I used Rick's Snakebitten rub, which is much better than my first try where I made up my own. Kept the smoker around 275 then cranked it up to about 325 for the last 10 mins to try to crisp up the skin. I used mostly cherry but threw a chunk of hickory in because I have trouble just leaving things alone.
On one of the birds, the leg/thigh just fell off when I was taking it off the grill, I devoured it while the rest of the bird rested. No weird breakfast sausagey flavor this time. It was fantastic.
This forum has helped so much. I've only done 4 smokes but each thing has been better than the last. If this trend continues, I'm going to take over the world.
One question though, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me why some chicken meat has a texture where it's nice and juicy and great but at the end of a bite, it kind of holds your teeth together and there's a little snap when you pull them apart? For some reason that really bothers me and I'd like to know how to avoid it if possible. The leg/thigh on this bird did not do that, but it seems pretty common.
On one of the birds, the leg/thigh just fell off when I was taking it off the grill, I devoured it while the rest of the bird rested. No weird breakfast sausagey flavor this time. It was fantastic.
This forum has helped so much. I've only done 4 smokes but each thing has been better than the last. If this trend continues, I'm going to take over the world.
One question though, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me why some chicken meat has a texture where it's nice and juicy and great but at the end of a bite, it kind of holds your teeth together and there's a little snap when you pull them apart? For some reason that really bothers me and I'd like to know how to avoid it if possible. The leg/thigh on this bird did not do that, but it seems pretty common.