What's your favorite way to smoke chicken?

[SmokyOkie]

Beer butt, Beer can, rotisserieetc, what cut and or method do you like the best when smoking yardbird? We like to do split whole birds. I seems to get better smoke, eats easilr and allows fro easier seasoning of the cavity.

[VitaminQ]

I'm a spatchcocker.

I'm not ashamed to admit it.

[91vw03]

I like the Spatchcock method as well. I've done a beercan a few times but didn't see a big difference. The spatchcock also allows for putting stuff on the "warming" shelf and it's easier to cut into serving pieces.

What's with all the chicken today. I'm hungry.

[thirdeye]

Either leg quarters or hip halves are my favorites.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%204/gh3.jpg

Close second are racked legs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%206/DSC03252a.jpg

[Puppyboy]

I voted other. So far my favorite cut is deboned thighs with the skin on them. I did how ever do up a beer can chicky and a spatchcocked one the other day. The results were very pleasing on both.

[AlabamaGrillBillies]

Leg quarters or beer can for me!

[Don Marco]

It depends on wich cooker i use.

If i got enough vertical space, i like to do beer can chicken.

Otherwise, i like to spatchcock or half them.

DM

[Porky]

Spatchcocked, beer can, thighs really any which way you can do chicken. We eat alot of chicken and are always trying new recipes on the smoker,OTG, gasser and in the oven. It's all good.

[Jeremiah]

I really like to do whole birds, butterfly em... really great for keeping them moist. I do almost all my chicken at 350 unless I'm cooking it along with something else that requires a lower temperature.

[backyardchef]

Mixed with a little tobacco and rolled up in ez-widers....the little bastards are tough to keep lit, tho......

[SmokeWatcher]

My wife will not eat smoked chicken or turkey, other than wings, so I haven't had a lot of practice with poultry.

[CajunSmoker]

I'm a spatchcocker.

I'm not ashamed to admit it.

That's my favorite too. I guess that would be whole bird in the vote?

Mixed with a little tobacco and rolled up in ez-widers....the little bastards are tough to keep lit, tho......

No chit, hard to keep those farkers lit.:lol:

[SmokyOkie]

How could I have forgetten spatchcocked as a choice.

Hey all you spatchcockers (that's not a forbidden word is it :icon_blush:), tell us what makes a spatchcocked bird worth the extra time as opposed to just splitting them. Also, do you use a weight on top of your birds?

[CajunSmoker]

I like the presentation better with a spatchcocked bird and I like the fact that that little piece of cartilidge is not in the middle of the breast. It cooks a lot quicker too. I don't weigh mine down but I do get a more crispy skin since it all is in contact with the grill and I don't have to turn it on it's edges and such.

[jgh1204]

Whole, brined, then lightly smoked/roasted at 350. Spatchcocked or not. Not spatchocking gives me more room.

[SmokyOkie]

I like the presentation better with a spatchcocked bird and I like the fact that that little piece of cartilidge is not in the middle of the breast. It cooks a lot quicker too. I don't weigh mine down but I do get a more crispy skin since it all is in contact with the grill and I don't have to turn it on it's edges and such.




HMMMMM....veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting. I never thought about that. I guess that's what makes this such a great place.

This weekend, I shall spatchcock! Do you do the thing with the ankle joints stuck through the buttskin flaos too?

[SmokyOkie]

Whole, brined, then lightly smoked/roasted at 350. Spatchcocked or not. Not spatchocking gives me more room.

Do you brine for flavor or moisture?

[AlabamaGrillBillies]

We brine for moisture

[CajunSmoker]

HMMMMM....veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting. I never thought about that. I guess that's what makes this such a great place.

This weekend, I shall spatchcock! Do you do the thing with the ankle joints stuck through the buttskin flaos too?

Nope, I cut the buttskin flaps and the tail off when I cut the backbone out.

[vr6Cop]

I usually do whole spatchcocked birds, but I really like the way that Thirdeye's breast half/hip half looks (above). :cool: I may start doing them that way, since my wife & son eat the white meat and I eat the dark meat.

[SmokyOkie]

I usually do whole spatchcocked birds, but I really like the way that Thirdeye's breast half/hip half looks (above). :cool: I may start doing them that way, since my wife & son eat the white meat and I eat the dark meat.

Yeah, I was eyeballing that too. I guess you could also pull out the keel and wish bones and a spatch halved YB.

[SmokyOkie]

Nope, I cut the buttskin flaps and the tail off when I cut the backbone out.

I had heard that it helps keep the back end laying flat. Ever experimented with it?

[Ron_L]

I always brine chicken no matter how I cut it or cook it. I vary the presentation depending on my mood. Mostly we cook bone-in, skin-on breasts since that's what my wife likes. She also doesn't like the smoke on chicken so I normally grill indirect with a short time at the end over the coals to crisp the skin.

[Sledneck]

My favorite cut is a 13th place cut silly

[Bigdog]

I'm a roto man.8-)

[C Rocke]

Beer Can in the GOSM - Brined and in at 225. Use one for display when we have parties!

[pigout sc]

What is Spatchcocked?????? Just when I think I have heard it all!

[swamprb]

Trick question!

Whole birds on the throne in the Drum
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1895.jpg

Thighs, wings and drums in the UDS
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/Mem%20WEEKNd/100_1728.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/Mem%20WEEKNd/100_1723.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1819.jpg

Rotissed on the Weber
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1907.jpg

Direct on the BGE and Kamado
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/Mem%20WEEKNd/100_1749.jpg

Indirect at @350-400* on the Egg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/PNW%20Eggfest1/100_1919.jpg

Spatchcocked if I use the GOSM.

I likes chicken!!

[Paulie G.]

I split my birds in 1/2, do the leg tuck maneuver used in spatchcocking, cut off the wing tips, dust with rub and cook @310 for 1.5hrs or until 170 in the thigh. Skin gets crispy every time and the bird is still super juicy. It seems to me that the trick is not to move the bird during cooking.

[Ron_L]

What is Spatchcocked?????? Just when I think I have heard it all!

It's the official term for butterflying a chicken. Here's a video how to on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-8tMEwBnSA)

[tonto1117]

Whole yardbird spatched.....maybe a little more work but i'm allways very happy with the results.

And there's allways the Galleger(sp?) method!!!! :-P

[jgh1204]

I brine for flavor and moisture. I like to use about 2 quarts of water, a cup of kosher salt, a few tbs of granulated garlic, some onion powder and about 2 cups of worcestshire. Just make sure you taste the mixture BEFORE you put in the chicken. It needs to be salty like seawater, which may be hard to tell for you land locked types.

[pigout sc]

Thanks

[Bigdog]

I brine for flavor and moisture. I like to use about 2 quarts of water, a cup of kosher salt, a few tbs of granulated garlic, some onion powder and about 2 cups of worcestshire. Just make sure you taste the mixture BEFORE you put in the chicken. It needs to be salty like seawater, which may be hard to tell for you land locked types.

Thanks for the brine recipe. I have never brined before.:oops: How long for a whole chicken and does it need to be covered?

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

I usually just cook bone in, skin on breasts. I usully do them in the GOSM at about 325 to 350. I fill the water bowl with beer and soak mesquite chips in beer for at least 1 1/2 hours before the cook. It's the only time I use chips or soaking. I get a great flavor with this method. Ocassionally I'll do a whole bird the same way.

[dbeast420]

I'm more partial to breasts myself but the rest of the house like thighs and legs. Seems like the T&L stay a little juicer though

[tumpedover]

I'm a spatchcocker myself:eek:

[SmokyOkie]

My favorite cut is a 13th place cut silly

I know I shouldn't, but I just gotta ask.:roll:


What is Spatchcocked?????? Just when I think I have heard it all!

Spatchcocked is what folks do when they want a boneless bird but don't want to go to all the trouble of fully deboning.

That's a ,that's a, that's a joke son.:biggrin:

[jgh1204]

Thanks for the brine recipe. I have never brined before.:oops: How long for a whole chicken and does it need to be covered?

I generally go overnight, 8 to 12 hours or so.

I fully submerge the chicken in a large rubbermaid container I got from Sam's and it does have a cover.

[BBQ_MAFIA]

I like to do Beer Can Chickens and Quarters.

[MT4Runner]

What is Spatchcocked?????? Just when I think I have heard it all!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30104&highlight=spatchcock

[SmokyOkie]

I brine for flavor and moisture. I like to use about 2 quarts of water, a cup of kosher salt, a few tbs of granulated garlic, some onion powder and about 2 cups of worcestshire. Just make sure you taste the mixture BEFORE you put in the chicken. It needs to be salty like seawater, which may be hard to tell for you land locked types.


Looks like you're spending more $ on brine than on the YB.:biggrin:

[tigger]

I like the heavy brick covered with aluminum foil centered on the top on a split YB

[fil]

Spatched and sometimes beercan.
WSM with no pan.

fil

[smoke-n-my-i's]

I have gotten where I do halves, so I voted split....

I cut them in half, and they turn out super. I cook until 167 in the thickest part of the thigh, and the breast has come out so far really moist. I have a special rub that I use, and sometimes an injection. I inject instead of brine. Less trouble, works just as well in my opinion. And you don't have to make up so much solution.... :shock:

Bill

[SmokyOkie]

I like the heavy brick covered with aluminum foil centered on the top on a split YB


Is that ala Steven Raichlen or Alton Brown?