Jepprey P
TVWBB Fan
I sometimes use my Smokey Joes as dedicated spatchcock chicken cookers. The idea came to me after making a mini WSM (following the thread on this site) a few years ago (2014?) and I was trying to figure out what to do with the metal perforated tamale pot insert.
Why not use it as a heat diffuser and cook larger cuts of meats on the Smokey Joe?
I picked up a 12" perforated pizza pan to use in addition to the tamale pot insert to accommodate simultaneous, multi-Smokey Joe spatchcock chicken cooks. (Good luck finding this pizza pan on Amazon - the one I purchased and is featured in this post has been "not available" for a couple of years.)
Looking through the top vent, this ~6lb. whole chicken barely fits in the Smokey Joe. Lean toward using 4-5 lb. chickens on the Smokey Joe.
Occasionally, I'll run the pizza pan upside down (convex, for chicken) and other times, I'll run it right side up (concave, to allow for a drip pan or plate above the pizza pan for baby back ribs, moinks, fatties, etc).
I really don't have a charcoal briquette count recommendation for this type of cook. Fill up your charcoal as much as possible, even for short cooks. Lately, I've leaned toward using lump charcoal for my smaller cookers for the reduced ash production and to limit the chance that my fire will snuff itself out from the ash.
I start both types of cooks the same way: the Minion Method. With that said, I typically use Weber Lighter Cubes, one cube for low and slow, two cubes for chicken. I'll let the fire go a bit longer for chicken to make sure it's burning cleaner and hotter before putting on the diffuser, grill grate, and chicken.
