My First Attempt!

[Mike Kilo]

Hello everyone!

The kids and wife got together and bought me a Masterbuilt Pro Series Dual Fuel smoker for Father’s Day. They gave it to me yesterday so I could cook with it today, wise of them, lol!

I found this forum while googling for info and man, am I glad I did. Got some great tips from you all to help make my first experience relatively easy so far.

Did the chunks in the cast iron skillet deal, really liked that suggestion, btw. Added some apple juice and apple cider vinegar to the water bowl (which I filled with the water from the brief soak I gave the chunks). And swiped the wife’s pampered chef meat thermometer to help monitor IT.

Decided to go with a whole chicken for my first try, seemed the easy and cheapest option should I fail miserably.

Just put the bird in after rubbing a seasoning mix I cobbled together from a couple of recipes, and my own experiences, on the outside, under the skin, and inside of the bird. 4.5 pounder. Figuring about three hours at 225. But, as shown in one of the pictures, I can monitor both temps through the living room window, so that’s what I’ll be doing on this lovely 90+ no wind full sun day.

I’ll update after it is done. Planning on putting it on a board and tenting it for about 20-30 minutes after it hits 165 IT and before cutting into it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated between now and then.

Posting some pics of the setup.

Self explanatory

Chunks (applewood) in cast iron pan on top of supplied pan.

Also self explanatory

Needed some shade for me!

Kinda hard to tell in the picture, but I can see both temperature read outs from inside in this configuration.

Update to follow.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Welcome aboard. Looks like a nice setup. I smolder wood chunks in a skillet over propane burner in my 3x3x7 smokehouse. Works very well. Enjoy

 

[culpepersmoke]

You will learn a lot from this group. Don’t forget to post the final pics.

 

[noboundaries]

Welcome aboard. Nice family. Poultry likes high heat to crisp the skin, otherwise it's rubbery. Low temps to start-high to finish.

Happy Father's Day!

 

[Mike Kilo]

Good tip. So what do you suggest? I’ve read finish in the oven, or should I just crank up the smoker to like 400 for the last 15-30 mins? Would rather do it all in the smoker if possible.

 

[JckDanls 07]

A few things to start with... FIRST... welcome to your new addiction (Smoking Meat Forums)

Your gonna find that the thermometer on the door is not accurate... They are all notoriously off... The fix... get yourself a good remote thermometer with a min. of 2 probes... If your one that likes everything on their phone they are available in either wifi or bluetooth... Although I am hearing the blue tooth ones aren't very good as far as reception...

It's not necessary to soak your wood chunks contrary to what you read ...
If your looking.. your not cooking... meaning every time you open the smoker door you loose about 20 minutes worth of cook time .. making the cook that much longer... It takes about that much time for the smoker to recover from the heat lose ..
Your gonna find the chicken skin to be rubbery and non edible when cooked at 225`... Most people will crank the heat up (300`+) when the chicken gets around 150` IT... This will crisp the skin up enough to be edible ..

You have found the best forums on the net for all your smoking needs and I see you have become a premier member already...

Enjoy your future cooks and read... read... read... any and all info you'll ever need is right here on SMF ..

 

[JLeonard]

Welcome from Mississippi! JckDanls 07 has got you covered on the startup. look forward to your post and pics.

Jim

 

[Mike Kilo]

A few things to start with... FIRST... welcome to your new addiction (Smoking Meat Forums)

Your gonna find that the thermometer on the door is not accurate... They are all notoriously off... The fix... get yourself a good remote thermometer with a min. of 2 probes... If your one that likes everything on their phone they are available in either wifi or bluetooth... Although I am hearing the blue tooth ones aren't very good as far as reception...

It's not necessary to soak your wood chunks contrary to what you read ...
If your looking.. your not cooking... meaning every time you open the smoker door you loose about 20 minutes worth of cook time .. making the cook that much longer... It takes about that much time for the smoker to recover from the heat lose ..
Your gonna find the chicken skin to be rubbery and non edible when cooked at 225`... Most people will crank the heat up (300`+) when the chicken gets around 150` IT... This will crisp the skin up enough to be edible ..

You have found the best forums on the net for all your smoking needs and I see you have become a premier member already...

Enjoy your future cooks and read... read... read... any and all info you'll ever need is right here on SMF ..

So, bird is at 150 IT right now, cranking the heat. I like CRISPY skin so gonna give 400 a shot.

Oh, I’m cooking and not looking, no worries there. And yeah, my next acquisition is gonna be the dual probe remote thermometer for sure!

I only gave the wood about a 20 minute bath before throwing them into the smoker. I did read a number of folks saying dry wood was better. Will give that a go next time.

Thanks for the response and advice!!!

 

[Mike Kilo]

P.s. I know I said I wasn’t looking, but I HAD TO, lol. Looks GREAT, but yeah, rubbery.

Hopefully the last bit at high temp will do the trick, crispness-wise.

And I moved the remaining wood into the center of the pan. Smoke seems to have increased.

 

[schlotz]

Welcome to SMF from Indiana. Sounds like they have you taken care of. If the skin still does not come out to your liking, use the oven broiler for a few minutes on each side. Happy Father's Day!

 

[Mike Kilo]

Welcome to SMF from Indiana. Sounds like they have you taken care of. If the skin still does not come out to your liking, use the oven broiler for a few minutes on each side. Happy Father's Day!

Thanks!

So the high heat at the end seemed to do the trick, skins was a bit darker and crispy to the touch.

Have it resting tented in the oven (off, just to keep it out of the A/C). While the corn and sautéed mushrooms are finishing.

 

[schlotz]

Good for You! Looks wonderful. Enjoy the rest of your day.

 

[JckDanls 07]

That looks perfect and I can smell it from Fl. well done sir...

YOUR HOOKED

 

[gmc2003]

Looks real good from my screen. Happy fathers day and enjoy that bird. The only thing I would add is that poultry(for me anyway) takes on smoke quickly so be cautious with how much smoke you toss at the chicken.

point for sure
Chris

 

[SmokinEdge]

Nice work. Enjoy.

 

[JLeonard]

Looks good! Pull me a leg off and I'll be a happy fat boy!
Jim

 

[JckDanls 07]

And the final results are ??

 

[SmokinEdge]

Customary to post a cut shot of the final product, we like pictures.

 

[Mike Kilo]

And the final results are ??

Success. Ish. The meat was not as tender as I was anticipating. Definitely not falling off of the bone. Very juicy and the flavor came out quite well. The wife said “this would be GREAT in tacos!” She’s not a huge smokey flavor fan and had one of the breasts, which she enjoyed anyway. The skin, while crispy on the outside was quite chewy and neither of us ate it after the first couple of bites.

I’m thinking my smoker temp gauge was, indeed, quite a bit off. 2 hours and about 15 mins at what it said was about 210-225 to get to 165 IT. I did crank it up once it got to 150 to crisp up the skin, and the rise from 150-165 only took about 10-15 minutes.

I will get a thermometer for the air in the box before my next go to make sure of the temp.

So, any suggestions or pointers not already given? Is the meat not falling off the bone a poultry thing? What is the best way to get the skin crispy like when I cook it in the oven (crispy, relatively light/thin mouth feel…)?

I did not brine the bird or anything like that and only wrapped it in Saran Wrap and stuck it in the fridge for about a half hour after seasoning it. As I said, I was happy with the flavor, and while it SMELLED quite smoky, I didn’t find the taste overly so.

 

[Mike Kilo]

Customary to post a cut shot of the final product, we like pictures.

Sorry, got wrapped up in eating it, lol.

Here it is, been in the fridge for about 30 mins or so in this picture.