Best Chicken Cooker?

[Glenn W]

One of my favorite ways to BBQ chicken was on my previous WSM's with no pan. Nothing against the WSM but would like something a little more rain proof and not as many pieces for transporting/moving around. Been thinking of maybe a Hunsaker or Gateway drum for a future chicken cooker as I like direct coals with a decent gap between the meat and the coals. I like chicken on my stick burner/Primo and Kettle but miss the direct low n slow around 275-325ish.

What say y'all that have cooked birds on many different style cookers?


Regards

 

[kevinstaggs]

26” Weber Kettle w Vortex.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Itsdone]

In my opinion any grill/smoker with a rotisserie spit rod or rack.

 

[ShadowDriver]

26” Weber Kettle w Vortex.

Kevin speaks truth.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

The Hunsaker is a chicken cooking machine. It has plenty of room to cook a mess of chicken and it's hard to beat hanging a bunch of halved birds. If you don't need the extra room or want to save a little money the OKJ Bronco looks like a good option as well as the Pit Barrel.

 

[glitchy]

For wings, legs and thighs, I love the WSCG and a vortex. For whole birds, modified Joetisserie for the WSCG. However, I like them just as well spatchcocked or halved on the MAK and it’s less work than hassling with the rotisserie.

I’m still waiting for a day off with no wind to try out the KBQ. One of the first things I plan to try it hanging a bird or two.

I’ve never cooked on a barrel though to compare to.

 

[ssv3]

Pbc is another mean chicken cooker. Some people buy it just to cook chicken.

 

[smoke ninja]

I've never had better chicken than cooked on my 007. It's a 55 gallon drum with a raised grate or rotisserie over a small fire. Not easily transported tho

 

[lastmajordude]

Kevin speaks truth.

I read about vortex for years and thought it was crap (i just used bricks)....but this ole Dude has to admit it is the BEST way to bake fish, totally foolproof. I also do burgers (cook around the coals) and wings is a total winner.....JMHO

 

[Moose]

It's hard to answer your question without more specifics on the end result or what your preference goes as it relates to the chicken itself. There's a lot of ways to cook chicken using different cookers, and some are more or less desirable depending on what one likes.


That said, if you like super juicy chicken, with crispy bite-through skin, I know of no better way(without getting a dedicated cooker that does the exact same thing, but in larger quantities) than doing it in a basket on a rotisserie set up on a Weber Kettle. I first discovered this technique when sudsandswine posted it a few years ago using a whole spatchcocked bird:


https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282192

When I first saw this, I was floored, thinking "THIS is what I have been wanting from chicken for a long time, but never quite got there. I MUST try this immediately!"


So I did:


https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283095

I was floored by the results, and have never looked back. Every bird we've cooked using this method has far surpassed everything else I've done in the past that those methods have fallen by the wayside and have never been used since.

When I titled my first thread using the phrase "Life Changing", it's still as true today as it was then.

Amen.

 

[sandro]

For me it's definitely a 400f+ PBC

 

[Glenn W]

Thanks for the replies! I need to be able to cook more than a rotisserie can do. I have one and it is grate for small cooks. Had a PBC but didn't like how it -wouldn't maintain a even coal bed for 275-300 cooks which kept me rotating the meats (not knocking it as it is a great cooker for some things) used one for 2 years. I am interested mostly in larger drums with better air vents like the Hunsaker/Gateway cookers I think....... I like chicken cooked over coals with a decent gap between the coals and the meat at a 275-300 temp. Vortex is great for high temp indirect cooking for sure.

Thanks

 

[charcoalwilly]

Meadow Creek BBQ42 Chicken Cooker. It makes the best chicken I've ever had and I've grilled it many different ways. I have one as does my brother. The only downside is she likes to run full. They do sell a smaller version called the BBQ26

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275352

https://www.meadowcreekbbq.com/catalog/chicken-cookers/bbq42-bbq-pit-grill/

 

[Pife]

I also have a Meadow Creek BBQ 42. My favorite cooking machine!

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Thanks for the replies! I need to be able to cook more than a rotisserie can do. I have one and it is grate for small cooks. Had a PBC but didn't like how it -wouldn't maintain a even coal bed for 275-300 cooks which kept me rotating the meats (not knocking it as it is a great cooker for some things) used one for 2 years. I am interested mostly in larger drums with better air vents like the Hunsaker/Gateway cookers I think....... I like chicken cooked over coals with a decent gap between the coals and the meat at a 275-300 temp. Vortex is great for high temp indirect cooking for sure.

Thanks

Then it sounds like you just need to decide between Hunsaker and Gateway. I don't think you'll go wrong either way. I chose Hunsaker for the hinged lid and big wheels among other reasons. Mark Hunsaker seems to be a good guy and I believe he will answer any questions you may have about his product.

 

[ssv3]

Hunsaker it is then. I had a Hunsaker and it's a helluva cooker.

 

[Glenn W]

Hunsaker it is then. I had a Hunsaker and it's a helluva cooker.

Thanks. Why did you get rid of it?

 

[Dough13]

I went gateway. Love it. Live in st louis so have seen both drums up close. Both gateway and hunsaker are made here. No better chicken cooker than a drum imo.