I just finished my whole birds.
Brined for 6 hrs.
1+ gal water
1+ cup salt (kosher & sea salt)
1+ cup white sugar
3 tbl spoons poultry rub
Heated all this (Not boiled) until thoroughly dissolved.
In a clean 5 gal food grade plastic bucket the brine and ice cubes to cool then added two five lb chicken that had already been prepared.
NOTE: the + means all these measurements were on the big side and not terribly exact. There was enough to cover the chicken.
Brined yesterday then rinsed thoroughly, patted dry and coated all over with Olive oil. Sprinkled with poultry rub and applied under breast skin. Into refrigerator overnight.
Started smoker at 8AM set for 275 and breast temp of 165. Both birds on bottom rack,
10AM 165 degrees and end signal. Instant read thermometer read slightly higher. 2 oz of cherry in foil.
The taste test was the best I have ever had. This includes a LOT of chicken smoked on the stick burner. May be because this is my first try at brining. Have known about it for years but just too lazy to do it. Well, I am sold on brining. And the rub I used was Lawry's Chicken & Poultry Rub. As expected it lives up to the Lawry rep.
Before I opened the door I saw a few drops of moisture run down the center of the door. Opening the door was like opening a steam cabinet. This is without a pan of anything added.
I'll let the pictures tell the story.
As expected the skin was not crisp but the flavor UMMMM......
