Smoking first whole chicken

zump · May 1, 2015

Hi all, I am getting ready to start brining my first whole chicken! Brine is prepped salt sugar and water (any other suggestions?). I have read about a buttermilk brine on here, thoughts?Question: do I use rub after brining? If so what's the best way to apply it? How do I get it under the skin, do I need to? Inject? I'm excited to smoke this guy on Sunday, pics to follow! Any suggestions are appreciated!

biteme7951 · May 1, 2015

Some Onion and garlic powder, along with a few bay leaves would round it out nicely. Since it is your first bird just keep it simple and see where it goes. Bird will be plenty moist without injecting, unless you are looking to add additional flavor to the meat. Again, just go simple the first time and build on that.

Barry.

zump · May 1, 2015

Barry- thank you for the advice to keep it simple, going to add onion and garlic powder! Any thoughts on applying rub?

sota d · May 1, 2015

I usually brine a whole chicken 5-6 hours. rinse after brining and paper towel dry before applying rub. You can push some rub under the breast skin if you want. I usually make a herb butter and push it up under the skin. Smoke at 250-275 til IT is 165 in breast and 170 in thigh. Enjoy your smoke and post some pics so we can enjoy it too!

biteme7951 · May 1, 2015

Totally up to you, I will sometimes put it on as I like the skin and it helps crisp it up a little.

sota d · May 1, 2015

I love crisp skin too, but I have an electric smoker with 275* max temp-not hot enough to crisp skin. If I'm doing chicken pieces I'll throw them on a hot grill after smoking to get crispy.

zump · May 1, 2015

Chicken is in brine! Salt, sugar and water! Added some garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and a little curry powder! Smoking him first thing in the morning! I'll keep u all posted! Thanks for the advice!

noboundaries · May 1, 2015

Mmmmmm, brined chicken. One of my favorite things to smoke. Looking forward to the pics!

zump · May 2, 2015

[ATTACHMENT=2053]image.jpg (2,140k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]Brined, rubbed and ready to be smoked!

timberjet · May 2, 2015

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf A lot of us don't like to download pictures. I have an antiquated computer and refuse to download stuff. If you spatchcock the bird it will cook more even and a little faster. I think you get more smoke that way too. Make sure you wash the brine off the bird before you smoke it. Also you want to dry the skin out really well with a fan or hair dryer before smoking. I like to rub under all the skin everywhere and the cavity too. Spatchcock is the way to go here.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/158055/spatchcocked-chicken-the-art

zump · May 2, 2015

image.jpg

zump
May 2, 2015

Hope this is easier! Thanks for the posting top! Bird is in the smoker at 9am on a nice 82 degree Southern California morning!

timberjet · May 2, 2015

Thank you and the old computer thanks you too. Looking good. Keep em coming.

oldschoolbbq · May 2, 2015

Zump , everyone has you going in the right direction . You should have no trouble

I see you have it prepped and ready to go as a Whole Bird . may I suggest doing it Beer-can Style . they turn out great , and no worry about burning the skin. Of

course if you want it to have a crispy skin you'll need to place it on a grill and finish it as the guys mentioned .

Any way you do it , I'll be waiting to see . . .

Have fun and . ..

zump · May 2, 2015

image.jpg

zump
May 2, 2015

Letting the bbias relax a bit before slicing! Looks good!!

zump · May 2, 2015

That's supposed to say letting the bird relax! Excited to slice...

rmmurray · May 2, 2015

Sorry I'm late to the party, the bird is looking good. Let's see some Qview please. I'm getting hungry again :)

Smoking first whole chicken

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