno, unless thats just idiotic (please tell me if so).

So my main question is this, if im gonna cook a 5-6lb chicken at that temp, whats the average cook time for that?  Is it like a certain amount of time per lb?   i know the best thing to do since im gonna have a probe in is just cook it till it's done, but im trying to time it in the ballpark of my brisket which im cooking for 10hrs.  I'd like it to come off close to the same time. 

This is my first time cooking a whole chicken, and i would really appreciate any tips/hints you can give, guys! Thanks in advance.

 

[smokinhusker]

Welcome! First of all, how do you know the brisket is going to take 10 hrs? Yes you can guesstimate the time on it at 1.5-2 hrs per lb, but there's the dreaded stall and that cut of meat is done when it's done.

For crisp skin on the bird, you want temps at 300 or more, otherwise you get rubbery skin. I'd guess a couple hours or so, but you are right when you say you will cook it to internal meat temp. Remember to keep the bird from dripping on other items to avoid cross contamination.

You can also use the search tool at the top of the page and look for chicken, or go to the Poultry sub forum for more info and perhaps a better approximation of cooking time.

 

[sancho]

Thats just normally how long i cook my briskets.  i get them from a butcher always closely cut to the same specs and i just trim to about 1/4 inch of fat down to the flat.  at 275, at most it takes mine 10 hrs. 

 

[tucson bbq fan]

For a whole bird, I generally allow 1-1.5 hrs./lb. at 225  That is assuming no stuffing and brined birds.  I don't think you will see a large difference between injecting and brining on the cooking time.  I would try 2 hrs. at 280-290, timed to finish that 2 hrs. when you expect the brisket is ready to pull out, then crank the temp up to 350 or so for 30-40 minutes to crisp up the skin, but watch the internal temp - check both the breast & Thigh so that the breast doesn't get dried out.  Another way to think about it is when the thigh temp gets to 140 or so, crank the heat to crisp the skin and take it the rest of the way.

How long do you plan on resting the brisket?  If you are allowing a couple of hours for rest & carve, you could throw the chicken on when you pull the brisket, throw some fresh logs on the fire and put the chicken in and crank the temp up and cook it with a nice crispy skin in the same time you are resting and carving the brisket.

Chicken sucks up smoke flavor fast.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Sancho , welcome to the Family. Hope you enjoy it here and call this home for all your BBQ needs.

Looks as if you have some solid advice and good suggestions. Hope to see some great Q-view of your Weekend cook.

Please drop by your Profile and enter location ; make things a lot easier and clearer.

Have fun and as always . . .

 

[sancho]

yeah i forgot about my resting time for my brisket.  i normally let it rest about 45-1hr.  im gonna take your advice when it gets to around 140 and crank the heat and let it finish out.  Thanks Tuscon!!

 

[sancho]

Sancho , welcome to the Family. Hope you enjoy it here and call this home for all your BBQ needs.

Looks as if you have some solid advice and good suggestions. Hope to see some great Q-view of your Weekend cook.

Please drop by your Profile and enter location ; make things a lot easier and clearer.

Have fun and as always . . .

Will do!! have a great one!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Sacho it sounds like you have a good plan! I cook my birds around 325* and up all the time and figure around 1.5 hours. At 275* I figure 2 hours.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...spritzed-is-the-only-way-to-get-moist-chicken