Chicken problem on drum

S

StayDown

Guest
So I decided to do chicken two ways last night on the UDS. I did a beer can chicken and a spatchcock (sp?) chicken. This is my first time for chicken on the drum...or any smoker. So I put them on after seasoning them and rubbing them with EVOO to obtain crispy skin.

I got my temp to 245 and let it roll. I had the maverick food probe in the breast of the beer can chicken.

It hit 160 and so I decided to foil the breasts and put the probe in the dark meat. This was after about 1.5 hours. The dark meat was at 137.

I allowed the dark meat to get to 180 and pulled them. I cut the spatchcock first and I saw blood at the bone.

So back on it went. After another 35 minutes I seemed to be good and cranked the heat to 350 to get a crispy skin.

It came out ok but I noticed some stuff around the bone that still did not look right.

I was having a hard time fidning a good place to put the probe without hitting a bone.

Any idea what I did wrong?

Flavor on both birds was great, apperance sucked. Ate the spatch for dinner last night with homemade garlic mash and had the beer can for chicken tacos tonight.


Pics to follow..but sadly none of the blood at the bone


these were two fryers btw
 
beercan.jpg




spatch.jpg




chickenon.jpg




dinners.jpg
 
Well, I don't have a drum, but I've cooked quite a few chix on the Weber Kettle. I've not smoked a chicken real slow yet on the ECB, but still, I'll cook a couple birds on the kettle for 2 hrs I guess, so I guess that counts right?

Anyway, I can tell you that the meat is always darker (and redder) any time I've smoked one than it ever is in the oven. I've always assumed that it had to do with the smoke. I know that youget a good smoke "ring" on pork or beef, but poultry (and I've only smoked turkeys and chickens so far) always seems to soak up the smoke flavor more, relatively speaking. I mean I always get good smoke flavor on butts, ribs, prime rib, etc., but it usually takes a durn long time. Chicken's always done in 1 1/2-2 hours and yet it's always so smoky (which is what makes it so durn good!).

The first time I did chicken on the grill, my brother and wife commented on the pink breast meat and (like you said) the dark meat was always near red at the bone.


Like I said....no expert at all, but that's what I've always found.

I say if it was at temp, the juice ran clear, and it tasted good, then you done did a fine a$$ job!!!!!:mrgreen:

Brethren?
 
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Drums are chicken cookin' machines. I have the utmost respect for anyone that can consistently cook a whole chicken to perfection because of the different levels of doneness required between the white meat (160°) and dark meat (175°). It's so hard to do correctly that I have given up unless I ice the breast for an hour. I prefer to butcher the chicken into halves, separated at the hip instead of on the axis of the bird, then pull each half when it done. Pieces always come of the BDS perfectly.​


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Doesn't sound like you have a drum problem, but a probe problem.

When measuring temp on birds, check in the "joint" between the leg and thigh. When thats 165, the rest of the bird is done.

Like Wayne said, drums are chicken cookin machines!

I also do poultry at 325ish, no reason for low n slow on a bird. :biggrin:
 
So am I wrong on the whole "smoked poultry is usually darker" idea?
Just checking......I really don't know, but I've double checked the temp on mine with more than one probe (to be safe--my wife's paranoid) and they were always to temp, but the meat still always seems redder, pinker, looks less done.

:confused:
 
Cooking chicken on the drum, I'd put the probe into the breast parallel to the keel bone, in the middle of the meat of the breast, I like to cook chicken between 275 and 300 F.

Cook it for around two hours before you check anywhere else, cut through the joint at the knee or hip if there's any pink liquid on the paper towel you dab on the cut cook it another 20 - 30 minutes.

If you're cooking at 225 - 250 cook it 2 1/2 - 3 hours before you check it with a cut.
 
thirdeye said:
DSC07860a.jpg




Drums are chicken cookin' machines. I have the utmost respect for anyone that can consistently cook a whole chicken to perfection because of the different levels of doneness required between the white meat (160°) and dark meat (175°). It's so hard to do correctly that I have given up unless I ice the breast for an hour. I prefer to butcher the chicken into halves, separated at the hip instead of on the axis of the bird, then pull each half when it done. Pieces always come of the BDS perfectly.​
Click to expand...

That's interesting about separating at the hip. Can you give a couple steps? Do you leave the back on?
 
I start mine at 325 and let them cruise between 275 and 300 zero problem...It was funny I was talking to a guy at a big bbq store and wanted to know if the smoker he was trying to sell me could go to 300 and he said nobody that knows about bbq cooks at that temp. I left.
 
Wampus said:
So am I wrong on the whole "smoked poultry is usually darker" idea?
Just checking......I really don't know, but I've double checked the temp on mine with more than one probe (to be safe--my wife's paranoid) and they were always to temp, but the meat still always seems redder, pinker, looks less done.

:confused:
Click to expand...


Yes, dark meat will be pinker from the smoke than the breast meat, but it's certainly done if the internal temp is correct and any juices run clear. Here is thigh and wing that I disjointed from the body just to show the meat color you are talking about compared to the slice of breast on the right. I took off the skin to show the color on the thigh. The temp in that leg/thigh joint was 175+. Of course you need to let a bird rest 5 to 8 minutes before carving. The sure test for "bloodiness" is the napkin test, just touch a piece of paper napkin to any juices so they are wicked up. If there is blood present, it is easily seen. Clear juices just show as transparent on the napkin.


DSC07762a.jpg

AlbuQue said:
That's interesting about separating at the hip. Can you give a couple steps? Do you leave the back on?
Click to expand...

It's easy and might take one minute. Just make two cuts through the skin, between the leg and the body following the natural line. The legs will kind of splay open on their own. Then pick up the bird and snap the backbone at the hip and clip with some kitchen scissors or use your knife to finish the cut. Then just clean-up each piece as usual. If you want to remove the backbone and ribs, just snip them off with your scissors, I usually leave it in because I usually have the breast side down for only afew minutes to give it some color. Most of the cook the breast is up. (on a turkey breast I will take the backbone and the ribs off)



DSC02011a.jpg


dsc02012aL.jpg
 
Thanks for all the tips. I was very frustrated after this cook but I am already planning another chicken cook. I may do the chicken thirdeye style next time...the nudist colony chicken!

I have some serious work to do on the chicken so I guess it is time to jump in feet first.


I was also haviong some odd temp drops from time to time but I think that is due to the large exhaust I have the leaky lid. I have plans to fix all of that
 
When we cook chicken halves at our little fair I leaned how to judge doneness with out a thermometer.
Lift the wing and if almost folds over with little effort and the bone twist easily in the drum stick the bird is done.
I measured many last year with the thermo pen and the thigh was between 190 and 195 degrees.
The meat in the entire chicken is very juicy and very good to eat.
These birds halves are cooked 25 to a rack and cooked over charcoal.
 
thirdeye said:
Yes, dark meat will be pinker from the smoke than the breast meat, but it's certainly done if the internal temp is correct and any juices run clear. Here is thigh and wing that I disjointed from the body just to show the meat color you are talking about compared to the slice of breast on the right. I took off the skin to show the color on the thigh. The temp in that leg/thigh joint was 175+. Of course you need to let a bird rest 5 to 8 minutes before carving. The sure test for "bloodiness" is the napkin test, just touch a piece of paper napkin to any juices so they are wicked up. If there is blood present, it is easily seen. Clear juices just show as transparent on the napkin.


DSC07762a.jpg



It's easy and might take one minute. Just make two cuts through the skin, between the leg and the body following the natural line. The legs will kind of splay open on their own. Then pick up the bird and snap the backbone at the hip and clip with some kitchen scissors or use your knife to finish the cut. Then just clean-up each piece as usual. If you want to remove the backbone and ribs, just snip them off with your scissors, I usually leave it in because I usually have the breast side down for only afew minutes to give it some color. Most of the cook the breast is up. (on a turkey breast I will take the backbone and the ribs off)



DSC02011a.jpg



dsc02012aL.jpg
Click to expand...


What.....did you go and cook up a bird last night just to for these pics? Bet you hated that, huh? LOL! :lol:


I, too, like the idea of seperating the legs/thighs from the breast/wings. Just makes more sense. I've got a couple of birds in the freezer that I think I'm going to try this on. Thanks Thirdeye!!!
 
Wampus said:
What.....did you go and cook up a bird last night just to for these pics? Bet you hated that, huh? LOL! :lol:


I, too, like the idea of seperating the legs/thighs from the breast/wings. Just makes more sense. I've got a couple of birds in the freezer that I think I'm going to try this on. Thanks Thirdeye!!!
Click to expand...

Heheee. No, I had them in the thirdeye's "how-to" collection of pictures. It's a little easier to follow than the pictures and directions from the Bible. If I would have said "perpendicular cut at the ilium", you would have said "WTF?".

Chicken-CollageCcut-up.jpg
 
Last edited:
thirdeye said:
Heheee. No, I had them in the "how-to" collection of pictures. It's a little easier to follow than the pictures and directions from the Bible. If I would have said "perpendicular cut at the ilium", you would have said "WTF?".


Chicken-CollageCcut-up.jpg
Click to expand...



we have a "how to" section?? :shock:
 
thirdeye said:
Yes, dark meat will be pinker from the smoke than the breast meat, but it's certainly done if the internal temp is correct and any juices run clear. Here is thigh and wing that I disjointed from the body just to show the meat color you are talking about compared to the slice of breast on the right. I took off the skin to show the color on the thigh. The temp in that leg/thigh joint was 175+. Of course you need to let a bird rest 5 to 8 minutes before carving. The sure test for "bloodiness" is the napkin test, just touch a piece of paper napkin to any juices so they are wicked up. If there is blood present, it is easily seen. Clear juices just show as transparent on the napkin.


DSC07762a.jpg



It's easy and might take one minute. Just make two cuts through the skin, between the leg and the body following the natural line. The legs will kind of splay open on their own. Then pick up the bird and snap the backbone at the hip and clip with some kitchen scissors or use your knife to finish the cut. Then just clean-up each piece as usual. If you want to remove the backbone and ribs, just snip them off with your scissors, I usually leave it in because I usually have the breast side down for only afew minutes to give it some color. Most of the cook the breast is up. (on a turkey breast I will take the backbone and the ribs off)



DSC02011a.jpg



dsc02012aL.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, when you explain, you explain!! Thanks for all the information and inspiration you provide.
 
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