Quartered Yard Birds in the Brinky Gourmet Gasser: Qview

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
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I did a propane conversion on my Gourmet a week or so back, and finally found something to throw at it and see how it works out.

These two birds are in the 3.5lb range, so they're young & tender. I think this may very well be my first quartered birds...don't think I've had an itch to try it until now.

I was getting a heavy boil/steaming with the water pan just above the burner, instead of below the lower cooking grate, so the skin is going to stay pretty tender on these ones. I did try to run without water in the pan, as I can pull the pan right off the cast iron grate over the burner, dump it out and set it back on the grate, then, set the drum back on. Of course this ended up just smoking up all the drippings in the dry & very hot pan. Soft skin it is, for tonight...oh well...still learning the ins & outs of this little smoker.

Just into the smoke with a short (15 min) hit of hickory @ 260-280*...the top grate is Lawry's Perfect Blend Poultry Seasoning, while the lower grate has Tony's Creole:

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/...6-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=1justin.jpg

And, after reaching 170* I/Ts for the breast quarters and 180* for the leg quarters @ 2.75 hours in:

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=3.jpg

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=5.jpg

My Wife's plate with a thigh and some shrimp & shell pasta salad with red & orange bell peppers, celery and fine chopped yellow onion...a great combo for a lighter dinner to match the mid-90's weather today:

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=6Wifes.jpg

I'm eating a nice juicy breast quarter of this as I type while waiting for the Tony's Creole to finish, as this grate was about 10-12* behind the top grate, so I moved it up to the top and kept the fire burning...oh man, I just noticed this: look how plump and juicy those leg quarters are...just about to burst with goodness!!!

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=4.jpg

I will say this, I don't think I'll do any whole birds again, as you have much better control over the finished temps of the white/dark meats, instead of being at the whim of a whole bird, with overcooked breasts or undercooked dark meat. Yea, I'm sold on this method already...just makes so much more sense. If I can get juicy and perfectly cooked quarters in 2/3 to 3/4 the time of doing a whole bird, with only an extra 2-3 minutes of prep time per bird? Oh yeah, you can count me in!

Great smokes to all!

Eric
 
Wheeeeeeeeeew! I had a near miss with a dry water pan while I was on here earlier...didn't add enough for finishing the quarters, and was in the house chowing down and posting.

I smelled smoke and ran outside to find the smoke from drippings hitting a dry water pan were creating quite a billowing white cloud. Temp gauge was in the hot range, maybe 375-400*. I pulled the lid to find this...temps were ~182* in the leg quarters and ~174* in the breast quarters:

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=7.jpg

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=8.jpg

http://s829.photobucket.com/albums/zz217/forluvofsmoke/06-30-10 Chix/?action=view&current=9.jpg

They still were pretty plump and juicy, but tasted like they were grilled on a gasser instead of smoked due to the meat drippings being heated so hot in the water pan and smoking off so badly. Not a total loss and still edible, just not what I would have expected to pull from a smoker. It certainly was the closest I've come to a trash-can smoke for quite a long time.

Well, no harm done, and a friendly reminder to keep a closer eye on the break-in smokes.

Keep the smoker(s) warm & happy...night all!

Eric
 
[h3]Great looking chicken - I like the idea of quartering the chickens -[/h3]
 
Last edited:
[h3]Great looking chicken - I like the idea of quartering the chickens -[/h3]
Thanks brother, yea I hadn't seriously considered quartered birds before tonight, even though I've seen quite a few posts here on the forum about them. After I got about 90 minutes into the smoke, I started thinking about the finish temps, and how much easier it would be to get each colored meat exactly where I want it.

I think it's the easiest way there is to get a perfectly cooked bird, now that I've tried it. I guess it's just another example of "you'll never know 'til you try it". I'm very pleased with the results for the first time around...it won't be the last time I do 'em this way
PDT_Armataz_01_34.gif


Eric
 
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