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Sounds like us. We always see leg quarters in 10 lb bags from 19 cents to 29 cents. hard to turn down. I would would rather have split, but at those prices, we can live with leg quarters.
Gotta go with Gofish on this one......Except for the first couple of birds, I have always brined and smoked whole but that was before I discovered the brining method.
I bought one of those ceramic can thinga ma jiggers but haven't used it yet so my choice is a little on the limited to what I know side. The only variance would be spraying them sometimes with apple juice or a light brush of homemade glaze..usually made from red or black currant jam.
I prefer splits, just for the uniformity of the cook and smoke penetration. If I am grilling however, I usually cut the bird into pieces... the grandkids go nuts over it that way.
i like to cut out the back bone ,flatten it out,stuff onion, herbs,lemons or
what ever you prefer under the skin,this also works well on the grill too.
After reading through this thread it seems to me that the only common thought is that we all like chicken! Cool! Lookin' for more ideas and thoughts on chicken!
So..... then do I get kudos (rep power) for starting such a good thread? you must admit, my rib tenderness thread got some pretty good response as well.
I usually smoke and grill whole chickens, but if pressed for time I'll use the spatchcocked birds as they get done quicker. I'll also break the keel bone on both sides of the breast and pull it out. This does two things . . .
1) Allows the bird to lay flatter on the grate-
2) Easier to cut the bird in half and then into quarters.