Does anyone smoke whole chickens?

[Maximumoverpuke]

Can I do it as a practice for a turkey to see if I like the brine and the smoke? Or is it too different?

 

[troutman]

Why not do it on a chicken? It's kind of like saying I'm thinking about getting a Volkswagen but maybe I'll drive a Mack truck to see if I like it :confused:. Chickens are relatively cheap, just go for it.....

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Sure you could. The flavor will be close. Another option would be to buy a Bone-in or boneless turkey breast. In my neck of the woods those are on sale right now and cheaper than a whole chicken.

 

[phatbac]

Yea right now i can get whole chicken at 99 cents/# and whole turkey at 68 cents/#. So i would buy a smaller turkey or 3 and practice on those. But chicken will cook very similar. I smoke whole chickens all the time on my smoker because its cheap and feeds my family of 3 dinner and leftovers. I like to spatchcock my birds and if i can put them on a wire mesh grill topper if i have one. (makes them easier to move around). They are like 3 for $3 at wally world. I suually dont brine my chicken when their whole but if you want to test a brine that is a good place to start.

chickenbefore.jpg

• phatbac
• Dec 10, 2016

chickendone.jpg

• phatbac
• Dec 10, 2016

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[troutman]

Wait, let's do the math, if I buy a "small" turkey (like 8-10# ?) at $0.68/lb, then I'm paying between $4-7 total cost. A 3-4# chicken roaster at $0.99/lb would cost between $3-4. I don't understand the logic of using a turkey to learn how to cook chicken, it makes no sense to me.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Wait, let's do the math, if I buy a "small" turkey (like 8-10# ?) at $0.68/lb, then I'm paying between $4-7 total cost. A 3-4# chicken roaster at $0.99/lb would cost between $3-4. I don't understand the logic of using a turkey to learn how to cook chicken, it makes no sense to me.

The original OP is not looking to learn to cook chicken. He is looking to try a brine that he wants to use on turkey.

Right now where I live, turkey breast is going for $0.69-80. Per pound. Average weight 4-5 pounds. 5 pound chicken is $8.99-$10.99 or $1.80-2.20 per pound. Hows that math pan out. Speaking of math I best get back to work and design some more beams and footings...

 

[tallbm]

Can I do it as a practice for a turkey to see if I like the brine and the smoke? Or is it too different?

Yeah you should be fine. Everyone does things a little differently. I always brine whole chicken or breast meat chicken. I never bother with dark meat (drums, thighs, or the quarters) and it comes out naturally juicy.

One thing I will mention is that chicken and turkey skin will be leathery if you don't smoke at 325F or higher. Some seem to get away with lower temps but I never have been able to.
Additionally some pull the chicken/turkey before it finishes and throw it on a hot grill skin side down to get the skin to become edible or even crispy. Some do the same thing but put the chicken/turkey in the oven at like 400F or higher and finish cooking there so the skin becomes edible or crispy.

Do not ignore this skin issue because it is real and I think it is what turns most people off to smoking chicken/turkey or causes them to toss the skin before smoking.

Finally, chicken is cheap and great anytime you want to experiment on/with your smoker or with a new brine or seasoning of some kind! I have smoked way more chicken then I ever expected to while attempting all my smoker modifications and experiments. With all of that great chicken I was making it baffled me as to why people do not smoke chicken more often and how smoked chicken I come across is done so poorly lol.

Best of luck!

 

[troutman]

The original OP is not looking to learn to cook chicken. He is looking to try a brine that he wants to use on turkey.

Right now where I live, turkey breast is going for $0.69-80. Per pound. Average weight 4-5 pounds. 5 pound chicken is $8.99-$10.99 or $1.80-2.20 per pound. Hows that math pan out. Speaking of math I best get back to work and design some more beams and footings...

First, you're changing the equation sir. If you want to talk turkey breast then let's talk turkey breast versus chicken breast total cost, not turkey breast versus whole chicken. Plus we went from $0.99/lb (not my figure) to $2.00/lb (your figure) while keeping the price of turkey the same. You must be using some of that fuzzy math (don't do that on your rebar calcs or your beams might fail!).

Secondly, where in his post did he say he was trying to learn to brine? The title of his post was "Does anyone smoke whole chickens?", then asked if trying a run using turkey to determine brine and smoke levels made sense. I responded as I did.

Anyway, to the poster I again say buy you a small $4 chicken and have at it. Tallbm and others here will certainly give you some good tips and pointers, as well as the recipe section you can access on this site.

And yes, I too need to get back to my math. I'm a structural engineer and a chief estimator for a construction company. Bidding calls .... (just don't want to use "fuzzy" math, gets me in trouble) ;)

 

[phatbac]

Alright, i think we are over thinking this. Does he want to use chicken as a test run for turkey yes. was i saying he could spend about the same or a little more for a small turkey, yes. Whichever you want to smoke take pics describe the steps and make a great thread...no need to argue over a couple bucks and a couple birds.

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[troutman]

Agreed. Here's a chicken to practice on.....my treat !!!

 

[noboundaries]

I use the exact same brine for chicken and turkey, just adjusting the amount of the ingredients depending the weight of the birds. I usually do two 6 lb chickens or one 18 lb turkey.