Chicken Halves

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dangerdan

Meat Mopper
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jul 27, 2008
214
11
SW Michigan
Well, after some reading I'm going to try my fisrt roast with my cooker. Until I get my skills together here I thought I'd try something simple like chicken.
I picked up a Charbroil Smokin Pro to get started with so this is what I'll be using for a while.

I threw together a brine for a 10 hour soak and the chicken is sitting in my fridge brining as I post this. The brine recipe I used is as follows:

1 ½ gallons of distilled water
1 ½ cups Morton Kosher Salt
1 ½ cup Brown sugar
1 cup Chardonnay
½ can Orange Juice (concentrate)
½ can Lemonade (concentrate)
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Celery Seed

I''l get this smoker modified and cured out tonight then when it's ready I'll farr it up and post the ongoings and results.
 
What he said, no Q View... just a dream, just a dream.
 
Sounds good DD, lookin forward to some pics of them chicks. Make sure ya get a baffle in that thing, even if it just a cut off cookie sheet, and run that chicken a lil hotter than ya would ribs or butts, at least till ya get a feel for the smoker. get some lump from gordons food service.
I would recommend rinsing off the brine and put the chicken back in the fridge to dry a lil bit, then slather it with margarine or olive oil, tass on a light chicken rub and then your in bizness!
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Last thing, don't pay too much attention to the lid mounted therm on that thing, buy a cheapo oven therm and leave it on the grate right next to the chicken, somewhere in the middle of the grate.
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This grill looks like it alredy has the baffle I'll take a closer look. I did get the hose to lower the the flu to the grill. I have a remote therm and meat therm to go by temp wise.
I'll rinse the meat latert tonight when the brining is done. Should I leave it unwrapped overnight and rub it in the morning?
 
OK........ Out of the brine they came. A good rinse and into a pan to layup in the fridge for the a while. Good night lil chickies...
 
I was wondering how I was going to fit a baffle under the shield supplied with the cooker.

Ahhhh-so,,,The ole chairback switcheroo... That what had me thrown. I'll have to look for similar material. For this cook though, I think if I raise the shield above the damper that'll put me in pretty good shape.

Perhaps from here:


To here:


and wire it into place for now. Other than that I'll add the flu hose and I think I'm as you so eloquently put it, "in binness."
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Danger, I got the same smoker as you, a CharGriller. I believe that you need to remove that baffle between the smoke box and the main cooking area. My smoker came with the firebox and it was already removed. Unless you have already used it this way and you know what to expect, you may have trouble getting temps high enough, but once you get it out, you will have to block the direct heat from anything on that side. I use foil or a bread pan full of water right now and that seems to work ok for me. I am able to keep pretty consistent temperatures. Good luck with the chicken.
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Your not joking there... I'm really missin my fridge smoker right now.
It's an absolute battle keeping the temps up on this cooker. I got the coals going and the wind picked up. I turned it workways into the wind and temps started climbing so on went the chicken.



Anyway at this point I'm not holding a very high regard for this cooker. It's leaky, burns too cold out of the box and needs too many modifications to get it going right. My fridge was less work to modify.

At least with this fiasco I'll be able to whip it into shape.
 
That baffle was only meant for use without the fire box. Once you pop it out, temps will not be a problem at all. I haven't done all that much with mine other than extend the stack with aluminum dryer vent and use a little foil for the baffle. It does leak quite a bit, but that does not bother me too much. The charcoal grate is a piece of junk and definitely needs to go. I will be looking to replace it tomorrow, since I will be smoking on Saturday. Overall I am real happy with the cooker. Good luck with your smoke.
 
So after all the belly ache'n the chicken didn't turn out half bad. It finally picked up enough temp after closing the flu a bit to geterdone just in time for dinner.
Took almost four hours to cook what I thought would take 2 but when the temps didn't show what I had hoped I threw caution to the wind and took a chance. Glad I decided to start a little early. 5:50pm the meat showed 170 to 180 degree temp. and off the grill it came and into the oven to hold until the rest of the meal was cooked.





Well, at least I kow what I need to do to get this cooker in shape. A little stove gasket rope, some sheet metal and knock out that baffle and as Capt. Dan says, I'm in Binness....
 
hey dan I was readingyour post you were saying you couldnt get your temps right. if I looked a pic of the inside of your smoker right. did you knock out that football shaped piece of perferated metal. it looked like you just had the vent bolted on that would stop a lot of heat.
 
Uh,,,,yeah, I noticed that too. Hindsights 20/20 huh?
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I'll getter knocked out and do a couple more things to get it cooking better. I'll likely give this gem another try on the weekend.

Thanks for noticing..
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Don't fret it Dan. Its tough to get the skin just right. Lotsa times ya gotta toss it and eat the good part. Managing a charcoal fire isn't as easy as the instructions say is it? Be patient, it has plenty of rewards when ya finally get it figgered out. You have something that alot of other folks don't. This site. It will make a BBQ chef outta ya soon enough.

When ya get a spare day, through some lump in that thing and do a trial run for a couple hrs. mess with the intakes and lump placement/amount, grate height, stuff like that. Get to know the rig a little bit. Have some food standing by( maybe fatties or drumsticks, quarters). When ya think you have the firebox figured out, toss some food in it and go for a different approach. Keep smokin!
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I'll get that firebox squared away and the baffle installed, maybe a proper therm on it Saturday & take up your advice. I think Ribs & Beans will be nearby when she cools down...

..... Just in case.....
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No sense in wastin good far.
 
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