first time with smoker

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jon thomas

Newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2013
28
10
South East Missouri
As some know I was given an ECB friday I seasoned it and later saturday we smoked a whole chicken about 6 lbs.

well our daughter and grandkids showed up and they wanted to stay and eat so we ended up tossing in some pork chops and some pork steaks.

well hours later we took everything out and started to get the meal ready.  I noticed when I started to remove one of the breasts it was not all the way done so I tossed the breasts in the oven to finish them off.

I would give this maiden voyage about a 70% success rate.

The legs, thighs and wings where great.  the pork chops and pork steaks  I could not believe I normally dont eat pork steaks but they reminded me of ribs.

the breasts on the other hand i did not enjoy at all.  they came out with more of a rubbery texture than what I am use to.

I will chalk this up as a learning expieriance and avoid whole birds till I make several more adjustments to the ECB

all in all it was a great day.
 
Keep at it and youll figure out the in's and out's of your smoker.

When you smoke poultry the skin does get tough. I have not personally done it but there are quite a few people who have rubbed mayo on the skin to keep it moist. Smoked chicken is great though! if your actual meat was rubbery then it sounds like something may have been wrong.

feel free to ask questions on here, there are alot of very knowledge members on this forum

good luck and good smoking!
 
yea I do believe something went wrong but other than the breasts everything was great.  So  going to make some mods to the ECB and practice some more as i do mods to the smoker.  I will get the bugs worked out.  

I will defiantly keep researching , asking questions and learning.

thank you for the encouragement
 
Gotta show the q-views....or pictures....folks will tease you and add this.......
th_nopicsye3.gif


Just and fyi!

Kat
 
For a whole Chicken, I get OUTSTANDING results butterflying it, everything cooks up nice and moist at the same time. For the skin, mix a teaspoon or so of corn starch in your rub. Also try to let the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before you cook.

 
For a whole Chicken, I get OUTSTANDING results butterflying it, everything cooks up nice and moist at the same time. For the skin, mix a teaspoon or so of corn starch in your rub. Also try to let the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before you cook.


and thank you for the tip and video link  do you lay the chicken skin side down or bone side down on your grate after butterflying?
 
Hey like others have said just keep at it. If it helps keep a log of your smokes and that way you can learn from your mistakes. I know it helps me when I'm smoking something new or something I have done many times before. We all only get better with time, kinda like a fine wine....lol.....
 
started adding contents into ever notes  so far it seems pretty cool

gonna install it on my laptop tonight and play with the syncing and get more familiar with it

it should be on the tablet soon too

this was a great tip and i thank you for introducing me to it
 
O.K. , it's time for a list of toys you'll need :

A good thermometer to check the temp. of food ( chicken is done at 165* internalmeat temp. - and wrapping them in Bacon helps keep them moist - what doesn't go with Bacon?)

A Leg and Wing rack

a Rib rack

some cool looking apron

cooks gloves(cheap and make you look like a Pro.)

Frog Mats ( for cooking small stuff like Veggies , ABT's , and little stuff you want to play with)

Good chunks of Wood for flavoring

a beercan opener for your work bench . . . oh. and you'll need one of them too

and finally a cool looking pair of sunglasses so you can't be seen lokking where you don't need to. .

Have fun and as always . . .
 
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