12 whole chickens (pictures)


 
S

Steven O

New member
Well i'm about to smoke 12 whole chickens (2 pound birds) this weekend.
But got a few questions ;
should i use a brine? if so, how can i make enough brine for this amount of chickens ?

after brining i want to add dry rub, after rubbing should i put the birds in the fridge for say 12 hours or straight away om the smoker ??

gtz steve
 
Steven,Sounds like a fun weekend! To make that much brine,either get a really large pot or you could make it in batches. The smaller batches would be a little easier to handle. As far as rubbing, I would rub right before smoking. No reason other than that's the way I do cook! Let us know how it turns out.
 
Hey Steven. Good luck on your cook. One suggestion I would give is to make your own rub and eliminate or at least reduce the salt. If you brine and then add a comercial rub, it could end up too salty. Have fun!
 
Steve,

That's a lot of chicken!

Yes, you should use a brine. It will help the white meat stay tender while the thighs get to your temp.

I normally use a 5 gallon drink (now a brine) cooler for turkeys and large chicken cooks and zip locks for small chicken cooks. I guess your best bet would be to buy 2.5 gallon hefty bags and brine in there.

Just use a large pot and make several batches of brine. I always make my brine a day or 2 in advance so I can let it get to room temp and then put in the refrigerator. That way you are not having to wait for the brine to cool down with ice or ice packs to put it on the raw chicken.

I usually pat my chicken dry and rub it about an hour prior to going on the smoker. 12 hours could definetly over flavor the chicken.

What temp are you smoking at ?
 
Swing by the hardware store and grab a plastic 5 gallon bucket for dirt cheap. Make sure its clean and sanitary of course!

For that amount of brine, the best thing to do is make it in batches. Once its all together, I usually use ice to keep it cold while it sits out, since I can't usually keep a 5 gallon bucket in the fridge. Typically, a pound of ice is about a pint or two cups of water, so substitute some of the water for ice and it should keep the brine cold while the chickens and the brine are doin their thing.

Definitely watch the salt levels on the brine and on the rub. Usually the brine will season the birds well enough, so the rub should probably contain very little to no salt at all. Either way, be sure to rinse the brine off and pat dry before rubbing.

I usually throw them on right after they're rubbed. Great results everytime!
 
Well Thanks for the reactions.
About the brining, i got a big 48L coleman cooler, i think this would be large enough
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and just keep it outside as the outside temps are around +8 Celcius, i pack a sack of ice in to the cooler as well.
For the brining time, 1 or 2 days ?
And what about the brining it self, one cup of salt on one gallon of water ?
I'm new with brining sow that's why i ask
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I want to smoke the birds on a high heat 300F with home made rub.

gtz steve
 
Stephen my basic brine is 1/4 cup kosher salt & 1/4 cup sugar per quart.
These are 2 lb birds???
If that small I would only brine 6 hours at most
 
Do you need / want to keep the chickens whole, or could you cut them in half?

If you cut them in half, along the breast and back bones, they fit better into bags, for brining, are easier to handle on the grill / smoker, and are easier to coat (both sides) with rub.

If you want to conserve the amount of brine that you'll need - you can get one or two birds in each 2-gallon (8-liter?) Ziplock bag. Add enough brine to about half-fill each bag, then squeeze-out the air before sealing. Then float the bagged birds in your cooler, filled with cold water. (Pressure from the water will help to keep the brine into contact with the birds, inside their bags - but it will not require a cooler-full of brine.)

Unless you are going to have multiple smokers going, you'll probably need to cook/smoke the birds in batches. I suggest foil pans that can be kept warm or re-heated in the oven, with a few done birds placed in each.

As others have stated - if you're going to brine, omit the salt in your rub. The birds will get plenty salty from the brine. I like a simple brine of kosher flake salt and brown sugar.

Also, go easy on the smoke wood for chickens - I like a little applewood.

Let us know about your results!

(Left / Right thru b
 
Ron, i don't cut the birds in half because the 2 pounders ain't that big.
for the brining i have heavy industrial grade plastic bags that i put in my cooler 6 birds in a bag with the brine and put them in my water and ice filled cooler.

John as you mentioned i will brine for about 5 hours max. with a simple brine of salt, sugar and water.

I brined never before so all suggestions and info is welcome

gtz steve
 
5 hours should be plenty of time for small chickens. It's an awesome way to add flavor and to preserve juiciness. It's also an awesome insurance policy if you're having trouble keeping the food moist.

Just don't brine too long or you'll end up with pickled chicken, which doesn't sound too appetizing...
 
I would spatchcock the birds. Brining is always good to make the meat more moist. Spatchcocking the birds, they will lie flat. You can brine them in ziplocks and because they are flat, they won't need anywhere near as much brine. Plus they will stack in the fridge and take up less room than whole birds.
 
Bill a dry brine is just salting the bird with about 1 tbsp of kosher salt per 4-5lbs of weight, then put the bird in a plastic bag tightly wrapped around the bird, leave the bird in the bag at least 48hrs 72hrs is better but u can get away with 48hrs, each day massage the bird, once all the juices are reabsorbed by the bird its gd to go, rinse off with water and pat dry. The end results are a lot better than a wet brine, try it i think u will like it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill S.:
"Dry white toast."

"And a Coke" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ha! I was thinking the same thing when I read the heading.
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Tom, i don't want to spatchcock the birds because then they won't fit in the smoker....on the otherhand 2 sessions and a few more cokes is much better.

Bill, 3 days of massage 12 birds is a bit to intimate to me
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but good idea i will try that later.

shaun penguin...i think i would just try fish LOL.

thanks for all reactions, i will take pictures when i start cooking.

gtz steve
 
well it turned out as a succes, the brine worked out great, that is something i'm going to do more often.
the chickens served 24 people and none asked for sauce and the birds were picked clean to the bone.

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Congrats. Looks like you did a great job. If I had to cook 12 chickens, even 2 lbers, I'd kill myself. Too much work for this guy
 
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