help me out on my first smoke.

[chinolofus]

this sunday i think i am going to tackle the new smoker and do my first ever smoke. i have an vertical charcol brinkman with a grill wok as the coal pan. i also have a et-73 thermometer.
i decided on a whole chicken thanks to another thread i stated here. i think i will throw a couple of potatos in there too and some abt's. so what do i need to know?

i have a chimney starter for the charcoal. do i need to fill the chimney starter up or is that to much?
where do i put the probe into the chicken?
what temps am i looking for? on both the chicken and the smoker.
how long into smoking the chicken should i put the potatoes and abt's on?

i know its a lot of questions but i need it to turn out good. the wife is already making comments on how much it all cost. all i need is for the food to turn out like crap lol!
any other advice is welcome too.
lts of good qview to follow...failure or not lol!

 

[mikey]

The yardbird is a good choice (imo) for your first smoke. Hopefully you've added legs to your grill wok to allow the ash to fall thru. When I use charcoal in my Brinkmann, I use 1/2 chimney which is approx 48-50 briquettes and dump them in the wok. Let the smoker temps settle in between 240-260. You'll probablly be adding coals every hour to an hour and half, along with some wood chunks during your smoke. I put the probe in the breast, being carefull to avoid the bone. I shoot for 170 in the breast. Not sure what kind of spuds you're using, but I prefer the red potatoes for a couple of reasons; they're smaller than russets and cook a bit quicker and I prefer the taste of the reds over the russets. You could use white rose if you like. Chances are the skin on the yardbird will be a bit "rubbery" so you'll want to crisp it up on a gas grill if you have one. If not, a quick shot in a hot oven ought to do it. I won't comment on abts, as I've not smoked em before. I would put the potatos on the same time as the yardbird. You'll do fine & don't forget the qview.

 

[the_selling_blues_man]

I know what you mean on needing to get it right!

Can you post a pic of you smoker? Are you using the rectangular Brinkmann? I can give you some great tips if you have this unit. Have you seasoned the smoker yet and comfortable with holding the temps?

 

[chinolofus]

thanks for the tips mikey.
yeah i have the rectangular brinkman. the one with 2 doors not one but i think they are both the same except mine has a smaller door on the bottom to access the water and coals. i havent seasoned it yet. i read i need to spray it with pam or nonstick stuff then bring it up to 300 for 30 mnutes. can i just rub olive or vegetable oil inside instead? i really dont want to buy spray if i dont need to. what is the point of seasoning anyway? to help stuff not stick?

i havent even fired it up yet...i will do that tomorrow.

 

[mikey]

My understanding of "seasoning" is to remove any oils and gunk from the manufacturing process. You could use vegetable oil if you'd like. Rub it on with a cloth, then fire it up. For the "seasoning" I'd leave the water pan out.

 

[the_selling_blues_man]

Yea - spray or wipe it down with oil and fire it up empty. Here are some hints.

Keep the top vent all the way open at all times.

Good job on the wok pan for the charcoal. It will really help. Put something under the wok to allow airflow under it. Getting up a 1/4" will help.

Don't put water in the pan. I don't smoke with water at all and have no problems.

Use lump charcoal to get better temps. Fill the basket and dump a small amount from the chimney on top.

If temps start to drop, lightly shake the wok pan to reduce the ash build up. I run mine without adding any additional charcoal for at least 5-6 hours.

I have the one door model. I can adjust the height of the pan on mine. Raising the pan higher above the charcoal will increase the temps.

I have a small cast iron pan that I lay directly on the hot charcoal. I put small chuncks of wood in the pan and let it smolder. It wii create all the smoke you need. For chicken I like hickory or apple.

I use a digital temp gauges. I put one thermocouple through a potato and place it near the exhaust vent on the top.

On chicken, be sure to get the cook temps up to 250 - 300 degrees and cook by time not temperature.

The skin on smoked chicken can get rubbery but the chicken should be some of the best you have had.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[txbbqman]

Sounds like Mikey pretty much nailed it on the head.

Good luck and don't forget pics....we love pics

 

[mikey]

Do let us know how it all turns out. We do love pics, the more the merrier.

 

[the_selling_blues_man]

On chicken, be sure to get the cook temps up to 250 - 300 degrees and cook by time not temperature. I personally would take issue with this statement based on the time & temp chart to the left under wytk. With a smoker temp of 250 degrees, the approx cook time of a whole chicken is 4 hrs (approx) with an internal temp of 167 degrees. Do go by internal temps; sickness is not a fun proposition.


Opps - ment to say always cook by temperature not time......... Good catch - My bad!

 

[chinolofus]

the wok i have fits right on the rails that the pan did. its already a few inches off of the bottom. it looks like it came with the smoker.

i will take a bunch of pics. my main hobby is photography so im always snappin shots.

one other question. whats a simple rub or seasoning? i dont really want to go out and buy spices right now. i have lemon pepper, garlic, pepper, cayan pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, oregano, basil, thyme, sage and a few others. do all those work good in a smoker?
should i rub it with olive oil or butter first? what about stuffing it with an onion and garlic?

right now all i have is mesquite chunks but i see that it isnt great for chicken. the only other thing i can get is apple chips. should i get those and make a foil pouch with some holes in the top?

 

[mikey]

Since this is your first smoke, I'd keep it as simple as possible. The lemon pepper & garlic would be a good start. I'd brush the bird with evoo and apply your spices and let er rip. Mesquite is ok, if that's what you have on hand, and a bit of apple chips would make a nice addition. I have in prior bird smokes put some chunked onions & apple loosely in the cavity.

 

[chinolofus]

sounds good mikey i think i will do that. it looks like im going to postpone the smoke until tues. its cloudy and rainy here in chicago and it looks like it will be tomorrow too. i want a nice sunny day that i can enjoy. tues is supposed to be 70's and sunny. i will prob start around noon and plan on eating around 4:30-5:00. i figure that will give me some time for heat adjustments.

 

[jjrokkett]

Sounds like everyone has got some good info for you. If you haven't found it already here is the sticky link for your ABT's:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...=49420&page=12

It shows 3 hours approx. smoke time.

 

[chinolofus]

thanks. looks like a good thread. i will have to go through it a little more carefully later.

 

[tasunkawitko]

chinolofus - looks like these guys got you a dang good start - heed their advice and feel free to sing out if you ahve any questions~

i don't have much to add to what they've said, except don't be afraid to experiment and don't really worry about screwing things up. the great thing about BBQ is that even the failures are better than a lot of other peoples' successes!

 

[countrysmoked]

I would brine the bird in a brine like this

• 1 gallon hot water
• 1 pound kosher salt
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 1 pound honey
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 (7-pound) bag of ice

Heat this up until it all mixes together and then put the ice in to cool it down. I put mine in a big cooler and freeze 2 liter soda bottles to put on top and hold the bird down. Leave it in the brine for about 1 hour per pound of bird then take it out and rinse and let dry or pat dry with paper towels then rub the bird with vegetable oil and smoke like they said above or stand up with a beer can 1/2 full in the bird. This is the best bird I have ever tasted when smoked with apple or hickory wood. Hope this helps.

 

[chinolofus]

just a quick update. ive been sick with larangitis so i havent been able to smoke yet. i got sick last week but it wouldnt go away. i ended up going to the ER because i was dehydrated. fun stuff. im feeling better now except for a little weakness from the dehydration still lingering. anyways im building a new deck next week hopefully. i figure i will break in the new deck and smoker at the same time. i will keep everyone posted.