Beer Butt Chicken First Time

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llkoolskillet

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 19, 2013
6
10
Picked up a 4.7lb bird to smoke in my new MB 30". I did not brine the bird, but the wife rubbed some herbs and spices on it. Left it out of the fridge for an hour before it went in the smoker. Shoved a Bud up its rear end with a few holes poked in it near the top. I would say I left a little more than half the beer in the can. Did not put anything in the beer either. Being my first time I didnt want to make things to complicated. Anyways I cranked that bad boy up to 275F for about 20min then set the bird on the bottom tray. I wrapped the water pan in foil to catch the drippings and to my surprise there was a lot or I think there was lol. I had been reading on here that birds can take anywhere from 2-4+ hours so I planned on about 3. Surprise!! it finished in 2hours with an internal temp on 172F. Now heres the crazy thing, I bought the maverick ET732 and I tested them first with some boiling water. Both thermometers read 214F so its pretty accurate. Even tho the digital display on the smoker read 268F the mavrick thermometer read 304F. The first 45min the temps remained around 310F then they slowly dropped off to around 293F when I took the bird out. So much for the built in thermometer lol. I chose to use some hickory chips which I soaked in water for about 24hrs. Now I preseasoned the smoker with mesquite chips, but chose to use the hickory cause I didnt want an in your face taste of smoke. Well.... I think I let it smoke to long. Meaning since it only took two hours to cook, I should not have added more chips after the first hour. The skin was almost as crispy as I wanted but it had a stronger smoke flavor then I desired. The meat was super juicy but not sloppy. It tasted great and the wings were perfect! Oh and the exhaust vent at the top, I barely had it open. Im thinking next time I should open it all the way. As well as only add chips in the beginning and at the second hour maybe add a few chips to top it off. There will be a new choice in wood as well, im thinking a cherry or apple wood next time. I told my wife about a root beer chicken and she agreed to try it. Just need to find a good rub thats not too spicy. Overall this first attempt went very well and I have learned a few things which is a major plus.

Please feel free to add some tips and suggestions


 
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