New Smoker who needs answers about smoking chicken

[rtw318]

OK, I have seasoned my Masterbuilt but have never smoked anything.  I have the 30" Masterbuilt basic analog model.  I want to start with four chicken halves that have been marinated overnight.

What about preheating?

What temperature is best for the smoking process?  

How many wood chips in the pan?  

Should the chips be soaked or dry?  

Should the chip pan be covered with the enclosed lid or left open?  

Should the chicken halves be placed directly on the racks or in a tinfoil pan?

Do I use water or apple juice in the pan?

Any information would be appreciated!! 

 

[seanp]

Chicken is a good thing to start with. The white meat is the only part you have to worry about getting dry. I've done chicken on the grill via indirect heat for years, so it was the first thing I tried on my smoker. In general you'll want to smoke at about 225F, but with chicken you can drift higher. You could even go to about 300F and still be fine, provided you're checking your meet temps along the way.  You're not as worried about breaking down collagen, etc in this meat.

I've got a Masterbuilt gas 30" smoker, so slightly different conditions, but I put one cup of wood chips in for my chicken, and got good smoke for the entire time it took to smoke them. At 225 it took me just under three hours - it takes me 1.5 on my grill at higher temps.

I'd put the chicken on the racks. You can do it either way, but the chicken will shed enough grease that I wouldn't want the bird swimming in the drippings for the entire time.

For the soaked/dry chips and water/apple juice questions my experience is limited, but I left my chips dry, and used water in the pan.

 

[rtw318]

Thanks so much for the info.  I am going to try chicken on Friday and your information helped.