1st Smoke...... Q-View

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I'm also confused by your cooking time and temp.  3.5-4.5 hours is how long whole chickens take me at 220.  Gotta check that thermometer; chicken looked a little raw to me too but rest of bird looked great!
 
Looks great!

If you're unsure about your thermo, give the probe a dunk in heavily-iced water, and make sure the calibration is good.

Location is key, too! Bones will get hotter than the flesh, so it could have been reading a bone, or in a shallower part of meat that was up to temp.

It also could have been a very, very young, moist chicken. It takes months for chicken bones to fully develop, and often they're slaughtered inside of about eight weeks of age; because of this, the bones are really porous, and they can leech myoglobin into the meat around them, dying it faintly red. That's why the "red around the bone" principal is largely ignored these days.

Hope this helps!

Again, great looking bird!
 
Yes, the skin was a little rubbery but tasted wonderful!
I just did two birds this weekend as well. Pulled them at 155 (breast) and finished them on the grill. About 5-10 min each side over medium flame and the skin lost its rubbery texture. Not super crispy, but much, much better!
 
Am doing chicken this weekend,  I am thinking of injecting.  Would like some advice on this.  I do not plan on brining.  I thought I would also rub.  Use oil first or will this seal the rub out?

Thinking of apple wood or hickory.  Could use some advice.  Thanks, Don
 
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