Hi…My name is Neil and I live in southern New Jersey, and I am now obsessed!! Just got a WSM 22.5 and did my first smoke. I did 2 whole chickens about 4- 4.5 lbs each. I applied a nice rub and used the Minion method…one chimney of original Kingsford briquettes, then 3/4 chimney of lit Kingsford and 3 chunks of apple wood. I also filled the water pan with one gallon of water. I wanted to smoke at 275, but I couldn't get the smoker past 255- 260 max. I didn't peek until the 2 hour mark and was nicely surprised that the birds were nice and mahogany color…temp. of the birds at breast was 156 degrees. I let it go another 1/2 hour. The temp was now 165 degrees so I took them out and tented them for about 20 minutes than ate! Very moist and tender meat…I give it a 9 out of 10. It seems that the smoke flavor is a bit strong…I am not sure if is too much wood or it is the briquettes giving off a funny smoke (binders in coal??)…Should I have used hardwood charcoal? I would appreciate any thoughts, tips, etc. I am going to try a dry water pan next time to see if the temp gets higher. Thanks!
Chickens and WSM
- Thread starter NeilK
- Start date
Dan Godwin
TVWBB Member
Kingsford is what most people use with the WSM it seems. If it was too smokey in flavor, I would try less wood the next time you try chicken. Hopefully someone with more experience will also post some suggestions.
KevinJ
TVWBB Pro
Neil,
Welcome to the site. First, I would check the therm in boiling water as the stock ones have been known to be off temp. Then you will know if you were really down in the 255 range. 2nd, Apple is a good wood for chicken, but chicken takes on the smoke flavor more than some other meats so I would suggest dropping back to 2 chunks when you try it again. The amount of smoke flavor people like ranges wildly, it not a wrong or right thing, so you just need find how much you like and go from there. I use only kingsford in my WSM (personal preference) and depending on what temp I am shooting for determines if I use water.
Welcome to the site. First, I would check the therm in boiling water as the stock ones have been known to be off temp. Then you will know if you were really down in the 255 range. 2nd, Apple is a good wood for chicken, but chicken takes on the smoke flavor more than some other meats so I would suggest dropping back to 2 chunks when you try it again. The amount of smoke flavor people like ranges wildly, it not a wrong or right thing, so you just need find how much you like and go from there. I use only kingsford in my WSM (personal preference) and depending on what temp I am shooting for determines if I use water.
KevinJ
TVWBB Pro
Neil,
The Maverick will help as that is the only toy I bought when I got my WSM. The only other tthought about lower temps may be damp charcoal. Did you have all 3 bottom vents fully open? After a few more cooks you will be a pro. Depending on how far south you are, stop in one of the peach or apple farms and get your wood there.
The Maverick will help as that is the only toy I bought when I got my WSM. The only other tthought about lower temps may be damp charcoal. Did you have all 3 bottom vents fully open? After a few more cooks you will be a pro. Depending on how far south you are, stop in one of the peach or apple farms and get your wood there.
Bob Sample
TVWBB Diamond Member
Did you use cold water in the pan? That would cause you to take a long time to come up to temp. To cook at higher temps just foil the pan with no water. Make sure you leave an air space between the foil and the bottom of the water pan or you may have burning grease.
What they said. I use pecan/hickory and Kingsford blue. I guess some can taste off flavors from it but I've never noticed that big of a difference. I use lump but mainly for grilling, it burns hot and fast. K has the legs for a long cook. Being a transplant from South Jersey myself, welcome to real BBQ. I didn't know what it was till we moved down here.
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