1st chicken attempt

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psu123

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 14, 2012
10
10
Mohrsville,PA
Hi ya folks. I am wanting to try a first attempt at smoking a whole chicken. I joined here about a month ago after my wife got me an MES 30 for Christmas. The people here are so kind and helpful. I never knew so many people had a meat addiction like me!! I have tried smoking ribs, brisket, london broil and a pork butt so far. Ribs and pork were great. The brisket pretty good. The london broil not so much. I have a 6lb chikn in the freezer. I am looking for a fairly easy process with this first trial run. To brine or not to brine? Do I put on a rub. What temp on smoker and what temp for the bird. Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated. Oh and I apologize I'm an old farm boy. What is Q-view and how do you do it. Thanks for hearing me out and I'm happy I found y'all. 
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Hi ya folks. I am wanting to try a first attempt at smoking a whole chicken. I joined here about a month ago after my wife got me an MES 30 for Christmas. The people here are so kind and helpful. I never knew so many people had a meat addiction like me!! Heck , lots of Addicts herer!I have tried smoking ribs, brisket, london broil and a pork butt so far. Ribs and pork were great. The brisket pretty good. The london broil not so much. I have a 6lb chikn in the freezer. I am looking for a fairly easy process with this first trial run. To brine or not to brine?Yes brine with the Slaughterhouse Brine .  Do I put on a rub.A matter of choice, I rub under the skin and inside the carcass.  What temp on smoker and what temp for the bird.Chicken enjoys a higher heat for cooking , especiallt if you want a crispy skin ; go to about 275*f to 300*f and bring the IMT to 165*f in the Breast - 170* in the Thighs. Keep Chicken below anyother meats , a Beercan Chicken is a good start , easy , practical and good .  Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated. Oh and I apologize I'm an old farm boy. What is Q-view and how do you do it.Q-view is a picture of your adventures , on the task bar of this post you would left click the little picture on the left side , click browse, click your pic , and submit to the post.  Thanks for hearing me out and I'm happy I found y'all. 
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Oh, and
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to your new Disorder...

Stan      aka      oldschoolbbq....
 
I'm a newbie myself.

Personally, I'm not a fan of smoking chickens. But I used the slaughterhouse brine on a 6lb turkey breast a month ago and good lawd, it came out perfect.

I've tried smoking a few chickens and the end result is the skin is always to mushy for me. 

If you're going to brine, I think you should use the slaughterhose brine method.

Please send us pictures of your results.

Thanks much!
 
Stan AKA oldschoolbbq gave ya great advice and answered your questions just like I would have. You can smoke a chicken at lower temps, I myself never smoke them under 250. The disadvantage to doing them at the lower temp is the skin will not crisp. We don't eat the skin due to health reasons so its no big deal to us. However you can take the chicken and throw it on the grill or under a broiler  for a bit to crisp up the skin. 

EDIT;

I forgot to mention in my opinion the only way to do poultry is to brine it. I am a FIRM believer on that aspect. I can attest to the fact it definitely helps on moisture. And if you over cook it, it's still able to be eaten. Several Thanksgivings ago my niece had an accident at my house that required medical attention. I took her to the hospital and by the time we returned the turkeys in the smoker were way over temp over 200 if i remember correctly. They had been brined, they were dry but yet not so dry you couldn't eat them. 
 
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Definitely brine and rub!  Just cook them to proper temp and rest for about 1/2hr and enjoy. Chicken is a good learning tool for smoking bc of prices and time. and be sure to post Qview!
 
If you run your MES all the way up to 275*F, It will make some nice bird for you...Good Luck...JJ
 
Thanks all for the great tips. We just bought a new digital camera today,so I will be takin pics. Wish me luck!!!!
 
Remember that you can always throw the bird on the grill or under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp the skin if it is soft at the end 
 
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