Chicken Question: Higher vs. Lower cooking temps?

crisp skin needs higher heat

I cook chicken in the 275-300 range any cooker.

Chicken is very lean, because of that fact, it's similar to a pork loin. When cooked low and slow, the texture of the meat ends up rubbery, and dry.

Even skinless chicken will turn out rubbery and dry going low n slow. 325-400 for chicken, the skin still might not turn out good, but at least the meat will be tender and juicy, instead of having the texture of a gumby doll :becky:

*edit* I just want to toss this out. 225-250 isn't the magic number. Any piece of meat can be cooked hot and fast (275-350) and turn out just as good, if not better then 225 low and slow and dried out method. You just get a few hours of your life back, instead of standing over the smoker wondering when it's going to be done. 8lb butts in 7 hours taste just as good, if not better, than 8 lb butts in 12-16 hours.

What El Ropo said. Chicken meat is lean and does not need the low and slow to render the connective tissue like in the larger muscles in the larger animals. The meat has a better quality when cooked faster, and the skin benefits big time like everyone else mentioned. Finally, when it comes to "smoke flavor", chicken is like a flavor sponge. Smoking it at 325-350 will still yield smokey flavored chicken, but the meat and skin will be better than if cooked at lower temps.