1st Time Smoking/Grilling a Whole Chicken

[jmed999]

Can someone tell me the best way to grill/smoke a whole 5.5 lb chicken on my Primo grill?

Brine, inject, rub, smoke, grill, etc.

Thanks guys!!!

PS. About how much time should I plan this to take?


:thumb:

 

[Grillard]

I just do a simple rub -- Magic Dust or some kind of jerk lately -- then throw the chicken on at 350 or so. Usually takes an hour more or less to hit 165 internal. Or, more to the point, the leg joint moving easily. That's probably more meaningful than the temp.

 

[4ever3]

Spatchcock it, rub it, and throw it on!

Ya can't go wrong by doing that and taking it to 165° in the thigh and give'er a 10 minute rest...

 

[Richard_]

Spatchcock it, rub it, and throw it on!

Ya can't go wrong by doing that and taking it to 165° in the thigh and give'er a 10 minute rest...

X2 can't get any easier than that

 

[yakdung]

I always inject whole chickens under the skin. I see fancy pants BBQ experts injecting chicken and turkeys through the skin. This is incorrect in my view, as it will create puncture holes that will allow valuable flavor and juices to escape. I make a home brew concoction of high grade unsalted butter, fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, shallot onions, pepper corns, sea salt, juice from a fresh lemon quartered with rinds and some Lea & Perrins [FONT=&quot]Chicken Marinade[/FONT]. Simmer on medium heat in a small sauce pan on top of a stove for approximately 15-20 minutes. I strain into a Mason jar and then set into a small bowl and place ice cubes around the bottom until marinade cools. Inject chicken and place into a jumbo Ziploc plastic bag and set into the fridge for several hours. I would try and locate a wire chicken holder that will allow you to cook the bird upright. This will allow the juices to drip down into a small metal foil pan you will place the chicken into to capture the juices while smoking. Before smoking, I would coat the skin with peanut oil and sprinkle with Cajun Shake lemon pepper seasoning. I smoke using a light wood like apple on 225 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes, then bump the grill temp to 325 degrees to finish the cook. Chicken skin loves high heat. The chicken is done when internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If the chicken skin starts to become too dark, tent with foil. A Komado style type oven / cooker is the best for whole birds in my view. I would recommend and suggest mastering cooking whole chickens, as it easy and simple to do. Oh by the way… beer can chicken is a myth. The liquids never get hot enough to impart any flavor. Hope this helps and happy cooking!

 

[blazinfire]

It seems a lot of people here will recommend to spatchcock it. I've done it once found it being a pain. Once its cut its easier to apply rub and all that good stuff. Gotta give it credit for that.

I also hear using a brine will help the moisture/flavor of the bird. I've never done it. I have a bag of gamechanger brine from oakridge (might try it soon). I don't have problems with my birds being juicy and moist. They all turn out fine.

I rub the whole bird with whatever rub I choose. I like yardbird, and/or Oakridge gamebird+chicken. Those are my favorite chicken rubs. I also recommend lifting the skin up and trying to coat as much of the meat under the skin you can with the rub (Like I said its easier if its spatchchocked) I like to use less rub on the skin because I don't like the skin over seasoned.

After that sometimes I will inject the different parts of the meat with tony C's Creole butter injection. I like the flavor it adds to the meat but it seems like you have to bite into the piece with the injection juice to get enough flavor out of it. I feel its not necessary.

Normally run my cooker between 275-300. I'll cook til the breast hit 165 internal temp.

 

[EUBANK]

Try sometime rubbing peanut butter under the skin wherever you can. Always worked for me.

 

[dadsr4]

Here is the way I've been doing them for a while. The pictures don't do it justice.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218222

 

[bbqlearner]

Brine, spatchcock then direct grill at 350 at a raised grate. Always worked perfectly for me.

 

[IamMadMan]

Spatchcock it, rub it, and throw it on!

Ya can't go wrong by doing that and taking it to 165° in the thigh and give'er a 10 minute rest...

X2 can't get any easier than that

^ +3, always a great bird.

Also allows you to utilize direct and indirect cooking zones if you have them on other types of cookers.

.....

However, I do see you are using a 5.5 pound chicken... If it is a stewing chicken it will be tougher than leather if you cook it over the coals. If it is a roaster you will need to actually roast it to get full tenderness of the meat. The older the chicken, the tougher the meat. Most of the chickens we buy at the store are young chickens, usually 8 weeks of age. This insures a tender flavorful product regardless of how it's cooked.


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[GreenDrake]

Spatchcock, EVOO, rub, bone down go to town. 225 should take 2-2.5 hours. Not a skin fan so I never crisp it up, but MAN it will be a juicy bird.

 

[fuzzy1626]

Now I'm craving chicken for breakfast..:shock:..lol

 

[krex1010]

I like to dry brine a bird for a bit, usually the morning of the cook. I generally spatchcock or split the bird in half, depending on how many birds I'm cooking. I like my skin rendered and crisp so I aim for 350 pit temp. My family values tender and less fatty dark meat over super moist breast meat so I make sure to cook until the thighs are 180.

 

[Springram]

Yakdung .............your profile name is hilarious!

Thanks, guys for the tips for cooking chicken.

 

[jmed999]

I think I will do it like this...

Spatchcock it, rub it, and throw it on!

Ya can't go wrong by doing that and taking it to 165° in the thigh and give'er a 10 minute rest...

Couple more ques...

1) I always brine turkey when I'm cooking a whole turkey and it makes the world of difference regarding the juiciness of the bird. Is it as beneficial when doing a whole chicken?

2) He said take it to 165F in the thigh...does he mean 165 in the breast? Shouldn't the thigh be around 185? If so, is there a way to get the thigh to 185 and the breast to 165F? ie. ice the breast on the counter before cooking allowing the thighs to come to room temp like I do whole turkeys?

3) Sorry for a dumb question, but does anyone have a link to a youtube video on how to spatchcock?

Thanks guys!


:clap2:

 

[Fwismoker]

What happens is when the breasts reach 165 the thighs etc..are usually much hotter. If you go by the breast temp and the quarters are very loose it's good 2 go. As far as temp goes in the legs/thighs when it's cooked to 175-185* (ish) they will be more tender.

 

[VoodoChild]

X 4 On spatchcock !!!
I cook till 170-180 in the thigh ! :shocked:

 

[Bigbears BBQ]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr9eqIp6rbI"]How to... spatchcock a chicken - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Bigbears BBQ]

The above videos is just to show how to spatchcock the chicken don't worry about the skewers.

 

[sterling_bbq]

I've done a few spatchcock chickens now. They have all turned out great. Put your rub under the skin. Place bone side down. When the breast is 165 the thighs are magically around 180. Dunno why but I don't complain. Maybe it's because I place the legs in the center of my UDS and the breasts on the outside. I've cooked my birds at 275 and 325. They took between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Both times the skin came out chewy. I'm going to try 350 next time. If that doesn't work I'll finish them off in the oven at 450.