First time doing whole chickens

[louisvillesmoke]

Picked up two "Fryer chickens" for Sunday. Didn't realize Fryer meant small until I googled it. They are both about 3.5 lbs. Plan to brine them on Saturday, dry out overnight and smoke them on Sunday.

Any tips/advice?
Simple brine recipe?
Rubs?
I've seen everyone say high temp is better with chicken so I'll try to keep my Weber around 300. Any guess on how long I should expect that to take? Two hours? Four fours?
Probe in the breast or thigh?

Thanks!

 

[PorkBones]

Spatchcock for sure. It cooks faster and more evenly. When you reach the target IT, I like to flip the bird over and place it on a scorching hot grill to crisp up the skin. That, and everything Richard just said!

 

[JC in GB]

Simple brine:

per qt of water
1/4 c kosher salt
1/4 c brown sugar

That's it. No simpler than that.

I usually add some flavor enhancers to this mixture such as onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, etc...

 

[JC in GB]

Simple rub:

Salt 1T
Pepper 1T
Paprika 1T
Granulated onion 1t
Granulated garlic 1t

Very simple. No sugar to burn if you are running at higher temp.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I inject with Creole butter, and rub with Traeger pork and poultry. I reverse my vortex, and surround with lit coals. I put a beer can chicken holder in the bird (but no beer), and place it on a pie pan in the vortex. I run it around 350 turning the lid of my kettle 90 degrees every 15 minutes.

 

[sandyut]

splatch'em and slaughterhouse brine

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

These guys got you covered. Spatching them is the way to go. I would say run them at 300 degrees, 2 hours, and 6 beers(hey gotta have a couple while you are setting the smoker up)

I usually don't brine my chickens and they always come out juicy. Just rub the whole thing down and put pats of butter/rub under the skin on the breasts.

A great poultry brine I use on turkeys...do a search for tips slaughterhouse brine. Its tasty.

Good luck and post some pics!

 

[Trolly1]

These guys got you covered. Spatching them is the way to go. I would say run them at 300 degrees, 2 hours, and 6 beers(hey gotta have a couple while you are setting the smoker up)

I usually don't brine my chickens and they always come out juicy. Just rub the whole thing down and put pats of butter/rub under the skin on the breasts.

A great poultry brine I use on turkeys...do a search for tips slaughterhouse brine. Its tasty.

Good luck and post some pics!

My pellet smoker won’t even power up unless there’s an open beer within 6 feet of it - I started to bring it up with Camp Chef but I just deal with it.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

My pellet smoker won’t even power up unless there’s an open beer within 6 feet of it - I started to bring it up with Camp Chef but I just deal with it.

Now that's funny!

 

[SmokinAl]

My only advice would be to spatchcock them & pull them off when the breast is at 157 IT. After a 15 minute rest it will creep up to around 165 & be super juicy & tender.
I usually try to look for chickens in the 5-6 pound range, cause they tend to have large breasts.
Al

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

My pellet smoker won’t even power up unless there’s an open beer within 6 feet of it - I started to bring it up with Camp Chef but I just deal with it.

Hahaha. I’m in the same boat man

 

[louisvillesmoke]

Thanks for the tips! Got these two birds prepped for the grill. Rubbed them with olive oil and some herbs and spices. Putting them on in about 90 minutes