Whole Chicken... How long?

Digi · May 3, 2009

Gonna season the new UDS with 2 whole 5lb chicks with the sample packs of seasoning I got from Fred's... wanted to get an idea of temps and times... have seen a few on here saying smoke for a whole and then shoot the temps up to "crisp" the outside... would like any tips or suggestions before getting started...

thillin · May 3, 2009

In my green eggs, we smoke chicken halves around 300* for about an hourish, then bump to 350-375* to finish and crispen. Remember that is indirect, not sure the affects of the UDS. I havn't smoked a whole bird in quite a while. Split them, and they'll cook faster.

Bbq Bubba · May 3, 2009

Try for 325ish from the get go on a drum and you should be done about 2 1/2 hrs.

YMMV :biggrin:

Saiko · May 3, 2009

Same as the others said, go for temps of 300 plus. No need for low and slow for chickens, they don't have the connective tissue you have to break down for other meats. Keeps the temps high and you'll have a nice skin.

Cliff H. · May 3, 2009

If you choose to cook the chicken with ribs, that will force you to cook the chicken at lower temps. A 5lb chicken will take around 4-5 hours at arond 250. The skin will not be edible.

Digi · May 3, 2009

I LOVE MY UDS!!!!! Chicks came out AWESOME!!!

Temps sat between 265 - 275 with a few "taps" here and there to adjust the ash... This is by far the juiciest chicken I've ever eaten, and Fred's poultry rub is FANTASTIC!

grillfella · Nov 18, 2011

Nice bird stop drinking that cheap beer. Craft beer goes better with "Q"

El Ropo · Nov 18, 2011

Cliff H. said:
If you choose to cook the chicken with ribs, that will force you to cook the chicken at lower temps. A 5lb chicken will take around 4-5 hours at around= 250. The skin will not be edible.

This must be a personal thing as I can cook great ribs at 300-325 consistently great. The notion that you can't cook ribs at high heat is just that, a notion. I prefer cooking ribs hot and fast for the juicy results.

A 5 lb chicken cooked at 300+ will take about 2-2.5 hours with much better texture in both meat and skin. Low and slow isn't very good for lean meats like chicken, bambi, tri-tip, pork loin, etc. With lean meats, the hot and fast method yields far better results as far as texture of meat and crispy skin. JMYO, YMMV.

Oh, one more tip, 225 is NOT the magic smoking temp!

KnucklHed BBQ · Nov 18, 2011

Good lookin birds there! I usually do mine just like thillin said, you might add a little bit longer if they are brined, the extra water takes just a little longer to cook, but comes out even juicier.

Spatchcock'd is the way to go tho!

GreenDrake · Nov 19, 2011

I generally spatchcock mine, allows for more even cooking to me. When I do yardbird it's rarely over 225-250 for about two and a half hours.

Whole Chicken... How long?

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