Smoking a whole chicken.

[Mr Kleb]

I smoked a couple birds yesterday. Unfortunately I did not photograph them before deboning, but here’s what I did.


Both weighted between 3 and 4 lbs. I butterflied both with some cook's shears. They cook faster and more evenly that way. You could also quarter them.


I used a dry rub on both, inside and out. I used a ‘Simon & Garfunkel’ rub on one. Yep, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme plus a little salt and pepper. The other bird got a rub of paprika, cayenne, pepper, salt, thyme, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then I put them in the fridge for about four hours.


I started the smoker (Weber Smokey Mountain bullet) at about 11:30 and got the temperature stabilized. To smoke stuff you want to aim for 225F. I was happy with 238. I put the birds on at about 12:30 and added a handful of mesquite chips. I have learned that it is really easy to overdo the smoke when doing chicken.


The birds were done at about 4:30. Oh, I also smoked four potatoes. Because they went on late I opened the dampers to heat up the fire. Faye makes a delicious potato salad from them. And I added some fresh local asparagus near the end.

Yum.

[Macy]

I have never considered smoking potatoes. What a fantastic idea.

[Kleb]

I have never considered smoking potatoes. What a fantastic idea.

They really are yummy in a potato salad. Not sure I’d want to eat as a “baked” potato.

[smartrock]

That all sounds fantastic! The only time I've smoked a bird it was a turkey at Thanksgiving. I guess I went overboard on the wood chips because it tasted more like hot dog than turkey. Too bad I hadn't seen your recommendations first!

[katALlabs]

Smoked bird is awesome! We even smoked a turkey for thanks giving.
We went a little nuts and bought a Australian Wagyu competition grade brisket last week and did a 13 hr. smoke Saturday with it and threw in two roster chickens on hr. 11 to finish off the smoking. Smoking purest might not agree but I use a masterbuilt digital electric smoker.... I can't keep a wood/charcoal smoker at a steady even temperature no matter what I tried. The Brisket was pretty dam good too.