Steve, I looked through your other threads and see you have a BM offset. Chicken would be a good way for you to learn how to build and maintain a hot fire in that baby.
Understand I've been cooking for others for almost 4 decades and had never roasted a chicken in the oven at less than 350F. For some reason I thought a smoker magically allowed things to happen at lower temps. It does for most meats, but not for poultry if the skin is still on. Skinless? You can smoke at 225F just like any other meat.
I'm a huge fan of brining chicken. It gives it more flavor and I like the meat texture better of the denatured protein. It also makes the chicken breast more forgiving. It can contribute to rubbery skin but there's a way to fix that.
Below is a chicken recipe in my recipe software from when I first started smoking. It has both a fail and a success logged on it. BTW, I no longer rinse chickens but some do.
Smoked Whole Chicken or Bone-in Split Breasts or Leg Quarters
Everything I'm reading about smoking meat recommends starting with something simple and move on from there. Fish is the easiest and quickest thing to cook on the smoker, followed by chicken. My fish turned out great so I moved on to whole chickens.
Chicken is better and safer at the higher temps, 300°F or higher. Cooking at the higher temperature saves time and gives a bite through skin.
1st Attempt (unbrined) Results were good, but not knock your socks off: I washed, trimmed, and butterfly'd two whole chickens, then put in a roaster pan. For seasoning I just rubbed with chipotle oil and rib rub on the skin. Put temperature sensor at grill level and kept close to 225°F for low and slow. Checked breast temp at 4 hours 45 minutes and it read 175. That's done for both the breast (165) and the dark meat (175). Pulled off the fire and tented each chicken to allow it to rest for an hour or more. Result was tender and juicy, but it needed more flavor. Skin was rubbery. I found the brine recipe and used it the next time.
2nd Attempt Leg Quarters: Brined with water, salt, molasses, and brown sugar for 18 hours. Dry smoked with fresh mesquite, leftover hickory, and Kingsford Blue Bag fire, no water pan. Rubbed with Sweet and Smokey rub. Took right at 2 hrs at 300°F. Last 20 minutes mopped with Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory/Brown Sugar sauce doctored with Kentucky Bourbon and apricot-pineapple preserves. Was knock-your-socks-off good.
Ingredients
Whole chicken, Split chicken breasts, or Leg quarters
Favorite BBQ rub or simply salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Brine
6 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
any spices you want to add to the brine using 1 tsp each
Directions
1. Mix all the brine ingredients in a non-reactive pot and stir until all the salt, sugar, and molasses is dissolved.
2. Rinse the chicken and trim away any extra skin or fat. If cooking whole chickens you can butterfly or leave whole. I prefer to beercan whole chickens.
3. Arrange the chicken in the brine so it is completely covered. You can add more water if needed to cover the chicken.
4. Let the chicken brine for 12-24 hours, but no more than 24 hours.
5. Discard the brine and pat dry the chicken. If time allows, put back in the refrigerator uncovered for 12 hours to allow the skin to dry. Not absolutely necessary but it does make a difference. Just be careful not to contaminate your fridge.
6. Lightly sprinkle with your rub or salt/pepper/garlic powder. A sweeter rub works well with this recipe.
7. Fire up the smoker to 300°+F and either put the chicken directly on the grill with a drip pan underneath, or put the chicken on a rack in the roaster to save all the drippings and juices.
8. Place the meat probe in the thickest part of the meat. In the thigh if doing whole chickens or leg quarters.
9. Keep the temperature of the smoker above 300°F. If you want a crispier skin, let the temp climb to 325-350°F for the last 30 minutes.
10. If mopping with sauce, mop for last 20 minutes. I'll sauce quarters and breasts, but not whole chickens.
11. Remove when the internal temperature of the thigh is 175°F, 165°F if split chicken breasts.
12. Let rest for 15 minutes or more.
13. Serve.