First Smoked Chicken - Questions inside

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pdqgp

Newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2014
28
12
Okay, so I have a MB upright two-door smoker and this will be my first attempt at a chicken.

I have read most all the threads here but still have questions.

1. Should I fill the water tray at the bottom of the smoker to help keep it moist? I plan on soaking it in brine 4-8+ hours.
2. I planned on cooking it at 275-300* That said, how long per pound should it take?
3. Looking at #2, I have read about splitting the whole chicken down the middle to help it cook more evenly and faster. What will that do to the cook times per pound?

Thanks in advance!
 
I do chickens in my cookshack split down the backbone for about an hour and a half at 300 degrees to make the skin a little less rubbery than lower temps.  I usually have to do one on a vertical roaster in the weber bbq as well as the missus doesn't like smoked chicken much.  The cookshack is a little moister environment than my old masterbuilt, but if you are going to brine the chicken, I've not felt the water pan helped do anything other than catch drippings.;

You do need to cook by temp though, and not by time  Make sure the the breast is 165, thigh about 175.  I've found in the smoker, it is very moist.
 
Okay, so I have a MB upright two-door smoker and this will be my first attempt at a chicken.

I have read most all the threads here but still have questions.

1. Should I fill the water tray at the bottom of the smoker to help keep it moist? Nope, inhibits a crisp skin formation.  I plan on soaking it in brine 4-8+ hours. 4-8 at 1C Kosher per Gal water is fine. I like 1/2C per and go for 12-16 hours followed by an overnight stay unwrapped in the refer to dry the skin.
2. I planned on cooking it at 275-300* That said, how long per pound should it take? 20-25 minutes a pound, depending on size. 3-4 pound Fryer/Broiler 20 min per. 7-8 Roaster, 25+ per pound.
3. Looking at #2, I have read about splitting the whole chicken down the middle to help it cook more evenly and faster. What will that do to the cook times per pound? Reduce it to 15 minutes a pound

Thanks in advance!
I totally agree with cooking to temp, 165°/Breast and 175°/Thigh. Have fun...JJ
 
Last edited:
Very nice. And how did the skin come out? Did you use the waterpan? Just curious.

An "A+" on the finish.
drool.gif
 
Looks good from here!...JJ
 
Skin was crispy. No water pan. Left it in there just to catch the drippings.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3
 
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So here's my first chicken in my new mes30. Somebody got to it before I got the pic! I thought it was going to be a chicken jerky because it was up to 160 before it got any color so I took it down from 225 to 190 and let it ride for another 2 hours. So that's a total of four hours of smoke. I was sure we'd be putting it in the vitamix with gravy to be repurposed as stucco. Well we were sure surprised at how moist and flavorful it turned out. I am convinced that chicken cannot be done badly in a smoker.
 
Just did a whole chicken and a dozen legs. Ran the MES at 275 with the Masterbuilt side smoker puffing on mesquite and no water for 5 hours until the skin on the bird had enough color. The only thing we did to the meat before tossing it in was to rinse it, dry it, and rub it with home made garlic olive oil. The legs got crispy and the bird got just right. Wish I could put pics but it's already gone.
 
That's what we did I yesterday. The skin was nice and crisp. The alarm went off when it reached 160*. I had the probe in the breast. Then I just tented it until ready to eat. BUT, the dark meat was not done. If I put my probe in the thigh next time, will the white meat get too dry?
 
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