About to use Masterbuilt 30 smoker for first time....help with split chicken!!

WooPig said:

Ok, I bought a split chicken instead of a whole bird.  They have been brining for about 3.5 hours......was about to pull them and apply rub (Jeff's rub), then put back in to fridge until I'm ready to smoke them.  I have a few questions: Rinse the chicken well when you take it out of the brine pat it dry then apply the rub. Personally I like to apply some olive oil after patting them dry to help the rub stick better. If you like crispy skin smoke at 275 or as high as the MES will go

1. How much impact will the bird being split impact my cooking time?  Want to time it right for dinner tonight.....don't want them done too early or too late.  How long am I looking at here? The pieces will smoke faster. It depends on many things as to how long that;s why we go by temp I would guess 2-3 hours at 275 unless the pieces are huge

2. Planning on using applewood....should I snag something else to mix in or just go with the applewood? I personally like straight apple on poultry but it's a matter of personal tastes

3. How long do I apply the smoke?  The whole cooking time?  Half? Thin blue smoke (TBS) the whole time apple is a light flavor and it would be very hard to over smoke with it

I'm pretty clueless here and want the results to be good.....need to show my wife this smoker was worth spending $ on.

Thanks!

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