First Smoke and One Beautiful Bird QView

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pearlheartgtr

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Mar 6, 2012
92
14
Long Island, NY
I just got done with my first smoke...and I've got pics.

Last night my mother was defrosting an oven stuffer roaster and I claimed it as my own. I nurtured it throughout the night with cold water soaks so I could thaw it from the frozen solid state it had been in. At about 10am this morning, I gave it a rub down with an impromptu rub I threw together (sugar, salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, and thyme), under and over the skin. Around 11:30, I started up the smoker (MES 30 w/remote),set it at 275F, put in the bird. I filled the water tray half way with apple juice and tossed a handful of applewood chips into the chip tray. I went to work. I came home at 3:15, I could smell it cooking out front when I got out of my truck. Mmmm. The meat probe read 197F and the button was popped on the bird. I was all ready to fire up the grill to finish the skin, but I checked and lo and behold, the skin was crisp! I have the chicken resting in an aluminum foil tent for dinner. But I did get a little taste when some meat pulled off when I was transferring it from the smoker to the tray and, oh yeah, probably the best chicken I have had. Juicy and tender and so full of flavor.

Now for the pics.

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interesting.

I may just have to run one up that high and see if it's as good as you say, since I usually pull mine at lower temps and then get the "not so crisp skin".  Thanks for the post.
 
Wow that is a high IT for sure but is sure looks good from here 
 
Ok, the chicken tasted awesome (though I'm going to either lay off the thyme or just not use it next time--stuff can overpower easily) but the skin ended up softening. It had been tented for about an hour or so and I think that was the cause--too much moisture accumulated while it was covered. So next time I'm going to time it a little better (I really was expecting this to be a close to 4 hour job) and let it rest without foiling.
 
Did you find the bird to be overcooked. A bird is ready at 165 degrees. Personally, I let mine cook to 180. At 197 degrees, I would think the meat would be flavorless.

I'm not criticizing, rather curious.

Thanks!
 
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