MES 30 first smoke not so great :( advice plz?

[jaeme adams]

Well not so happy with my first smoke of two roaster chickens.  I will walk through the experience and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.  TIA!

First I bought two roaster chickens fresh from the local store one 7.5 and the other 8.5 lbs.  Brined them for 16 hours (maybe first mistake) I was not sure if I should combine the weight for brining or just count them individually.  After done dried them off injected them with Cajun butter and put both in the smoker at 225.  One thing I was not sure was should I have pre heated the smoker?  I did not.  I added chips every 30 mins i fulled the loader full each time.  After 5 hours they were both done.  I pulled them out and let them rest for 30 mins.  I carved them up and boy were they moist.  Taste not so great salty and smokey.  I am assuming I made some crucial errors so please advise.  I am pretty thick skin so feel free to tell it like it is.  I have a 15lbs turkey brining right now and planned to give it another whirl tomorrow 

 

[pignit]

I would say....... preheat for sure, Run that temp on up to 250 to 275 for chicken, and cut back on the chips. I don't brine so I can't help you out there. Dang... looks like your gonna have to try again.

 

[chef jimmyj]

How much Salt in the Brine? What Kind? How salty is Cajun Butter? Always Preheat...What kind of wood you smoke with? Need details...JJ

 

[jaeme adams]

Hey Chef JimmyJ

I am not real sure about how much salt I used this one Turkey Perfect Herb Brining Mix from fire and flavor

http://www.fireandflavor.com/product_full_list.asp?Cat=3&SubCat=6

I am not real sure about the salt content I used "creole butter"

I smoked with hickory

 

[tromaron]

10 hrs is long enough in the brine for whole chickens.  Make sure you rinse for at least a minute after brining.  You may want to bump the temp up to 275 for poultry too.  I've been very happy using these brining instructions here:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/how-to-smoke-chicken-competition-style

 

[kryinggame]

I don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I had a similar experience over the weekend and after thinking about it, I realized my screw ups.

1 - Don't use hickory for chicken. The taste is bitter;

2 - I brined overnight but the problem wasn't in the brine. Getting past the skin, the meat was very flavorful;

3 - I smoked for 4 hours at 225. From what I've read, this is to low for poultery. Most people advise to smoke at 350 - 375. For for our electric smokers, I've read to smoke it for an hour and then transfer the bird into the oven at at higher temperature.

Can you get a good crisp flavor at 275 in the MES? I don't want that soggy, tangy flavor ever again.  Yuck!

Thanks and sorry about hi-jacking!

 

[SmokinAl]

When I brine a whole bird I usually go 1 hour per pound. I use a simple brine. 1/2 cu salt, 1 cup raw sugar, 1/2 cu Montreal chicken seasoning, mixed up in 1 gallon of water.

 

[mballi3011]

I usually brine my birds over night ( 7hrs) and then smoke then. Then I don't use hickory I like fruit woods apple, cherry, orange. I also keep the smoker at about 275°-300° and they normally don't take longer then a couple of hours. I don't know what you doing wrong but the length of time sure seems alot longer the it should take to me. How many thermo units do you have ? Are you using the factory installed thermo meter that your smoker came with ?

 

[eman]

I don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I had a similar experience over the weekend and after thinking about it, I realized my screw ups.

1 - Don't use hickory for chicken. The taste is bitter;

2 - I brined overnight but the problem wasn't in the brine. Getting past the skin, the meat was very flavorful;

3 - I smoked for 4 hours at 225. From what I've read, this is to low for poultery. Most people advise to smoke at 350 - 375. For for our electric smokers, I've read to smoke it for an hour and then transfer the bird into the oven at at higher temperature.

Can you get a good crisp flavor at 275 in the MES? I don't want that soggy, tangy flavor ever again.  Yuck!

Thanks and sorry about hi-jacking!

Hickory is fine for chicken. Make sure you only have TBS ( thin blue smoke) not billowing clouds of white smoke.

I have the mes 40 and smoke at 230 -250 till internal of 155 and then into a 350- 375 degree oven to crisp the skin and finish cooking to 160.

 The tangy flavor is usually from creasote caused by thick smoke.

 

[mmain1]

I agree with TromaRon.  

My first thought while reading post was that you didn't mention washing the brine off.  

I have heard that your product will be very salty if you don't rinse the brine off.

 

[melleram]

Spatchcook them birds.  Using poultry shears cut down each side of the backbone and discard it

Here's How http://www.nakedwhiz.com/spatch.htm

Brine overnight

1 Cup Kosher salt

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Gallon Water

garlic, pepper flakes, etc...optional

Next Day

Rinse the birds clean, and soak in clean water 5 min or so

Lightly season skin and meat side, do not inject.  There is no need to inject a brined bird

Place bird skin side up on a rack.

Preheat MES to 275 (i use sand instead of water in the pan)

Slide in chicken rack.

Cook for 30 min without smoke,

Then 1 small handfull of chips, thats all the smoke it needs

Cook to your desired temp, I like to see no blood or red, so I take mine to At Least 180 in the thigh.  Thats the beauty of a brined bird

Let chicken rest 10-15 minutes before cutting it.

 

[michael ark]

Have used hickory many many times on chicken .No problems here.

 

[SmokinAl]

I always use mesquite with poultry.

Guess I'm a smokeaholic!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Hey Chef JimmyJ

I am not real sure about how much salt I used this one Turkey Perfect Herb Brining Mix from fire and flavor

http://www.fireandflavor.com/product_full_list.asp?Cat=3&SubCat=6

I am not real sure about the salt content I used "creole butter"

I smoked with hickory

I would say your saltiness problem comes from here...You have knowing how much combined salt you put in between these two items...There are SO many good brine recipes here that messing around with premixes is a waste of money...Look around, if you don't find something that interests you, shoot me a PM and I'll work with you one on one to develope a recipe that suits your taste...JJ