Hello! I'm a complete newbie here and to smoking. I'm currently attempting to smoke chicken leg quarters in a cheap bullet-style smoker. It's not going well. Or it might be...I'm not sure.
I'm not sure the smoker brand would help but for what it's worth, it's a Master Chef Vertical Smoker from Canadian Tire.
Aside from problems of getting this thing up to temperature (currently holding steady at 220F or so), my main issue right now is the temperature of the chicken. I have a probe in one of the quarters which runs to an external thermometer.
It'll go up to 168F, then drop to 160F. Then go up again to 167F, then drop down again. I've been smoking for 3.5 hours and it's been doing this weird temperature thing for the last hour or so.
Is this normal?? Any quick way to get this thing up to a higher temperature for crispy skin?
Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks for your time reading!
PS
This is my second smoke. First smoke I did Trout which had it's own share of problems but turned out anyways.
I'm not sure the smoker brand would help but for what it's worth, it's a Master Chef Vertical Smoker from Canadian Tire.
Aside from problems of getting this thing up to temperature (currently holding steady at 220F or so), my main issue right now is the temperature of the chicken. I have a probe in one of the quarters which runs to an external thermometer.
It'll go up to 168F, then drop to 160F. Then go up again to 167F, then drop down again. I've been smoking for 3.5 hours and it's been doing this weird temperature thing for the last hour or so.
Is this normal?? Any quick way to get this thing up to a higher temperature for crispy skin?
Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks for your time reading!
PS
This is my second smoke. First smoke I did Trout which had it's own share of problems but turned out anyways.