# OK, I'm officially hooked



## DustyJoe84 (Dec 15, 2018)

Wife bought me a Chargriller offset smoker for my birthday earlier this week. Happened to catch a couple days of decent weather this weekend and wanted to try it out. Wanted to use something cheap and simple while I learn how to fire manage. I'm usually pretty critical of my own cooking but these turned out fantastic. I'm already hooked. I'm excited about learning tips and tricks from all you veterans!


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## SonnyE (Dec 15, 2018)

Hi DustyJoe!
Welcome to:






Looks like some great chicken.


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## BKING! (Dec 15, 2018)

Awesome color. Did you use charcoal briquettes, lump, or splits?


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## gmc2003 (Dec 15, 2018)

Looks really good and congratulations on the new smoker. Oh yeah happy b-day.

Point for sure.
Chris


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## CombatBarbecue (Dec 15, 2018)

Awesome. Those look great . What kind of Rub or seasonings did you use?


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## TomKnollRFV (Dec 15, 2018)

You will not find a better group of folk to learn from :)


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## DustyJoe84 (Dec 15, 2018)

Thanks everyone!



BKING! said:


> Awesome color. Did you use charcoal briquettes, lump, or splits?


Thanks! I started with a bed of a lump and added oak splits throughout the cook.



CombatBarbecue said:


> Awesome. Those look great . What kind of Rub or seasonings did you use?



Thanks! I used a seasoning blend made by my local grocery store, Hy-Vee. They had some pre packaged drum sticks on sale a couple months ago with this seasoning already on it and I grilled those and really liked it. As good as the chicken was today I think the seasoning is better to grill with vs. smoke. Experimenting with different rubs and seasonings is going to be my favorite part of smoking I think.


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## SonnyE (Dec 15, 2018)

_Experimenting with different rubs and seasonings is going to be my favorite part of smoking I think._

Wait until you make your own and get it tuned to your liking.


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 15, 2018)

That's a great first smoke!!  Beautiful color.  Good job.
Definitely worth a POINT
Gary


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## SmokinLogs (Dec 15, 2018)

Good job. Those yard birds look fantastic!


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## SmokinAl (Dec 16, 2018)

Welcome to SMF!
Those are some fine looking thighs there!
Love the color!
Al


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## DustyJoe84 (Dec 16, 2018)

GaryHibbert said:


> That's a great first smoke!!  Beautiful color.  Good job.
> Definitely worth a POINT
> Gary



Thanks Gary! I'm brand new to smoking and I'm curious what the "point" thing means...?


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## fivetricks (Dec 17, 2018)

Point = like on your original post


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## tallbm (Dec 17, 2018)

Hi there and welcome!

Congrats on the good looking chicken!
Chicken is super awesome and cheap to use while learning how to manage your smoker.
Also know that chicken skin can be tough and leathery unless cooked/smoked at temps like 325F.
So as you learn your smoker you will also get an opportunity to learn the quirks of the type of meat you are cooking, like the chicken/poultry skin temp behavior.

Also if you smoke chicken breast or whole birds you will learn it is a good idea to brine them for about 12 hours prior to cooking.  I do the simplest brine out there which is just salt + water.  It does wonders for whole birds and breast meat (and pork loin).
Also you will learn that chicken drums and thighs don't need any brining. The dark meat is season and go!

Finally, if you want to start experimenting with your own seasoning and "rubs" I would suggest you start with Salt, Pepper, Onion, and Garlic (SPOG).  Most seasonings and rubs list those 4 ingredients as the top for in the list.  You would be amazed at the flavor of simply shaking those 4 on any piece of meat that you grill, smoke, oven roast, etc.
The spices are relatively cheap and I promise you can't go wrong with them.

Best of luck and keep honing your craft! :)


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