1st smoked chicken

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alb28

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 6, 2011
14
10
Mesa, Arizona
Hi All,

This my first cook on the Master Forge smoker. I installed the rope gasket around the doors and seasoned it yesterday.

I bought a 4.5lb young chicken today. I have did a butterfly cut on the chicken and it it soaking in a brine right now. I will smoke it tomorrow.

I will be using the 5 day ecourse for smoker temp (250F) and meat temp (167F). I might at the near end of cooking flop it on the grill to get the skin crisper.

My question is during the cook do I set it on the grill breast up or down on the grill?

Do I flip it at some point?

How long should I add the wood chips (using cherry wood)?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Al
 
can't wait to hear what the experts have to say......I will pick up some tips on this smoke for sure....
drool.gif
 
It won't be necessary to flip the chicken over. I like the skin side down so the bird absorbs more smoke. I do like to finish on the grill to crisp the skin. Congrats on the new smoker and good luck with the chicken
 
Spatchcock skin up and done at 170 for me. I love this way! Birds dont benefit from long and slow so "Get Er Done!" 
banana_smiley.gif
 
I agree.  No need to flip it.

If you plan on eating the skin, cook it at higher temps or you will get rubber.

Or just throw it on a hot grill at the end to blast the skin up a bit.

Experimentation and your palate will be your guide.  Experimenting is half the fun!

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone,

The only question left is do I add wood chips throughout the cooking process? Or do I add chips for the first couple of hours.

I have search the forum and have not found a answer yet, I do not want to over smoke.

Al
 
When I'm smoking chicken I usually run at 325 like Al. At that temp I keep the smoke going the whole time usually. If it peters out with a few minutes to go I don't bother throwing more in though.

It's really going to be a matter of taste, of how consistent your smoke is, and how you've prepared your chicken. Start off by smoking through the whole cook and then you'll have your baseline. Too smokey and you can dial it back next time.

One caution: at the higher temps that you cook chicken at you need to be little more light handed on the wood lest you end up with billowing clouds of white smoke.
 
I'm just about ready to start the smoker, I will try to use a 300F oven temp and shoot for 170F for the bird. I will kiss the outside of the bird on the grill if needed.

I will start with a couple chunks of oak and add hand full or so of cherry chips.

And i will keep some smoke going the entire time.

I will be using a Maverick ET-73 thermometer to monitor the temps.
 
Ok I finished my first smoke!

Had a little hard time getting the temperature up at first. That is until I figured out how to use the bottom vents. So my average temperature was about 270F. I cooked the bird until it was 172F. It took me about 3 hours to get the job done. The skin on the chicken was not crisp, but it tasted good. I was to hungry to put it on the grill to finish it off. Maybe next time. The chicken tasted great, real smokey flavor without it being over powering. I went through four chunks of oak wood (not soaked) and about four or five hand fulls of soaked cherry chips.

I used a simple brine the night before of salt and brown sugar. Took it out the fridge in the morning and rinsed it off and applied olive oil and rubbed it on both sides with Plowboys BBQ Bovine bold. I did not want to make my own rub this time. I will save that when I get a little more experienced using the smoker. I do not want to tackle everything on smoking on the first few tries. 

I also had a little problem with the Maverick ET-73, never did get the settings right on the receiver. I guess I could have read the instructions before starting. But the transmitter work good and gave me the smoker and chicken temperature, and since I was fiddling around the smoker to get used to the vent controls everything worked out. I promise myself I will read the instructions before the next cook Sunday. Surprisingly the Master Forge temperature gauge on the front door only measured about 5F high. Not bad really.

Below are my pictures:

d1aa973d_Rubbed.jpg


Chicken all rubbed up and ready to go!

ec240e9b_Smoker.jpg


Just starting in the smoker, Get er done!

0d3a057d_Cooked.jpg


Cooked and read to eat!

Thanks for all the help, I'll be buggin you soon. Going to do ribs Sunday!

AL
 
Ok I finished my first smoke!

Had a little hard time getting the temperature up at first. That is until I figured out how to use the bottom vents. So my average temperature was about 270F. I cooked the bird until it was 172F. It took me about 3 hours to get the job done. The skin on the chicken was not crisp, but it tasted good. I was to hungry to put it on the grill to finish it off. Maybe next time. The chicken tasted great, real smokey flavor without it being over powering. I went through four chunks of oak wood (not soaked) and about four or five hand fulls of soaked cherry chips.

I used a simple brine the night before of salt and brown sugar. Took it out the fridge in the morning and rinsed it off and applied olive oil and rubbed it on both sides with Plowboys BBQ Bovine bold. I did not want to make my own rub this time. I will save that when I get a little more experienced using the smoker. I do not want to tackle everything on smoking on the first few tries. 

I also had a little problem with the Maverick ET-73, never did get the settings right on the receiver. I guess I could have read the instructions before starting. But the transmitter work good and gave me the smoker and chicken temperature, and since I was fiddling around the smoker to get used to the vent controls everything worked out. I promise myself I will read the instructions before the next cook Sunday. Surprisingly the Master Forge temperature gauge on the front door only measured about 5F high. Not bad really.

Below are my pictures:

c8c75639_Rubbed1.jpg


Chicken all rubbed up and ready to go!

0a00bc8d_Smoker1.jpg


Just starting in the smoker, Get er done!

146c9844_Cooked1.jpg


Cooked and read to eat!

Thanks for all the help, I'll be buggin you soon. Go to do ribs Sunday!

AL
 
Ok I finished my first smoke!

Had a little hard time getting the temperature up at first. That is until I figured out how to use the bottom vents. So my average temperature was about 270F. I cooked the bird until it was 172F. It took me about 3 hours to get the job done. The skin on the chicken was not crisp, but it tasted good. I was to hungry to put it on the grill to finish it off. Maybe next time. The chicken tasted great, real smokey flavor without it being over powering. I went through four chunks of oak wood (not soaked) and about four or five hand fulls of soaked cherry chips.

I used a simple brine the night before of salt and brown sugar. Took it out the fridge in the morning and rinsed it off and applied olive oil and rubbed it on both sides with Plowboys BBQ Bovine bold. I did not want to make my own rub this time. I will save that when I get a little more experienced using the smoker. I do not want to tackle everything on smoking on the first few tries.

I also had a little problem with the Maverick ET-73, never did get the settings right on the receiver. I guess I could have read the instructions before starting. But the transmitter work good and gave me the smoker and chicken temperature, and since I was fiddling around the smoker to get used to the vent controls everything worked out. I promise myself I will read the instructions before the next cook Sunday. Surprisingly the Master Forge temperature gauge on the front door only measured about 5F high. Not bad really.
 

I tried to add pictures but I get a message flashed across the screen to fast for me to read, so I reduced the picture size (largest size 72kb). Still get a message to fast for me to read. Any help would be good.

Thanks on all the advice on my first smoke, as Arnold would say "I'll be back"

Al
 
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