A better chicken?


 
T

Tim O

TVWBB Fan
Out of all the things I've BBQ'd, chicken is my least favorite. Don't get me wrong - I love chicken, but chicken on the WSM doesn't wow me or leave me craving more. The chicken skin (unless you crisp it over the coals close) is usually rubbery, rub really plays no factor, and yes it's usually moist but that's about it. Honestly, I'd rather cook a chicken in the Dutch oven or crockpot to get more flavor.

I guess my question is how can I re-invent chicken on the smoker so it's desirable? So many people assume smoked chicken is to die for but really, I'd rather smoke some ribs or pork butt. Am I in the minority? Am I missing some great recipe? Is my bar too high??
 
Hi heat is the answer to crispy skin. I don't usually do chicken on the WSM as I usually put it on the Performer and get juicy chicken with crispy skin
 
Cook chicken pieces over medium high heat around 325-350, flip every 3-5 minutes perfect every time. Chicken is not meant to be cooked indirect unless its a whole fryer.
 
Great suggestions above. I'd add use a great marinade recipe like those found on weber.com and remove the water pan to cook direct.
 
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I've had good success using my 18.5 WSM with a full large chimney of KBB and a couple of chucks of wood. I remove the water pan and I also open the door. Cook the chicken direct, you get a lot of heat and the juices dripping onto the hot coals give it a great flavor and the fire from the drippings can't reach the chicken so nothing gets burnt. Crispy skin and a nice Smokey flavor from the wood. Just turn every few minutes and you're good to go.
 
I'm in the same boat here. My best success with chicken on the WSM has been cooking whole brined birds vertically at higher temps (325-350), but even then they're not fantastic. I've also found that it's very easy to oversmoke and end up with that ashtray aftertaste, so I usually go very light on the smoke wood and sometimes skip it altogether.

Lately (as in this morning, because thinking about this is preferable to thinking about work), I've been contemplating getting the expansion rack for my WSM and trying hung whole chicken. I doubt it would turn out much different than it does on my vertical roasters, but it's an excuse to buy a new toy, so why not. Now, the question is: which way to hang it? Logically, it would make more sense to stick with the orientation of the vertical roaster (dark meat down), but then I'd have to hook into the neck area. I was thinking it'd be more convenient to just bind the ends of the legs together with some butcher twine and hang 'em from that end...maybe then the heavier fat from the legs/thighs would drip down and keep the breasts moist?

It sounds like an experiment is in order...one up, one down. After I get the rack, of course.
 
Tex Slater said:
I have had pretty good luck using a rotisserie. Have you thought about that?
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Yeah, I have, but that's much more of an investment, and I don't know that I'd use it enough to get my money's worth out of it.

But...is there one that would work on the 18.5 WSM and the Jumbo Joe? If so, I can at least justify/rationalize the purchase a bit better.
 
If you want flavor then I suggest the Roadside Chicken recipe. In my opinion chicken doesn't get much better then that.
 
Rich Dahl said:
I've had good success using my 18.5 WSM with a full large chimney of KBB and a couple of chucks of wood. I remove the water pan and I also open the door. Cook the chicken direct, you get a lot of heat and the juices dripping onto the hot coals give it a great flavor and the fire from the drippings can't reach the chicken so nothing gets burnt. Crispy skin and a nice Smokey flavor from the wood. Just turn every few minutes and you're good to go.
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I do pretty much the same as Rich. I also like to hang chicken pit barrel style.

 
Steven P (Tupelo) said:
I do pulled chicken sometimes, smoking the chicken on the WSM. Otherwise, I do chicken on the grill.
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This. If you want smoke flavor, you can always add wood to the grill.

But, if you absolutely want to use your WSM, then leave the bottom bowl out so you can get your temps up.
 
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