Poultry Simply Awesome Smoked Chicken

[DenStinett]

Smoked four Whole Chickens today
Seasoned them four different ways

AND THE WINNER IS:
Simply Awesome Smoked Chicken
Simple prep too:
Half Sweet Onion stuffed in the Cavity
Brush fresh Whole Chicken with melted Butter and grind Garlic Pepper Blend from WalMart over that
Smoked at 250 for 3.5-4.0 hours until the Brest reached 165 and the Thigh got to 175
Simple and AWESOME !
The one on the left here:

Try it and tell me what YOU think !

We doped the Butter and now go with Avocado Oil and crank the Temp up to 450 for the last 30+ mins

AWSOME !

 

[Waterboy]

How did the skin turn out? That’s my biggest issue doing chicken. I usually cook thighs and finish them on the grill grates to get a good crisp On the skin. I’d like to do whole chickens but need the skin better than I’ve been able to get.

 

[DenStinett]

I'm not much for Chicken Skin, so I have to refer to Momma on this
My Wife said it was "on" the crispy side, "but not quite like it is out of the Oven"
The Butter seems to help, but I'm no ex-spirt !
We were thinking that turning up the Temp to 300 for the last 30 mins might crisp-up the Skin a bit more ?
Hope that helps

 

[Bytor]

Those do look good and I like the onion idea. I usually spatchcock and put on 225 for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the bird, then put up on a rack on my gasser for about another 20 minutes or so at around 350-400. It really gets the skin crispy. I'm not much of a skin fan, maybe a couple of bites and that's it, but the kids sure do love it when cooked this way.

 

[WooPigFoodie]

I'm not much for Chicken Skin, so I have to refer to Momma on this
My Wife said it was "on" the crispy side, "but not quite like it is out of the Oven"
The Butter seems to help, but I'm no ex-spirt !
We were thinking that turning up the Temp to 300 for the last 30 mins might crisp-up the Skin a bit more ?
Hope that helps

Butter is definitely great but the key is the salt in the rub. Spatchcocking so it is flatter and towards the heat source is another key.

 

[Grilltreats]

I tried slow smoking a whole chicken once at 225°. The skin was like rubber/leather. Never again. The chicken you see on my avatar is heavily smoked at between 350° and 375°. This is with the Bullseye with apple chunk tossed on the deflector plate towards the rear. A very crisp skin and lots of juices sealed in. Takes approximately two hours or less depending on chicken weight. USA - different strokes for different folks!

 

[charlesrshell]

I tried slow smoking a whole chicken once at 225°. The skin was like rubber/leather. Never again. The chicken you see on my avatar is heavily smoked at between 350° and 375°. This is with the Bullseye with apple chunk tossed on the deflector plate towards the rear. A very crisp skin and lots of juices sealed in. Takes approximately two hours or less depending on chicken weight. USA - different strokes for different folks!

Did you use a drip pan?

 

[Grilltreats]

Did you use a drip pan?

No, I have never used a drip pan. It's not needed.

 

[charlesrshell]

No, I have never used a drip pan. It's not needed.

Sorry, I thought you was using a Bullseye grill for some reason. Understand not using a drip pan.

 

[Grilltreats]

Yes, I was referring to the Bullseye when cooking a whole chicken.

 

[Buckeye1]

Grill treats did you pre light the apple wood or did it get hot enough on the deflector on it own? I have some wood chips that I want to use on the bullseye.

 

[Grilltreats]

I find I have to get the Bullseye to at least 400° for the wood chunk to get going. The chunk is placed in the back over the holes. Depending on how long you want to smoke, or how much smoke, determines the size of the chunk, or to use more than one. Once lit, it will smoke until it's ashes.