Haven't tried it yet. Still kinda lost when comes to smoking meat, but getting some awesome help from everyone here. Thank you all for responding. I was thinking about trying for some pulled chicken sandwiches or doing a tri tip. Guess I'll have to jump in and try it out.
It can be intimidating to start but you'll get the hang of it; distill it down into manageable pieces. Pulled chicken definitely isn't a bad place to start. Take some time to put together a plan, write it down, then follow the plan. Do some research here for any points of the plan you're unsure about. Aside from food-safety (i.e. proper food storage/handling and cooking to an acceptable internal temperature within an acceptable time window) the decisions all come down to personal preference. The worst that'll happen on the personal preference decisions is you'll make some food that's not quite to your taste, so write down the results and refine it for next time.
Some things I can recommend to plan:
- Time. This is the most difficult thing to plan at first. Determine when you want to eat and work backwards from there. How long do you think it will take you to pull the birds once they're done? Will you let the birds rest after they're done before you pull them? These two will roughly tell you what time they need to be done - so how long do you think it will take to cook the birds once they're on (this will never be an exact science) - a rough calculation between bird size and cook temp. That'll tell you roughly what time they need to go on. Now you have your cook start time, so how long do you think it'll take you to prep the smoker to light and get up to your desired cook temp? And lastly, how long will it take you to prep the birds? Add all of these times up, then add yourself a healthy contingency so you don't have to rush. For your first smoke, it might be a good idea to plan some sides that are not time-sensitive and can be pulled right out of the fridge or pantry and served (e.g. potato chips, potato salad, regular salad) or held in the oven at serving temp in the event you run over time (e.g. mac and cheese).
- Bird prep. Are you going to rub the birds? Brine them? The possibilities are really endless here and 100% personal preference.
- Smoke wood. Same as above. You'll find a lot of recommendations here as to which smoke woods match which meats, but it's really up to you. Hard to go wrong, any wood you choose is going to add more flavor than you'll get with any other chicken.
- Monitoring. How are you going to know what the cook temps and internal temp of the bird(s) are? Sounds like you've got a thermometer with probes already, so you're on the right track there.
- Fuel. You've got the option of charcoal or propane - which are you going to use? Again, personal preference and no wrong answer.
- Beverage. What are you going to have to drink while you're smoking? A hugely important decision!
I'm sure that I've forgotten some points but this will definitely get you started. Remember that for 99% of us posting here this is a fun hobby and not a profession. Try not to stress too much and enjoy the ride. And don't forget to post pictures!
