Chicken Ready

[tbcop-is-smokin]

I'm chicken ready today...
My First Chicken

4 1/2 lb Amish Chicken
Rubbed with Black & Bold Rub
1.5 ozs. of Peach Wood
Smokin at about 200 degrees
Sitting on a beer can
Hope I've got everything right...I'll be back later with good results I hope...
Tony

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[Pork Belly]

Nothing wrong with that. Have a great dinner.

[tbcop-is-smokin]

Hey Brian...
Do I need to crank the temp up a little and I'm shooting for 173 degree on inside of chicken with my Maverick 733.
Is that the right temp with my probe inside the chicken (173) ??
Tony

[DivotMaker]

Tony, this is probably too late, but you should smoke chicken at 250 until it hits 165 internal.  Sorry for the late reply - been dealing with electronics killed by a lightning strike!

[tbcop-is-smokin]

Well....It was just OK...nothing to write home about. I left the skin on and I did turn the Temp up to 250. It took 4 1/2 to 5 hours to get the inside temp of the chicken to 169... Oh well... the better half ate and didn't say much other than it's OK...I put a pan of water in the bottom of the smoker and the chicken was a little moist. I'm gonna keep trying and work hard and try to master this great art of smokin...
Thanks guys for all the help...Tony

[NDKoze]

It doesn't appear that you brined this bird. So, I will give a strong recommendation that the next time you try poultry of any kind that it will benefit from brining. I brine 99% of my poultry unless I really just don't have the time to do it.

With the brine, I generally don't even use a water pan as I have never had a problem with them drying out. As others have mentioned, hit it at 250 the whole time until the breast temp gets to 165 and I think you will have better results next time.

[tbcop-is-smokin]

Thanks Greg....I didn't brine...but I will in the future... I may get up with you later to see what you put in your brine
Tony

[swthorpe]

The brine will help, as well as removing the chicken when the IT hits 165...lack of brine and perhaps letting it go a bit too long likely contributed to the dryness of the meat.  As for brine, there are several good recipes on the forum, but I usually just use 1 gal of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, and 1 cup of dark brown sugar.   Be sure to fully dissolve the salt in the water, and you can add any additional herbs/seasonings to the brine.   I often add Italian herbs, garlic, etc.   For a small chicken, you would need only 3-4 hours for the brine before you rub and smoke.

[NDKoze]

Like Steve said there are several good brine recipes in the Poultry section. But feel free to PM or ask via a forum post if you have questions.

For what I do, I start with the same base brine proportions that Steve mentioned and then add whatever seasoning that I feel like for that smoke. All of my amounts are cut in half from what Steve posted as I am guessing my brining bucket must be smaller or I am not using as much meat.

This is my go to brine that I typically use:
• 2 Quarts Water
• 1/2 Cup Kosher/Sea Salt (Non-Iodized Table salt can be substituted)
• 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
• 2 TBSP Montreal Chicken Seasoning
• 1 TBSP Minced Garlic

I have used Montreal Chicken Seasoning in my brine and found that to be very good. I also add some seasoning to the bird after apply a binder of oil prior to putting into the smoker as well.

You don't really need the seasoning in the brine as the water, salt, and sugar are the keys to the brine. But I always figure if I have a chance to kick it up a notch I do.

I know most everyone here only brines their poultry for just a few hours (3-6), but I have always done mine overnight for 12-18 hours (same recipe for over 10 years) and have had great results. Maybe I like mine saltier than the rest, but it has worked for me and hasn't seemed too salty. I do rinse the bird or bird parts under cold water prior to patting dry and applying oil/rub. It sounds like I am not the norm, so I would start with the shorter brine time 3-4 hours and increase if you prefer more brine time.

[DivotMaker]

For what it's worth, the little yard bird looks tasty!

I agree with everyone about brining poultry, for sure!  Also, I'm not a big beer can chicken guy.  I've always thought that standing them up loses all that precious liquid that internally bastes the chicken (when it's sitting flat on its back). 

Here's how I do whole chickens:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1054.0

I find the addition of the chopped onion/celery/carrots really adds a lot to the finished meat.  It stabilizes the cooking (no big open cavity), and really adds a nice flavor profile to the meat.