Smoked a chicked. turd in a punch bowl. Where did I miss....

[viper]

Well, the wife was doing up a full chicken thing so she was about to throw it in the oven and asked if I would smoke it.  I told her smoking needs planned but I figured because my smokers are electric, some smoke is better than none and pretty close to throwing it in the oven...

I have never smoked a full chicken.  She had it stuffed with some basel crap, etc.  I decided to at least inject it with beer to maintain moisture and I used a citrus boil pot under it.  i smoked at 230 for an hour, then pushed up to my max of 275 and probed the breast for temp.  I ran to 165 but found that other parts of the chicken did not get done and were still bloody. 

The taste was bla.  Smelled really good but had next to no flavor.  Moist and looked great, but looks did nothing.  I used cherry wood and a quick baste half way through.  I am quickly NOT liking cherry wood.  I did my cheese with it and did not like it either.  I might want to try peach or apple and might just prefer the flavor of hickory or mesquite..

Now, I make a GD mean grilled chicken and kind of wondering if smoked chicken is not for me....  Maybe I rushed things and paid...  only ran a little over 2 hrs on this.  I did find that the breast will finish before the rest due to fat probably so to get the whole chicken done, you end up over cooking the breast. 

 

[les3176]

Maybe i'm not understanding you correctly? did you say that you smoked the whole bird for only 2 hours??

 

[viper]

Yeah, I pushed the heat up to max.  I realize that may not be advised but I did not plan to smoke either.  I just pushed it up to get it done. 

 

[les3176]

becareful eating poultry that is under cooked!! I relize that you were in a hurry but 2 hours to cook a bird is just not long enough. hate to see people get sick !!!

 

[viper]

I certainly did not eat the uncooked stuff.  I actually took the bird apart and put it back in the smoker.  Was just real frustrated that the flavor was not there...  The way it stands right now, I will just stay a grill master with chicken.  Seems that mailard reaction in the skin might be real important...

 

[les3176]

ok good thing to throw it back on the smoker. Maybe look into brining for poultry, helps with flavor and cuts down on cook time too.

 

[Brackness]

i did a beer can chicken and if i remember right i smoked it at about 330 degree for a crisper skin and i think it took 2 hours or so to do.. cooked all the way through at 170 degrees

 

[alblancher]

If you used a standard American beer all you really did was add moisture.  I would think that the flavor profile of a Budweiser didn't do much to spice the chicken.  A dark beer or a beer with lots of complex flavors would be a better choice if you like the taste of beer with chicken.    Just curious what kind of beer did you use?

Smoking just takes time as you know.  I think you just didn't have enough time for the wood chips to affect the meat.  Now if you where doing steaks over a wood fire that would be different.

You learned something valuable in itself.  Next time tell her to put it in a hot oven covered with a good spice mix and maybe some sliced up oranges or lemons.  Then the next day do one the way you know it should be done and show her the difference.   An oven cooks different from an electric smoker,  when poultry comes out of my oven it has rendered some fat and usually has some crispness to the skin.

You obviously know what you are doing with the smoker, you just tried doing something  that didn't work.  A $4.00 chicken is s cheap lesson!

Al 

 

[fpnmf]

I recently had a unhappy smoke with a chicken too.

Not a big deal.

Seems like we get a bad one every once in awhile.

I recovered nicely with some ABTs and some awesome beef ribs.

Have a great day!

  Craig

 

[SmokinAl]

Next time try beer can chicken. It keeps them real moist & adds flavor to the inside. Half a can of beer with various spices mixed in.

 

[fpnmf]

 

[bpopovitz]

If you used a standard American beer all you really did was add moisture.  I would think that the flavor profile of a Budweiser didn't do much to spice the chicken.  A dark beer or a beer with lots of complex flavors would be a better choice if you like the taste of beer with chicken.    Just curious what kind of beer did you use?

 

[tjohnson]

I don't have the greatest luck with smoked chicken either.  We do Beer Can Chicken and love it.

Guys who smoke chickens "Spatchcock" them

At 275°, I don't think the skin gets crispy enough

Todd

 

[oldschoolbbq]

I don't have the greatest luck with smoked chicken either.  We do Beer Can Chicken and love it.

Guys who smoke chickens "Spatchcock" them

At 275°, I don't think the skin gets crispy enough

Todd

I usually Spatchock the bird too , good advise

 but if you are doing it whole.when you can shake hands with it's legs and they move easily-(AND-OR)- if the IMT of the Breast is 165*F . You can Smoke lower,but it takes longer to hit your safe point(danger Will Robinson) of 145*F.Todd is right,higher gives a better Crispness

 A good rule of thumb is to cook on the hot side-really crispy is 300*F or so

Hope we have helped,and remember to...
 

 

[viper]

All I drink is real beer.  I think I used a Sammy Winter Lager on this one and I injected it.  Maybe that was not a good idea since I am confident the beer was not really adding a ton of flavor, just keeping things moist. 

 

[ratchuck]

Next time try beer can chicken. It keeps them real moist & adds flavor to the inside. Half a can of beer with various spices mixed in.

I Agree with Smokin AL, or Inject the flavors into the bird spices beer and all.. when i do a quick bird smoke like that i usally throw it in a salt brine for 30 min or so.. prolly doesnt do much but makes me feel right haha. rub it down and inject the crap out of it.  then throw it in the smoker at 250 for a bit and really put the heat on it to finish it up.. they usally turn out sub par to my standards but the pals and wife love it.

 

[chef willie]

Not a big fan of breasts anyway (on chickens) so I stick with leg quarters and wings, my all time favorite. Usually marinate overnight in something, then rub.

 

[macka]

I brine a whole Chick overnight then smoke it @275 in electric smoker for 4hours. Skin was great some of it even crispy. Great smoke flavor,I used apple wood.

 

[scarbelly]

I smoke a lot of chicken and often throw it on the grill for a few minutes to crisp the skin. Since my SmokinTex only gets up to 250 that is the only way I can get crispy skin

 

[ratchuck]

I smoke a lot of chicken and often throw it on the grill for a few minutes to crisp the skin. Since my SmokinTex only gets up to 250 that is the only way I can get crispy skin

Have you tried brushing some olive oil about hour before its finished. that usually works for me.