Kettle Chicken Question

[RiversideSm0ker]

Guys,

I am going to cook a whole chicken today on my new kettle. I have a couple of questions. I’m going to cook it using the two charcoal baskets set to the outside edges of the kettle with a drip pan between them. What temp should I be shooting for at grate level? What is the typical cook time I can expect? I want to bake a couple of potatoes along side the chicken and want to try to time it to coincide with the potatoes. Thanks in advance.

G

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I would personally spatchcock the chicken, for a more even cook. If your looking for crispy skin, your gonna want grate temp of round 350*. I don't go by time, I go by IT... but I'd think the taters would take about the same time as the chicken if I am understanding you right... Just my 2 cents, hope this helps.

 

[browneyesvictim]

On my kettle I can light two piles of coals- one on each side (with the bird in the middle on a rack with a drip tray underneath as you describe) all the vents are left wide open. I don't throttle the temps (vents) at all. The high heat indirect that way is best in my opinion for good skin and tender juicy bird. You are good over 400' ! Here was Thanksgiving Turkey done that way... Outstanding!

 

[chopsaw]

I also bank coals on 2 sides , also everything open . I just let it run hot , up wards of 400 .
I like to truss and cook whole .

First time , I would take the advice above from post 2 and spatch the bird . Run your heat around 350 , but if it goes hotter don't stress over it .
Don't be afraid to get the taters done first .

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I appreciate all of the suggestions that have been offered. I think I’m going to go full throttle this go around. I am definitely going to try the spatchcock method at some point. I will have my temp probe in the chicken breast so I’ll know what’s going on inside. I’m going to drop the potatoes on a bit before I put the chicken on the grate. My wife is going to prep up some brussels sprouts to go with dinner. I’ll get a shot of it on the grate. I’m definitely looking forward to dinner.

G

 

[browneyesvictim]

Sounds like a good plan G!
Good call al the way around. Especially sticking a meat probe in the breast. I was actually putting one in this turkey breast when I took the picture... (and probed a few other places with my instant-read therm). I look forward to seeing shots of your Q!
(And the sprouts please! My favorite veggie!)

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

So here we go it’s on the kettle and boy this smells good. I have a mix of apple and hickory for a little smoke. The Asian garlic rub smells lovely. To be continued...

G

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

So here is the finished product. Darker than I had hoped for. I caught it at 167. The chicken was tender and juicy but the skin got too far. I think my big mistake was putting water in the drip pan under the chicken. I am sure I used too much water and it acted like a heat sink. Because of that it took two hours to get the IT up to 165. Lessons learned already. I’m very happy with my kettle already. Gonna take a break tomorrow and make some enchiladas out of the leftover chicken from tonight. I also have leftover prime rib that may end up being dinner on Sunday. Sorry that there are no Brussels sprouts but my wife wasn’t that hungry and didn’t want them tonight.



G

 

[browneyesvictim]

I dunno. But it looks like your rub took the brunt of it. Did you have sugars in it. It looks tasty to me anyway..

Also did you start all your coals at once or just a few on unlit ones?

I'm not necessarily convinced your water pan was at fault.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Not sure how much sugar is in that Weber rub. I did put a chimney full of royal oak lump divided between the two baskets. It was well over 400 at first so I choked the bottom vent off a bit to level it out at about 400. Once the chicken hit the grill it sapped all of the heat. It dropped to about 315. Opening the bottom vent fully again didn’t have a lot of effect. It never got higher thsn 385 during the rest of the cook. The top vent was wide open for the entire cook. I just feel that the temp being restricted for almost two hours kept the chicken from reaching the finish temp. I plan on doing many more chicken cooks. I’m certain it won’t take long to get this figured out.

G

 

[Fueling Around]

Looks good.
Whole birds take longer time to get IT than the skin can survive especially if you have any sugars in the rub.
I spatchcock (remove the backbone) and split the breastbone without cutting in the breast meat.
About an hour in a hot kettle or oven to get the breast IT to 165°. If the kettle gets above 450° then pull around 160° to avoid overcooking.

 

[browneyesvictim]

My first suggestion is dont light all your briquettes at once. Only start about a dozen and put 6 or so per side on top of a pile of unit coals to begin with.

Second, is put your chicken in a pan directly on a rack or trivet. On the kettle you can place this on the bottom rack or with the top rack when doing a split pile. A braising liquid in the pan is good. It just works better than the drip pan on the bottom and bird on the top rack in my opinion.

I'm a spatchcock fan for sure as they seem to cook faster and more evenly. No need to turn them either. I've done many beer can chickens whole by the mrs request but I think she is now converted! But when I do the vortex works awesome!

 

[chopsaw]

The only negative I can give , is you didn't truss the bird . If you don't spatch , you should tie / truss the bird . My opinion at least .
I do alot of chickens on a kettle . My go to is Pop's brine , salt and pepper only on the skin , high heat in the kettle .
This bird is light in color , but high in flavor . Skin is perfectly rendered and tasty .

Sugars in the rub you used turned dark , but it still looks good to me .

 

[SmokinAl]

Your chicken looks fantastic to me.
I pull mine off the grill at 157 in the breast, and after a short rest the IT will cruise up to 165. We usually don't eat the skin, so whether it's crispy or not it really doesn't matter, but I want tender juicy meat!!
Al

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Thanks for all of the constructive feedback. The chicken was absolutely delicious and not burnt or dry at all. So that is the positive. The rub I used did have sugar in it. I believe I will avoid that type of rub in the future on this kind of cook. I debated about trussing the bird. I have seen several successful cooks using tied and untied chicken. I did use royal oak lump for flavor which was exceptional. It kind of makes it tough to start just a few coals since there is nothing uniform about lump. I’m already looking forward to my next try. The enchiladas tonight will be exceptional with that smoke flavor in the chicken. Have a great day everyone.

G

 

[Fueling Around]

I don't brine or use sugar based rubs. I use my blend of sage, onion, garlic, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary pushed under the skin.
I stopped using lump because of the poor quality I get in my area.
I found that RO briquette gave more consistent results, especially for a snake fuel method.
Use lit briquettes to start your main fuel when going for a long cook.