Or don't wet brine at all.
Dry brining works great and, I suspect, you get better skin by starting with a drier initial state.
P.S. Brining is good. But not necessary to have a really decent end product.
P.P.S. Don't smoke low/slow. It comes out better when smoking >325F. Chicken can handle high temps without becoming dry.
Nope, chicken drinks smoke flavor faster than your beer disappears while the coals heat up. You'll get plenty of smoke flavor on a hot cook, and if you go low/slow you might find some people who think it's a little *too much* smoke flavor.
If you don't get as much smoke as you want, you can experiment with just using more wood with somewhat dirtier smoke (i.e., not as much of the coveted "blue smoke").
Controversial, but my sense is that it's hard to pick up too many off flavors from dirty smoke in the hour it takes to "smoke roast" the chicken.
I love to spin chickens on the roti, sometimes I’ll stack two on it. I run the w22 pretty much as hot as I can get. I’ll dump a whole starter of Kingsford over about 5 big chunks of pecan or applewood in the Slow n sear basket. Vents wide open.
It grabs a ton of smokiness.
When we've done big chicken BBQs in the past, my dad would just get a cooler, and add ice packs in plastic bags to keep it at fridge temps overnight. Not sure if that'll work for you.
A cooler will work for all your chickens together. If you want to brine them separately (with different brines), there are 2-Gallon zip-lock bags available at most grocery stores which will easily hold a whole chicken and its brining liquid.
This is the way I do it. I cut the chickens into halves so each chicken fits better/flatter in the ziplock, and in the fridge.
It’s also easier to fit on the smoker and/or adjust positioning in relation to your heat source if they are split in halves.
Piggybacking on what was said about a 5-gallon bucket brine. You can get a food grade one a Lowe's. Make sure its food grade. Then I brine overnight. I usually spatchcock then put the rub on. Usually I'm smoking at 275 then will put them in a foil pan with pads of butter at about the halfway or 2/3 point of cooking. I would look up Aaron Franklin. turkey on youtube. He had a PBS series when he was first starting out I think. I followed his videos for help on many types of meat. Hope that helps!
Don’t overthink the brine. The one I use is great.
Let the chicken soak 12-24 hours in it before grilling. All the brine consists of is: water(duh), coarse salt, brown sugar, mustard seeds, bay leaves and peppercorns. Step 1: combine 8 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup salt. Once it is mostly dissolved add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a low boil. As soon as it low boils take off heat and chill. Add to chicken and the rest is magic. I tend to smoke my chickens on 225 for about 1.5 hours and they turn out great. Don’5 forget the resting process before you carving.
https://www.craftbeering.com/smoked-chicken-brine-recipe/
here’s the link for the brine I use.
Follow this and you will get phenomenal results. I usually season with Kinder’s “Lemon Pepper” seasoning before, but that’s all personal preference.
Don't forget, you can do dry brine as well. Maybe a couple in a cooler for wet brine and a couple in a fridge for dry brine.
If you're planning on using a binder, I prefer mayo on poultry, it helps to get a nice brown skin.
And as always, don't smoke from start to finish. This can result in a rubber texture to the skin. Smoke them about 60-90min or so, then crank the temp to at least 375 to get that crispy skin. Check temp or use a good cooking probe to monitor temp so they don't get over cooked.
Last summer I made it my mission to perfect smoking whole Chicken. It took about 5 birds but I finally got it dialed in. When it comes to smoking whole birds, you have to perform a balancing act between low temps and high temps. The low temps will give you smoke flavour and the high temps will render the fat giving you crispy skin. Failing to render the fat in the skin will yield tough, chewy skin. You also want to dry skin out prior to cooking. This is why I prefer to dry brine my whole birds when smoking. It results in much crispier skin. Listed below is my method.
1. Pat dry with paper towel (you want the skin to be as dry as possible).
2. Spatchcock (sounds intimidating but it’s really easy, look up a YouTube video. It’s absolutely essential for even cooking. Otherwise your legs will be cooked before the breasts).
3. Dry brine with kosher salt (apply liberally roughly 1tsp per pound). You can also apply whatever you would normal season with (just make sure you don’t add more salt.. also, do not brine with table salt. If you put too much kosher salt on you can brush it off. Table salt is much less forgiving).
4. Leave in fridge uncovered for 24 hours on a wire rack (or as long as possible up to 48 hours from date of purchase).
5. Throw bird on grill at 180° straight out of the fridge for roughly an hour or 110°~ internal temp.
6. Take bird off grill and turn grill temp to 425-450°. (You can also finish them in the oven at this temperature) Once preheated, return bird to grill, cook until breast is 160°-165° and leg reaches 180-190°. Rest on a wire rack for 30-60mins.
This will give you a tender smokey bird with crispy skin! Hope this helps, smoke on!
Edited for typos
These instructions were spot on. It was the greatest chicken I have ever had. The only thing I did not do was spatchcock them simply because I wanted the whole bird aesthetic.
I’m glad my method worked for you. A lot of time and effort went into perfecting it. I definitely appreciate the feedback. I would also appreciate a shout out at the top of your post in the new edit section where you posted my method. Cheers!
I only dry brine chicken. I find it’s a lot easier to get the skin crispy. And as long as you don’t overcook the breast, it will still be plenty juicy. But you can skip the day brine if you don’t have time. I also agree with the people saying to cook it hotter, at least 375º. And one thing I haven’t seen anyone mention: go a step farther than just spatchcocking and try cutting the chickens in half. As long as you’re not worried about presentation, this makes it easier to handle in the smoker. Plus, you can pull each piece separately when each breast gets up to temp.
I didn’t dry brine mine. I did it hot and fast and then let the smoker way down to like 160 towards the end. I also removed the back bone and added paprika to protect the skin layer and get it crunchy instead of chewy. Took like 2-3 hours and was so juicy. Still eating leftovers 2 weeks later
Maybe I'm just really good at smoking chicken because I have never used a brine. I just put my dry rub on and stick it in. Always comes out juicy and never over done. I'll spatchcock it sometimes but if I'm being lazy I won't even do that
Not too sure about brining but the best way to smoke them is spatchcocking them, rotating every 15 minutes or so and getting a nice even cook.
Good luck!
I did drumsticks the same way and got great crunchy skin. Tell us how you approach it please? Love to do whole chicken and would like to have the skin included.
Thanks!
I spatchcock them.
In a bowl I mix paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, tyme, and baking powder (not baking soda)
Spinkle kosher salt and the seasoning mix on the inside side, flip and repeat on the outside.
I put a cooling rack on the sheet pan like you would use for baking and then put the chicken on the rack.
Put in the refrigerator overnight so the skin dries out.
Smoke as normal
For baking powder I use about 1 tbsp per 2 pounds
Wet brine. The salt and water is what’s important. Cup of salt per gallon of water is all you really need. Heat it enough to dissolve the salt and cool down with ice. If you want to get fancy inject with chicken broth butter and the seasoning of your choice
Or don't wet brine at all. Dry brining works great and, I suspect, you get better skin by starting with a drier initial state. P.S. Brining is good. But not necessary to have a really decent end product. P.P.S. Don't smoke low/slow. It comes out better when smoking >325F. Chicken can handle high temps without becoming dry.
Does smoking at a higher temp not affect the amount of smoke flavour? Would have thought it would reduce it due to cooking quicker
Nope, chicken drinks smoke flavor faster than your beer disappears while the coals heat up. You'll get plenty of smoke flavor on a hot cook, and if you go low/slow you might find some people who think it's a little *too much* smoke flavor.
If you don't get as much smoke as you want, you can experiment with just using more wood with somewhat dirtier smoke (i.e., not as much of the coveted "blue smoke"). Controversial, but my sense is that it's hard to pick up too many off flavors from dirty smoke in the hour it takes to "smoke roast" the chicken.
I love to spin chickens on the roti, sometimes I’ll stack two on it. I run the w22 pretty much as hot as I can get. I’ll dump a whole starter of Kingsford over about 5 big chunks of pecan or applewood in the Slow n sear basket. Vents wide open. It grabs a ton of smokiness.
Pps, not pss. It's post script (p.s) and post post script (pps) IIRC.
Ha! I knew it looked wrong.
When we've done big chicken BBQs in the past, my dad would just get a cooler, and add ice packs in plastic bags to keep it at fridge temps overnight. Not sure if that'll work for you.
A cooler will work for all your chickens together. If you want to brine them separately (with different brines), there are 2-Gallon zip-lock bags available at most grocery stores which will easily hold a whole chicken and its brining liquid.
This is the way I do it. I cut the chickens into halves so each chicken fits better/flatter in the ziplock, and in the fridge. It’s also easier to fit on the smoker and/or adjust positioning in relation to your heat source if they are split in halves.
I take it one step further and quarter them. Dark and white finish at different temps. Juicier chicken!
Piggybacking on what was said about a 5-gallon bucket brine. You can get a food grade one a Lowe's. Make sure its food grade. Then I brine overnight. I usually spatchcock then put the rub on. Usually I'm smoking at 275 then will put them in a foil pan with pads of butter at about the halfway or 2/3 point of cooking. I would look up Aaron Franklin. turkey on youtube. He had a PBS series when he was first starting out I think. I followed his videos for help on many types of meat. Hope that helps!
Don’t overthink the brine. The one I use is great. Let the chicken soak 12-24 hours in it before grilling. All the brine consists of is: water(duh), coarse salt, brown sugar, mustard seeds, bay leaves and peppercorns. Step 1: combine 8 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup salt. Once it is mostly dissolved add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a low boil. As soon as it low boils take off heat and chill. Add to chicken and the rest is magic. I tend to smoke my chickens on 225 for about 1.5 hours and they turn out great. Don’5 forget the resting process before you carving.
3-4 bay leaves, 1tsp mustard seeds and 2tsp peppercorns. This is enough for two chickens.
So if I want to do 4 chickens should I double the ingredients?
https://www.craftbeering.com/smoked-chicken-brine-recipe/ here’s the link for the brine I use. Follow this and you will get phenomenal results. I usually season with Kinder’s “Lemon Pepper” seasoning before, but that’s all personal preference.
Thank you for this. It turned out excellent.
Aye I’m glad to help you out, and I’m also glad it turned out as good for you as me!
I’ve fit four hens in one of these. https://www.amazon.com/Briner-Ultimate-Brine-Container-22/dp/B00PPRX9MO
I use gallon ziploc bags - one chicken per bag. Fill with brine to cover, and then carefully squeeze all the excess air out of the bag before sealing.
Don't forget, you can do dry brine as well. Maybe a couple in a cooler for wet brine and a couple in a fridge for dry brine. If you're planning on using a binder, I prefer mayo on poultry, it helps to get a nice brown skin. And as always, don't smoke from start to finish. This can result in a rubber texture to the skin. Smoke them about 60-90min or so, then crank the temp to at least 375 to get that crispy skin. Check temp or use a good cooking probe to monitor temp so they don't get over cooked.
I brine each chicken in a separate pot. And if it's such a hassle, you can skip the brine. The chicken will still be good.
Grab a poultry bag or two and toss them in a cooler overnight with ice
Is chicken new slang for crack?
Last summer I made it my mission to perfect smoking whole Chicken. It took about 5 birds but I finally got it dialed in. When it comes to smoking whole birds, you have to perform a balancing act between low temps and high temps. The low temps will give you smoke flavour and the high temps will render the fat giving you crispy skin. Failing to render the fat in the skin will yield tough, chewy skin. You also want to dry skin out prior to cooking. This is why I prefer to dry brine my whole birds when smoking. It results in much crispier skin. Listed below is my method. 1. Pat dry with paper towel (you want the skin to be as dry as possible). 2. Spatchcock (sounds intimidating but it’s really easy, look up a YouTube video. It’s absolutely essential for even cooking. Otherwise your legs will be cooked before the breasts). 3. Dry brine with kosher salt (apply liberally roughly 1tsp per pound). You can also apply whatever you would normal season with (just make sure you don’t add more salt.. also, do not brine with table salt. If you put too much kosher salt on you can brush it off. Table salt is much less forgiving). 4. Leave in fridge uncovered for 24 hours on a wire rack (or as long as possible up to 48 hours from date of purchase). 5. Throw bird on grill at 180° straight out of the fridge for roughly an hour or 110°~ internal temp. 6. Take bird off grill and turn grill temp to 425-450°. (You can also finish them in the oven at this temperature) Once preheated, return bird to grill, cook until breast is 160°-165° and leg reaches 180-190°. Rest on a wire rack for 30-60mins. This will give you a tender smokey bird with crispy skin! Hope this helps, smoke on! Edited for typos
These instructions were spot on. It was the greatest chicken I have ever had. The only thing I did not do was spatchcock them simply because I wanted the whole bird aesthetic.
I’m glad my method worked for you. A lot of time and effort went into perfecting it. I definitely appreciate the feedback. I would also appreciate a shout out at the top of your post in the new edit section where you posted my method. Cheers!
I only dry brine chicken. I find it’s a lot easier to get the skin crispy. And as long as you don’t overcook the breast, it will still be plenty juicy. But you can skip the day brine if you don’t have time. I also agree with the people saying to cook it hotter, at least 375º. And one thing I haven’t seen anyone mention: go a step farther than just spatchcocking and try cutting the chickens in half. As long as you’re not worried about presentation, this makes it easier to handle in the smoker. Plus, you can pull each piece separately when each breast gets up to temp.
I didn’t dry brine mine. I did it hot and fast and then let the smoker way down to like 160 towards the end. I also removed the back bone and added paprika to protect the skin layer and get it crunchy instead of chewy. Took like 2-3 hours and was so juicy. Still eating leftovers 2 weeks later
Dry brine Spatchcock
I never brine the chicken and it comes out great, I just dry rub them and hang em from the armpits in my drum smoker, hot and fast and boom.
Maybe I'm just really good at smoking chicken because I have never used a brine. I just put my dry rub on and stick it in. Always comes out juicy and never over done. I'll spatchcock it sometimes but if I'm being lazy I won't even do that
What internal temp do you pull the chicken off at?
Get a 5 gallon bucket and brine them in there. I use a big bucket to brine turkeys and it works fine.
Do you boil water with spices in it or just cold brine?
Yes, I boil to dissolve the sugar and salt. and then cool the water down and keep ice in the bucket to keep the chickens below 40.
Not too sure about brining but the best way to smoke them is spatchcocking them, rotating every 15 minutes or so and getting a nice even cook. Good luck!
This is the way. I dry brine with kosher salt overnight, uncovered on a sheetpan in the refrigerator.
I did drumsticks the same way and got great crunchy skin. Tell us how you approach it please? Love to do whole chicken and would like to have the skin included. Thanks!
I spatchcock them. In a bowl I mix paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, tyme, and baking powder (not baking soda) Spinkle kosher salt and the seasoning mix on the inside side, flip and repeat on the outside. I put a cooling rack on the sheet pan like you would use for baking and then put the chicken on the rack. Put in the refrigerator overnight so the skin dries out. Smoke as normal For baking powder I use about 1 tbsp per 2 pounds
Awesome thx. You don't rinse the salt off before smoking, correct? I will assume you don't unless you correct me.
I don't
I don't use an excessive amount, and I want that skin dry when it hits the smoker.
Wet brine. The salt and water is what’s important. Cup of salt per gallon of water is all you really need. Heat it enough to dissolve the salt and cool down with ice. If you want to get fancy inject with chicken broth butter and the seasoning of your choice