I received an 18" WSM for Christmas and decided to do a couple of chickens for myself and friends. I didn't get the chickens in time to brine, so I just rubbed them down with the Dinosaur BBQ Foreplay rub and cooked them up.
I read a bunch about the skin being rubbery with smoked chicken so I compromised and tried to get the WSM up to 300F. It great until I flipped the birds and the temperature spiked for about 20 minutes to about 365. That may very well be how I got some decent skin that wasn't all too rubbery. Everything I did I did based on what I learned here, which is great. I put the chicken breast-side down on the grill for 1.5 hours, then flipped them. They were at 140 when I flipped them. I used what I think was the minion method, even though that is not intended for short and higher heat cooks. I wanted to "kind of smoke" them and just decided to go with it. This is the first time I've managed the charcoal well. I bought a Weber Kettle over the summer and have never had 100% great results. User error for sure.
The chickens are about 5 lbs and 6 lbs respectively. They were a huge hit and best of all, they were pretty. I was more interested in how pretty they were than anything else.
The only hassle was and still is that probe gasket they include on the newer WSMs. It took 25 minutes to get it set in when I put the thing together and then it came out when I tried removing my probe. Another 20 minutes and it still wasn't in but I was thoroughly frustrated. Once the rain lets up I will try to see if I can't get it back in. I don't know if there was an easier way than how the directions show me, but all in all it is by far the worst piece to "install" on the smoker. My smoker came with a dent, which I'll address with Weber. It didn't look like it would matter a whole lot overall.
Ramble over! I'm very excited and will be doing pork butts next weekend for friends and of course myself!
I read a bunch about the skin being rubbery with smoked chicken so I compromised and tried to get the WSM up to 300F. It great until I flipped the birds and the temperature spiked for about 20 minutes to about 365. That may very well be how I got some decent skin that wasn't all too rubbery. Everything I did I did based on what I learned here, which is great. I put the chicken breast-side down on the grill for 1.5 hours, then flipped them. They were at 140 when I flipped them. I used what I think was the minion method, even though that is not intended for short and higher heat cooks. I wanted to "kind of smoke" them and just decided to go with it. This is the first time I've managed the charcoal well. I bought a Weber Kettle over the summer and have never had 100% great results. User error for sure.
The chickens are about 5 lbs and 6 lbs respectively. They were a huge hit and best of all, they were pretty. I was more interested in how pretty they were than anything else.
The only hassle was and still is that probe gasket they include on the newer WSMs. It took 25 minutes to get it set in when I put the thing together and then it came out when I tried removing my probe. Another 20 minutes and it still wasn't in but I was thoroughly frustrated. Once the rain lets up I will try to see if I can't get it back in. I don't know if there was an easier way than how the directions show me, but all in all it is by far the worst piece to "install" on the smoker. My smoker came with a dent, which I'll address with Weber. It didn't look like it would matter a whole lot overall.
Ramble over! I'm very excited and will be doing pork butts next weekend for friends and of course myself!
