First Time Smoking Chicken On The WSM

[Rusty James]

Hi all,

In spite of living around many BBQ joints all of my life, I have had little success smoking my own meat until I purchased a Weber kettle grill. I have an old Brinkman Smoke & Grill, but never had much success with due to poor air-flow (I guess). The quality design of the kettle grill changed things dramatically for the better after smoking my first chicken on it. The bird came out very well indeed (although a bit dry even with water in the pan).

This week, I tried smoking two big chickens on my new 18" WSM with apple juice in the bowl, and with a pint of Weber hickory chips in the fire, but the birds just never came out as crispy as I had hoped for. I let them smoke for around four hours and kept the temps in the shaded range for the most part, but it was getting late so I took them up after the temperatures reached 160*.

I've been reading previous posts, here, and articles at TVWB concerning smoking, and am I correct that Weber smokers are designed to keep the cooking temperatures no greater than 275*? Can't remember the piece count for sure, but I used half of a 5-gallon bucket of Kingsford charcoal for smoking the two chickens. I assume chickens need to smoke at a higher temp than 275*, or should I finish the birds in the kettle grill for crispier skin?

Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[Eric S.]

You'll have to use an empty water bowl to easily pass 275.

 

[Len Dennis]

Some folks have a hard time keeping the temps under 275 Seriously, you can use water and get the temps you want; and don't waste juice etc when you do use water. Adds nothing to your meat(s). If you want to add apple flavour to your chicken, you'd be better off injecting juice directly into it.

You can use water and still get temps over 300 by keeping all the vents open 100%. If not, try cracking the dome open a bit by using a piece of wood (or a short tree branch even) to create even more air flow.

You do need at least 325o (like your kitchen oven) in order to successfully get crispy skin. You also need to check your dome thermometer to see how accurate it is.

Do this by unscrewing the inner nut, remove the thermo from the dome and inserting ONLY the probe part in boiling water and noting the temp. For most, it should register 212o. If not, either adjust the temp in your head when cooking or get a more accurate thermometer (like ET732 or similar).

So if the boiling water shows 202 for example, you know it's reading low. Add 10o anytime you're smoking something and you're good to go.

Want 325o? Get your (inaccurate) thermo to show a reading of 315o and you'll know it's really 325o.

Some people find that the dome temp is higher than the grill temp (where the meat is) and some find it's lower. That's weird as heat rises but it is what it is. That's why I suggest getting a thermo that measures at grill level.

 

[ChuckO]

should I finish the birds in the kettle grill for crispier skin?

Leave deffuser out of your WSM, that will let the WSM get into the 300's ideal would be between 350-375 which you can easily accomplish without the diffuser. If you don't want the dripping to drip directly onto the coals, put a aluminium tray either directly under the birds or on the lowest shelf. When you take the birds off, do not tent them

 

[Rusty James]

Many thanks for the responses. I'll digest the info over the weekend.

Leave deffuser out of your WSM, that will let the WSM get into the 300's ideal would be between 350-375 which you can easily accomplish without the diffuser. If you don't want the dripping to drip directly onto the coals, put a aluminum tray either directly under the birds or on the lowest shelf. When you take the birds off, do not tent them

Diffuser? Are you talking about the water bowl?

If I use an aluminum pan, would it be better to set a wire rack in the pan, or would placing the chicken directly in a pan without a rack affect the flavor/texture?