Hints for first smoked chicken

[bigrnm13]

Thanks VIC81

 

[bigrnm13]

Thanks guys for the responses.  I did use a basket for the charcoal.  I am wondering if the water pan was too close to the firebox.  Now that you see the pics, can you see the water pan?  I am going to calibrate the gauge like alelover and others have suggested.  Question though, if the gauge does not read 212 for the boiling temp, how do I adjust it? 

Also, if the gauge is correct, what else could have gone wrong?  I am going to do a brisket this weekend, will let you know the details.

Thanks guys,

TTYL

 

[alelover]

I bought mine from River Country. One was off by 7 degrees. They promptly sent me a new one.

 

[sqwib]

Hi SQWIB,

Thanks for the response. 

the termometer I used I had just purchased at Lowe's, it was brand new.  I didn't realize I had to calibrate it.  How do you calibrate them?

The chicken was not frozen, and I did sort of put it in the middle of the smoker.  I'm wondering if the water pan was too close to the firebox?  When you guys receive the pics, if I did it correctly, you will see where the chicken is.

I need to leave now, but will get back to all of you tomorrow.

Thanks for all the responses,

TTYL,

Calibrate may not be the correct word, you need to find the difference in temp and make a note of it, so if you do what Alelover (Thanks), has posted below and say it should read 212 degrees but shows something like 245, then subtract the 212 from the 245, giving you a 33 degree difference, so your next smoke if you are trying to keep the temps at 225, your thermo would read 258 (33 added).

Of course this is just an example.

The type thermo in Alelovers photo seem to run cool, I have 3 and barely make it to 200 degrees in boiling water, his appears to be running 10 degrees cool, by the looks of the pic..

 

Put the thermo in boiling water and see if it reads 212 F. Your boiling point may differ depending on altitude. See chart below for the pressure in your neighborhood.

[size=-1]To calculate the boiling point of water at a location on any specific day use the following equation:[/size]

[size=-1]Boiling point of water = Boiling point at specified altitude (Table 1) ± boiling point barometric correction (Table 2).[/size]​

[size=-1]In the tables, the following equations have been used:[/size]

[size=-1]Pressure (in. Hg) = 29.921* (1-6.8753*0.000001 * altitude, ft.)^5.2559[/size]​

[size=-1]Boiling point = 49.161 * Ln (in. Hg) + 44.932[/size]​

 ​

[size=-1]TABLE[/size]  [size=-1] 1[/size]​	[size=-2]Changes in Standard Temperature and Pressure (in Hg) as a Function of Altitude[/size]​	​ [size=-1]  (Ref. 1)[/size]​		[size=-1]TABLE[/size]  [size=-1] 2[/size]​	​ [size=-2]Boiling Point as a Function of [/size]​ [size=-2]Barometric Pressure[/size]​	​ [size=-1]  (Ref. 2)[/size]​
[size=-1]Altitude (ft.)[/size]​	[size=-1]Pressure[/size]​ [size=-1](in. Hg)[/size]​	[size=-1]Boiling pt.[/size]​ [size=-1](° F)[/size]​	[size=-1]  [/size]​	[size=-1]Pressure[/size]​ [size=-1](in. Hg)[/size]​	[size=-1]Boiling pt. [/size]​ [size=-1](° F)[/size]​	[size=-1]Boiling pt.[/size]​ [size=-1][added or reduced][/size]​ [size=-1](° F)[/size]​
[size=-1]-500[/size]​	[size=-1]30.466[/size]​	[size=-1]212.9[/size]​	​	[size=-1]27.6[/size]​	[size=-1]208.04[/size]​	[size=-1]-3.96[/size]​
[size=-1]0[/size]​	[size=-1]29.921[/size]​	[size=-1]212.0[/size]​	​	[size=-1]27.8[/size]​	[size=-1]208.39[/size]​	[size=-1]-3.61[/size]​
[size=-1]500[/size]​	[size=-1]29.384[/size]​	[size=-1]211.1[/size]​	​	[size=-1]28.0[/size]​	[size=-1]208.75[/size]​	[size=-1]-3.25[/size]​
[size=-1]1000[/size]​	[size=-1]28.855[/size]​	[size=-1]210.2[/size]​	​	[size=-1]28.2[/size]​	[size=-1]209.10[/size]​	[size=-1]-2.90[/size]​
[size=-1]2000[/size]​	[size=-1]27.821[/size]​	[size=-1]208.4[/size]​	​	[size=-1]28.4[/size]​	[size=-1]209.44[/size]​	[size=-1]-2.56[/size]​
[size=-1]2500[/size]​	[size=-1]27.315[/size]​	[size=-1]207.5[/size]​	​	[size=-1]28.6[/size]​	[size=-1]209.79[/size]​	[size=-1]-2.21[/size]​
[size=-1]3000[/size]​	[size=-1]26.817[/size]​	[size=-1]206.6[/size]​	​	[size=-1]28.8[/size]​	[size=-1]210.13[/size]​	[size=-1]-1.87[/size]​
[size=-1]3500[/size]​	[size=-1]26.326[/size]​	[size=-1]205.7[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.0[/size]​	[size=-1]210.47[/size]​	[size=-1]-1.53[/size]​
[size=-1]4000[/size]​	[size=-1]25.842[/size]​	[size=-1]204.8[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.2[/size]​	[size=-1]210.81[/size]​	[size=-1]-1.19[/size]​
[size=-1]4500[/size]​	[size=-1]25.365[/size]​	[size=-1]203.9[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.4[/size]​	[size=-1]211.15[/size]​	[size=-1]-0.85[/size]​
[size=-1]5000[/size]​	[size=-1]24.896[/size]​	[size=-1]203.0[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.6[/size]​	[size=-1]211.48[/size]​	[size=-1]-0.52[/size]​
[size=-1]5500[/size]​	[size=-1]24.434[/size]​	[size=-1]202.0[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.8[/size]​	[size=-1]211.81[/size]​	[size=-1]-0.19[/size]​
[size=-1]6000[/size]​	[size=-1]23.978[/size]​	[size=-1]201.1[/size]​	​	[size=-1]29.921[/size]​	[size=-1]212.00[/size]​	[size=-1]0.00[/size]​
[size=-1]6500[/size]​	[size=-1]23.530[/size]​	[size=-1]200.2[/size]​	​	[size=-1]30.0[/size]​	[size=-1]212.14[/size]​	[size=-1]0.14[/size]​
[size=-1]7000[/size]​	[size=-1]23.088[/size]​	[size=-1]199.3[/size]​	​	[size=-1]30.2[/size]​	[size=-1]212.46[/size]​	[size=-1]0.46[/size]​
[size=-1]7500[/size]​	[size=-1]22.653[/size]​	[size=-1]198.3[/size]​	​	[size=-1]30.4[/size]​	[size=-1]212.79[/size]​	[size=-1]0.79[/size]​
[size=-1]8000[/size]​	[size=-1]22.225[/size]​	[size=-1]197.4[/size]​	​	[size=-1]30.6[/size]​	[size=-1]213.11[/size]​	[size=-1]1.11[/size]​
[size=-1]8500[/size]​	[size=-1]21.803[/size]​	[size=-1]196.4[/size]​	​	[size=-1]30.8[/size]​	[size=-1]213.43[/size]​	[size=-1]1.43[/size]​
[size=-1]9000[/size]​	[size=-1]21.388[/size]​	[size=-1]195.5[/size]​	​	[size=-1]31.0[/size]​	[size=-1]213.75[/size]​	[size=-1]1.75[/size]​
[size=-1]9500[/size]​	[size=-1]20.979[/size]​	[size=-1]194.6[/size]​	​	[size=-1]31.2[/size]​	[size=-1]214.07[/size]​	[size=-1]2.07[/size]​
[size=-1]10000[/size]​	[size=-1]20.577[/size]​	[size=-1]193.6[/size]​	​	[size=-1]31.4[/size]​	[size=-1]214.38[/size]​	[size=-1]2.38[/size]​

Excellent post, thanks again

 

[kathleen gefre]

I'm only about 2 years late for you but just to share a method I;ve used for about 20 years.  I have a brinkman smoker and for chickens with crispy skin I stuff the chicken with quartered lemons garlic cloves and rosemary sprgs, lots of salt and pepper.   The trick is to not use the water pan.   No liquid,  the chickens take a few hours and they are moist and delicious.  Give it a try.

 

[rtbbq2]

Lots of great ideas above to try....Ditto!

 

[grampysbest]

Interesting ideas! I have no trouble doing a "conventional" smoking -tastes good, looks great. How do you get the smoked flavor into the bird? The best I have had are actually pink from the smoking with flavor right down to the bones! Thanks - Grampy

 

[hambone1950]

One little thing to be aware of with the WSM if you are using both racks at once.....I tried doing a beer can chicken on the bottom rack and found that the top rack wouldn't sit down without hitting the top of the standing chicken. (It WAS a big chicken). So , I'm just saying , if you want to do , say , 4 whole chickens , you might have to do the ones on the bottom rack laying down on their bellies......take some pictures!:drool

 

[jaked]

BigR

Check out this link for the mods to your horizontal offset. I know you have the chargriller and not the Brinkman SnP but the use of the baffle and tuning plates will help you with even temps and I found that elevating the charcoal grate helped me get my temps up.

Good Luck and happy grillin!!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/75110/horizonal-offset-smoker-mods

 

[traflet]

A lot of us don't have room in the fridge for brine buckets... and if you go to competition BBQ out in some field or parking lot, you won't have a fridge there.  What I do is, I got couple of big glass containers with lids - like 2 or 3 gallon size maybe. You can mix up your brine, add the meat or chickens (I have put 2 whole racks of spare ribs together in one jar) and put in some ice cubes or chunks... the bigger the better.  Wrap the glass briner in newspapers and/or towels and it should hold for many hours.

Ain't this fun?!

 

[traflet]

I did not brine the chicken because I don't have a container big enough for two chickens or the space in the fridge for brining.  I understand it has to be kept cold for brining.  So I decided to just rub some oil and butter and a dry rub on them instead. 

A lot of us don't have room in the fridge for brine buckets... and if you go to competition BBQ out in some field or parking lot, you won't have a fridge there.  What I do is, I got couple of big glass containers with lids - like 2 or 3 gallon size maybe. You can mix up your brine, add the meat or chickens (I have put 2 whole racks of spare ribs together in one jar) and put in some ice cubes or chunks... the bigger the better.  Wrap the glass briner in newspapers and/or towels and it should hold for many hours.

 

[sskyking]

First off, that temp concerns me.  I used to be a health inspector... poultry is unsafe at 124!

Are you using a barrel smoker?  You speak of one temp close to the firebox and another at the  other end, so it sounds like you are.  The water close to the firebox will not only add moisture, more importantly, it will reduce heat.  That sounds like it might've happened here. 

Peeking kills smoking temperature... even briefly, especially if using a barrel smoker since heat rises.  If you want to keep track of temp, get either a wired or wireless probe... you only want to open the firebox for adding fuel, not the smoking chamber.

Typically, you need to add charcoal every 45-60 mins... if you wait until temps start dropping, you will quickly fall behind the power curve.  Remember, unless you pre-light you charcoal before adding to the fire, you will actually reduce heat initially, while the new coals light!

For brining, you can also use large ziplock bags and then place them in a tray to catch any leakage.  Be sure to squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible before sealing.  That will maximize contact between the brine (works for marinades too) and the meat.  If the weather is cold, a contractor's  beverage cooler on the back porch overnight works too!  (Great for a turkey)

 

[sskyking]

A simpler way is to fill a large glass with ice and water.  Then insert the thermometer, it should read 32 degrees.  Most analog thermometer can be calibrated, as a health inspector I had to calibrate mine weekly.  If the back of the dial portion has a nut where the probe connects' simply put it in the ice water and use pliers to hold the nut in place and turn the dial portion to read 32 degrees.

A good article on this at: http://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/pdf_Files/Calibration_thermo.pdf

 

[whittlinsam]

I use ziplock bags, gallon size, when I brine a chicken.     Sit it in a bowl or plastic dishpan in the fridge.    Salt needs to be adjusted according to the amount of time you have it in brine.    Longer time equals less salt, etc.    I usually use about 1/3 cup of tenderquick salt to enough water to cover the chicken.    Leave in brine overnight.    Turkey breast, about 7 - 8 lbs., I use a bit less than half a cup of tenderquick and leave in brine for 4 days.    

 

[grampysbest]

Back at you from Grampy - some really intriguing suggestions. I have grilled a barnyard full of chicken and I do recommend the recent article that Jeff had on"splatchcock" cooking. Doing this on the grill is great, like smoking, it will get a lot more flavor into the bird as opposed to on it. We used to call this bricking. One trick is to always start with the skin side down!! By doing this you can brown the skin before the fat starts to drip and it flares up too much.

Speaking of flavor into the bird, I am still looking for a way to get smoked flavor all the way into the bird - chicken, turkey, rock hen whichever. Help me out the Holidays are coming fast!

 

[brdprey]

both sets of them birds look mighty good. i smoke more birds then anything due to costs. good job, they make the best sammys

 

[ajmarsden87]

Just smoked my first whole chicken.  Used a creole rub on the outside and lemon and garlic on the inside.  Then put rosemary and lemon in the water pan.  Cooked it at about 280-300 degrees for only about 2 hours and the internal of the breast was at about 175 degrees.  Currently letting it rest, hopefully it came out well. 

IMG_0629.jpg

• ajmarsden87
• Mar 9, 2013

 

[smoker21]

Looks great. I'll be putting a couple birds in a brine tonight before I go to bed.

 

[cheese smoker]

In my experience, brining is the key.  The meat stays juicy.  It also seems to cut cooking time down.  I almost brine poultry and large cuts of pork.

 

[tomrhodes]

I have an electric smoker and wanted to the same thing.  The temperature I think only gets to 225.  Any ideas on how I can smoke the chicken?  Please advise.  Also, where can I find the wiki section?

Tom