Please help me, chicken smoke

[cinnamonkc]

He's referring to your wood. Use chunks, not chips and don't soak the chunks.

 

[rivet]

RichT is correct. You do not want to smoke birds at real low temps, especially a turkey becaue of the food safety hazard due to bacterial growth etcetera oveer prolonged periods of time (obviously a turkey will take much longer to smoke than a chicken). For birds 275F - 300F is the range you want.

Your chicken was rubbery and the skin flaccid because it was not cooked enough. No offense intended, but that is the only answer. When fowl is rubbery, that is a dead giveaway for undercooked status.

Try to maintain temps in the range above, and if they spike higher, no worries. If they drop below 250F then open the firebox damper or add fuel to get the heat up but don't panic- a few minutes under 250 will not hurt you.

Somebody else in the thread mentioned lotta smoke early on. That is right on target. A well smoked bird will be very smokey tasting. I'm not sure why your birds did not taste smokey. Chicken muscle tissue (meat) usually accepts smoke flavor very well. Hmmm...

When I smoke chickens, I rub 'em, and beer can 'em. That gives a nice moist result with a great crispy skin. Try observing your heat/smoke flow next time you smoke. It should be a steady stream of heat and smoke exiting your unit- if not, your airflow is part of the issue.

Hope this helps, and keep us posted! Nothing better than smoked bird, except maybe, well pulled pork, or maybe ribs, well- I had a real good roast once.....wings are good too......salmon is excellent.....

 

[flash]

I assume you are speaking strickly to the skin being undercooked and not the bird

Obviously you can smoke a bird at 250º and have it be done.

 

[rivet]

Yes, you are correct. Sorry for the misunderstanding.