Planning on smoking my first whole chicken along with some quarters. Am I missing anything important

tmodlin said:

I have 4 quarter sections and a 6.5lb bird sitting in a brine in my fridge right now, planning on letting it swim for ~24hrs. After I take it out tomorrow night I'll rince, pat dry and let sit open in the fridge over night to dry. Tuesday morning I will lightly oil the skin with EVOO or butter, havent decided yet, and then apply a no-salt rub above and below the skin. Im going to smoke at a higher temp, 325-350 so I can get a crispy skin and faster cook times, doesnt seem like a bad thing to do with a bird.

Now my questions.

1. Im doing quarters and a whole chicken, am I better off starting the  whole bird 30-45 minutes before the individual quarters? I would think the mass of the whole bird will take a bit longer. I only have one meat probe on my Maverick so I figure I'll stick it in the breast.

2. Rookie question but I gotta ask, do you stick the probe right away or not til after you are out of the danger zone?

I'd wait for about 45 minutes.... the birds will take about an hour.... that way the outer portion of the meat will be up to temp and surface bacteria will be killed and you will not be injecting surface bacteria into the meat.....  Make sense ??

3. I like to use a throw away roaster pan instead of a standard water pan and I fill it with apple juice when I do pork butts or fatties. Do I still want to do that with a bird or will that prevent the skin from drying out and cooking properly? I mixed up a spritz and plan on using it so do I skip the water/apple juice?

Brined birds will be moist... the "water" pan is probably not necessary and may hinder the development of a crisp skin... in essence the use of a water pan steams the food.. In my opinion....

4. I am going to use apple or cherry chunks for the smoke. I've never smoked above 300F, will that cause my wood to burn too fast and cause white smoke? I am only starting with a couple chunks and can add more later.

I would stick to one chunk of wood or separate them in the pan...  2 chunks together can catch on fire... I've done that....

5. I'm thinking this will be in the ballpark of 4.5 hours til finished, am I close?! I swear I will be watching IT to determine when its done, just hoping to get a better idea on time.

325-350 is the same as your oven.... I would guess about 1 1/4 hours to 1 1/2 hours and they will be done... If your therms are correct in the smoker... and the door is kept closed.... opening the door adds to the time to cook..... 

I know I'll learn as I go and sometimes mistakes are the best lesson but I figured with all the experience on this board I would be a fool not to ask.

The brine and rub are courtesy of Chef JimmyJ and this thread.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/130508/whats-a-good-turkey-brine-recipe-and-technique

And the spritz is the Slaughterhouse recipe with a mixture of brandy and whiskey instead of just whiskey.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/tips-slaughterhouse-recipes-for-poultry

Smoker is the Home Depot Masterbuilt Dual door unit.

Merry Christmas and thanks in advance,

Tim

Feel free to ask me some questions too if you think I may be forgetting something.

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