Whole Chicken

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swalker

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jul 16, 2006
259
11
NW Arkansas
Ok, I have read about the brining techniques....I have not yet produced a good whole chicken out of a smoker...So I am going to attempt it again this weekend...I am going to find something to mix this brine solution in and add my chicken to it...I want to produce a good moist brown bird when it is done.
I want a great tasting chicken...So thanks to all your ideas...I am going to have that...I like chicken when it is right...but no one likes dried chicken meat...Ya might as well fry it....I am wanting a good SMOKED chicken...I am going to brine it first....then add some rub and place it in the smoker...I am guessing I will eat it no matter what...hehe!!!

Thanks for all the great tips/tricks, etc...if ya know anything else I should do, please let me now...I have an injection needle too...Thanks, Steve
 
Thanks Domn8....I will add the apple cider to my brine mixture....am lookng for a moist chicken.....I have all you need..and have tried several different ways too....but can not seem to come out with a moist bird...so am looking for some ideas....I have not done the brining techniques yet...and that might be the key I am looking for...We will see...I have a whole chicken in my fridge now...I will be trying to do something with it this weekend...I think the possibility of not brining is why they turn out dry...Hopefully I can change that...
Thanks again, Steve
 
the biggest thing with not producing a dry bird is not overcooking it. Nothing is a brine will keep it from drying out if you cook it much past 170 usually i pull mine at around 165 (I know most places say between 170 and 180 But health departments say 165 min temp). Another thing that will help is rolling it every so often being as the moisture will run from the heat. Hope this helps. Good luck with your smoke =-)
 
Dom -

I use apple juice for a spray almost all the time - really like apple. Pineapple is good to as is orange, raspberry and cranberry, but I like apple best!
 
I did a couple of beer butt chickens last summer in my ECB at 325º with pecan and was the moistest and most flavorful chicken I have ever had !!!
Neck flap was ample enough to pin down, so no neck plug was necessary.
No brining either ... in fact I haven't even tried brining as yet. After this success, I can't see why I would??

My humble opinion ...
icon_smile.gif
 
i have never not brined a bird when i was going to smoke it whole...turkey or chicken...

the same goes for a beer can chicken, if you overcook it, no matter what you stick up its butt, it will be dry..lol

i spritz mine with apple juice.

as for the brine, my poulty ends up in natural apple juice(the cloudy kind), salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, italian seasoning, and whatever else i feel the taste for that day...and always a little but of Tony C's..lol

as for the brown part of the bird, i know in my 7 n 1, the color of the bird is always good, but is not crispy.

i solve this by taking out the waterpan for the last 45 minutes or once the bird is about 15 or 20 degrees away from being done. skin gets crunchy and the bird is still moist
 
Teacup has a point about finishing it over the heat. If you can, to crisp the skin, transfer it over the heat for a few minutes. But if its still standing up, watch for flare ups from fat coming out the legs. I don't know how I missed that. I feel so ashamed.
If all else fails, go rotiserie(sp?). It always works for me.
 
I like to brine the bird and start the smoke with chicken breast side down, 1/2 way thru the smoke turn the bird over. Continue smoking the bird till it reachs 165 degrees in the breast or 180 degrees in the thigh.
 
Ok, I'm gonna tell ya a secret......slice a lemmon and shove right up the butt of that bird and don't take it out until you are ready to cut it up!!! You will never ever go back!!!
 
Try this for a very moist yard bird. Rub with salt inside and out and stand in fridge over night. wash off with cold water, in a large pot boil enouch water to cover the bird , when it's boiling good add a quart jar of honey and pop the bird in for 6 minutes. remove and put it in you cooker.
the honey will carmelize and keep all the juices in, the bird will look like it's been black laquored when it's done
 
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