First attempt on the WSM

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Well, my wife bought me my WSM for Father's Day, and I couldn't have been happier. I am planning on giving it my first go tomorrow, and thinking about doing a whole chicken. A few questions for you experts:
1.) The chicken is about 8 lbs. I plan on going low and slow. Assuming I butterfly the chicken, how long should I expect this to take?
2.) I plan on trying the Minion method. Any variations form the method posted I should be aware of for chicken?
3.) I'll be using Hickory chunks (all I could get on short notice besides mesquite) with Kingsford. Should I be at all concerned about the commercials I have seen lately on the "new" Kingsford formulation? Will this make any changes to my heating/cooking method? About how much hickory should I use?
4.) I plan on brining the chicken...how long should I do this for? The site says 3-8 hours, and that is a pretty long range.
5.) As far as rub goes, any recommendations or should I just go with my own mixture (likely made up on the spot)?

Sorry about all the newbie questions, but I'm really excited about this and want to show the wife her purchase didn't go to waste. Thanks for any responses you folks have the time to post!
 
Welcome, Mike! Congrats on the great new grill!

Dang, that's a big bird! I usually do mine beer-can style, and the 4-5 pounders take about 2.5 hours at 230-240 degrees. Butterflied would take less time, but I'd think an 8 pounder would need at least 2.5 hours if you keep the temp low.

I like the "standard" method of lighting the WSM for shorter cooks like chicken, chops, etc. Check the Cooking section on Chris' site for a description of the standard method.

I find hickory to be a little strong for poultry, but if it's all you got, just go easy on it, and put it on the fire at least 15-20 minutes before the bird to let it get started.

I have been using the new K for several cooks, and honestly have not noticed any real difference. For a short cook, I doubt you will have any issues. Remember that your new WSM will cook a little hotter (no buildup on those shiny surfaces yet), so you might expect to close your vents down a bit more than others to achieve the same temps.

I usually only brine pieces, and like to do those for a couple hours or so with a standard brine (1/2C kosher salt, 1/2C sugar, 1qt water.) I wouldn't go much over 3 hours.

Wild Willy's Number Wonderful rub in the Jamison's Smoke 'n' Spice book is a pretty good one to start with on chicken. If you don't have the book, let me know and I'll post it for you (or you can use one of the formulations in one of Chris' cooking logs for chicken.) Keep in mind that when you cook a chicken at low temps, the skin will be rubbery and not really edible. So, I usually either leave the rub off, or put a little bit under the skin (a little goes a long way.)

Other than all that, don't over think things, enjoy the experience of your first cook on the WSM, and take some notes to help you on your (short) learning curve. Oh, and thank your wife again for the thoughtful gift!!
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Good luck!

Rich
 
Rich,

Thanks for the tips! I don't have that book you mentioned, so if you can post the rub, that would be great. Is that book a "must have" for smoking? Any others? What makes you go with the standard method for short cooking cycles? Thanks again!

Mike
 
Mike-

Yes, the Smoke 'n' Spice book is a good one. I also like Paul Kirk's Championship Rubs and Sauces. Here's the rub:

3/4 C Paprika
1/4 C black pepper
1/4 C salt
1/4 C sugar
2 T chili pwdr
2 T garlic pwdr
2 T onion pwdr
2 teaspoons cayenne

On the standard method..... I think that poultry especially benefits from a well established fire since it is milder and can pick up some flavor from both briquettes and wood as they "start". Also, the main reason behind the minion method (keep me honest here, Jim) is that it allows for maximum burn time out of the coals at Q'ing temps. This is great for longer cooking items like pork butt and brisket.

At the end of the day, like most things in the Q world, it's a personal preference thing. I've done a ton of cooks using a lot of different methods, and have pretty much settled on the ones that work for me and turn out the results I want. You get to go through the experimental phase -- and eat a lot of good food doing it!!

Cheers,
R
 
Alright folks...bird is now in the brine. I took some liberties and mixed brown sugar with regular sugar. Also added peppercorns, a bay leaf, a dried chili pepper, and some smashed garlic cloves. I'll keep you updated with progress.

Sort of rehashing two questions from earlier here...if I want to eat around 5 or 6, when should I actually start burning fuel in the WSM? Also, will one full chimney (Weber version) of Kingsford be enough? Too much?
 
This may be one of those "great taste", "less filling" type of situations but I believe the minion method is more about controling the heat rather than longer cook time. I think the longer cook time is side benifit.

On the minion method you start off with a dozen briquetts and let them start from there. On the standard method of starting you get all of the coals going then try to shut it down to the desired temp which will usually be 100 degrees more than the desired temp for most cooks.
 
Well, I hit my first bump in the road. I tried to be real patient and not peek for the first two hours before I'd check on the water level. And you know what? I was real good. However, the fire decided to go out on me in the meantime. Unsure if the fuel was just spent or if it wasn't getting enough oxygen. Lesson learned here is that I REALLY need to get a remote thermometer ASAP. So, I lit another chimney, piled on, and will be watching the temp more closely (though this will extend the cook time since the only thermometer I have is sitting inside (oven type thermometer) of the WSM. Oh well. Hopefully things still work out.
 
Hey Mike, sorry to hear about your burn-out. Obviously you learned a very important lesson, get a thermometer. Doesn't have to be anything expensive, there's a lot of info in the Tips and Mod's section.

How much fuel did you use and how were your vents set, open, 50%, closed?

I'm also a newbie, did some ribs a couple of weeks ago and posted som pictures (there's a post in the "New WSM owners" section with a link to it)

Welcome to the board, there's a LOT of talented people on this forum, you should learn alot just by reading the posts.
 
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