looking for cooking method advice please

[Pbeenz]

hi guys, i am a newbie here from New Zealand so I hope I am posting this in the right place. I have been doing some googling and eventually found this amazing forum which seems to be the holy grail of smoking.

I am about to open a new small Asian fusion restaurant in a couple of months and one dish I want to serve is a version of street style Thai BBQ Chicken similar to the attached photo.

Charcoal here in NZ is imported and too expensive to use in large quantities so I am considering an electric smoker like Bradleys or Hakka that has up to 8 shelves. I am thinking that smoking for an hour to get the bbq flavour and then finishing off in the oven or grilling to get colour on the skin.
I need to cook around 8 spatchcocked chickens per day.
Another idea was to look at dual gas/charcoal like the Masterbuilt Mds 230 Dual Fuel Smoker and this would be hot enough to complete the whole cooking process without using too much charcoal and no need to transfer to oven. It may need marking on the gas grill though ?

I realise that these methods won't be as good as grilling over charcoal for the entire cooking process but I am hoping to create a tasty bbq chicken good enough to please diners.

Am I on the right track thinking of these 2 methods or is there a better way than these ? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[schlotz]

What about a pellet smoker? A quick search shows there are pellets for sale in New Zealand.

 

[zwiller]

I think you are in the right direction and aware you need higher heat than most smokers. Oven can work but not a fan of doing it at home. Smokes up the house and oven but sounds like you are a pro so non issue. I routinely smoke chicken drums on the smoker @ 275F to proper IT and chill overnight then sear on a gas grill to warm up and serve the next day or so. Pretty sure that's a common technique for restaurants but more of a smoked flavor than charcoal grilled. A cheap and easy option could be a smoke tube in a gas grill. Works great for me. I ran 350F and these took around but did not flip Alternately, you could flip and also could run hotter to get more color. Man that looks tasty! FYI they make charcoal pellets maybe you can find some. These are jerk chicken.

 

[sandyut]

What about a pellet smoker? A quick search shows there are pellets for sale in New Zealand.

That’s where me head went as well. You can get in all sizes and have easy temp controls

 

[Pbeenz]

What about a pellet smoker? A quick search shows there are pellets for sale in New Zealand.

i never really considered pellet smokers as not sure how many chickens I can do at once, they have a single layer only and I think maybe only 4 x chickens spatchcocked. However if the chickens are whole I could fit more. I will look into it. thanks for the suggestion

 

[Pbeenz]

That’s where me head went as well. You can get in all sizes and have easy temp controls

they have the green mountain and the traegers here - i am going to check them out this weekend

 

[Pbeenz]

I think you are in the right direction and aware you need higher heat than most smokers. Oven can work but not a fan of doing it at home. Smokes up the house and oven but sounds like you are a pro so non issue. I routinely smoke chicken drums on the smoker @ 275F to proper IT and chill overnight then sear on a gas grill to warm up and serve the next day or so. Pretty sure that's a common technique for restaurants but more of a smoked flavor than charcoal grilled. A cheap and easy option could be a smoke tube in a gas grill. Works great for me. I ran 350F and these took around but did not flip Alternately, you could flip and also could run hotter to get more color. Man that looks tasty! FYI they make charcoal pellets maybe you can find some. These are jerk chicken.

View attachment 525424

yes - i was planning on precooking, storing in the coolroom and then grilling to order. I havent heard of the smoke tube - I will google that - thanks

 

[jcam222]

they have the green mountain and the traegers here - i am going to check them out this weekend

Do they have Pitboss? I think they make a pellet vertical cabinet.

 

[SmokinEdge]

GMG makes a pellet cooker big enough to cook whole hog. The pellet cooker is ultimately your answer. A little research there will pay big.

 

[tx smoker]

i never really considered pellet smokers as not sure how many chickens I can do at once, they have a single layer only and I think maybe only 4 x chickens spatchcocked.

I have a Rec Tec RT-700 and with the package I bought when purchased, it came with a large removable second shelf which would probably hold the other 4 birds you need done. I use the second shelf when smoking bacon and it's really handy.

Robert

 

[schlotz]

i never really considered pellet smokers as not sure how many chickens I can do at once, they have a single layer only and I think maybe only 4 x chickens spatchcocked. However if the chickens are whole I could fit more. I will look into it. thanks for the suggestion

Definitely look around, a number of pellet smokers come with two shelves. Obviously depending on unit size, a 2 shelver could support 4 spatched on each shelf.

 

[bigfurmn]

Check with some of the industrial companies in the US. Might be expensive to ship but for getting the smoker you need, could be worth it. Best way to get it now is by air freight. Ocean is cheaper but takes forever right now.

 

[bigfurmn]

Pbeens, I know of some companies that ship there a lot. PM me I can get you their info.