First round of BBQ chicken on my Kettle


 
LeoP.

LeoP.

TVWBB Member
Decided I would try my hand at some leg quarters (my favorite chicken cut). For the rub and sauce I used Booty Rub for the first time and what an interesting flavor it has!!! I really want to try it on ribs now. What I need to work on is getting my heat down, I was cooking too hot for chicken as it took a while for it get too get cooked all the way thru. I am going to use a different charcoal next time I believe the Kingsford Competition charcoal I used is just to hot burning. I am also going to see about adding some wood chips for a little more
smoke flavor. Maybe an apple or cherry? This was also my first cook where I was putting sauce on the meat as I was cooking it, I liked the results atleast on chicken vs. just a dry rub.

The rub & sauce:



In action:

 
Last edited:
LeoP;
That's really great lookin' chicken. I do quite a bit of chicken, my self.

You might want to try the "brick" set up:



A couple of thin fire bricks from a masonry supply place (or fireplace supply or even the big box building supply stores) makes for a nice, consistent set up for indirect/direct heat. I use Kingsford Original most all of the time.

Using a One Touch grill, you can easily adjust the temperature to YOUR preference. I like around 350 degrees for nice crisp skin:

http://www.hotsmokebbq.com/002gear/weber_bottom_vent_marking.php

Nearly all rubs contain sugar. If they are applied too early, they can burn, introducing unpleasant flavors. I find that applying near the end of the cook (five-ten minutes before chicken is ready to take off) works best. A couple of applications adds layers of flavor. After that, sometimes, it is a good idea to go direct for just a minute or two per side to crisp the skin. It is NECESSARY to watch closely as, again, you can burn the sauce.

I like either apple or pecan wood with chicken. I mostly use chunks, adding them just before the chicken. Go light on the smoke with chicken - one or two chunks works best for me. You can use chips, if you prefer, but they need to soak in water at least a half hour before adding to slow their burn.

Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Nice start and some good suggestions here. Looks like maybe to many coals was the major heat problem. But the chicken looks good just the same.
 
Not sure I understand - fire too hot cooks too slow? Seems like it would be the opposite.

If I dump a full pile of lit kingsford blue bag in my one touch 22" behind some bricks like in the photo above and close the lid, any chicken pieces will be cooked in about 40 minutes flat. This is with the vents open.

Don't forget you can use the vents to control your heat, if you want to cook lower.
 
One thing that will slow down your cooking when cooking with indirect heat is opening the grill - each time you lift that lid you can add about +5 minutes to your cook time.
 
The chicken looks good. As mentioned before I think you have too many coals which will result in a very hot fire and cook the outside of the chicken long before the inside is done. I use the Weber charcoal baskets and I fill both of them about 3/4 of the way with lit coals. I also, barely have the bottom vents opened. I'm usually at 350 - 400 degrees during the cook. Best of luck and keep grilling you'll get it down.
 
Leo, that's some mighty fine chicken!
Dale, I gotta get some of those bricks (it's cheating, but it's cheating right) :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top