Going to try some chicken quarters to break the WSM in

[Brian Cross]

Monday or Tuesday for a shakedown cruise. Just to get it dirty and learn to control the temp a bit. I love my chicken over direct heat and hope I can make it better this way but with chicken I kinda have some doubts. I like the outside crisp but juicy inside and that seems to me it would be hard to do on indirect heat. Any tips on reaching my expectations? Im mainly a hickory /pecan wood kinda guy. I know I could pull out the water pan but I might as well grill it if that's the case. I like a pretty strong smoke flavor but not like a board lol. The guys at work chuckle when they hear my motto. . If it don't taste like wood it ain't no good!

 

[Matt Gard]

The best way to get the crispy skin you desire would be to slow cook it indirect and then finish it off by cooking it directly over the coals. I do this on the WSM by removing the center section after its been cooked low and slow, and then placing the cooking grate directly on the lower bowl over the coals.

For a really nice seasoning of your WSM try a nice pork butt. Plenty of fat to render down and season your WSM.

 

[James H]

if you put two chimneys lit in with an empty water pan and all vents full open you can maintain 350 which will allow you to cook indirect and get crispy skin. This is an easy one....very little to manage or tinker with

 

[Paul Pearson]

if you put two chimneys lit in with an empty water pan and all vents full open you can maintain 350 which will allow you to cook indirect and get crispy skin. This is an easy one....very little to manage or tinker with

This is how I cook chicken on my 18.5". You may have to crack the lid to hit 325-350 if you have not added a second lid vent as I did.

I usually do mine at 325-350 for an hour then start checking temps. If using both racks I put the dark meat on the bottom since it runs hotter than the top grate with an empty pan.

 

[Alan D]

Monday or Tuesday for a shakedown cruise. Just to get it dirty and learn to control the temp a bit. I love my chicken over direct heat and hope I can make it better this way but with chicken I kinda have some doubts. I like the outside crisp but juicy inside and that seems to me it would be hard to do on indirect heat. Any tips on reaching my expectations? Im mainly a hickory /pecan wood kinda guy. I know I could pull out the water pan but I might as well grill it if that's the case. I like a pretty strong smoke flavor but not like a board lol. The guys at work chuckle when they hear my motto. . If it don't taste like wood it ain't no good!

Until you actually learn how to use your WSM, reserve your thoughts on what you do and don't like. The WSM will change your view on things.

While I do use pecan with beef, and occasionally with chicken I don't like too much wood/smoke flavor these days and have been cutting down on what I use in the smoker. I use a lot of hardwood lump, and when I do I never use any extra wood. Some meat I intentionally don't use hardwood lump and go with briquette, I will do that for long cooks (i.e., brisket) or in cases I don't want too much smoke.

That said, chicken is not one of my favorites in the smoker. I do it from time to time, but prefer beef or pork. If you want to break your WSM in, get a hunk of real meat, chicken is for women who are concience about the fat content on real meat... (I'm sure to catch some ashes from others over that last comment, all of our mileage varies)

 

[Gary S]

(I'm sure to catch some ashes from others over that last comment, all of our mileage varies)

Ah yep...your gonna catch some from here.

Poultry in the WSM is a wonderful experience, it just depends on your taste and your method of smoking. Poultry requires less smoke to flavour than beef or pork but that is a matter of taste. I love thighs, drums, wings, chicken, turkey, poultry meatloaf on the WSM. I do agree with Alan that you may change some of your thinking once you have cooked chicken, turkey on your WSM and Matt is right about using the lower bowl. Personally for crispy skin I prefer to use my kettle but that too depends on how many tools you have in your cooking arsenal.

 

[Brian Cross]

(I'm sure to catch some ashes from others over that last comment, all of our mileage varies)

Ah yep...your gonna catch some from here.

Poultry in the WSM is a wonderful experience, it just depends on your taste and your method of smoking. Poultry requires less smoke to flavour than beef or pork but that is a matter of taste. I love thighs, drums, wings, chicken, turkey, poultry meatloaf on the WSM. I do agree with Alan that you may change some of your thinking once you have cooked chicken, turkey on your WSM and Matt is right about using the lower bowl. Personally for crispy skin I prefer to use my kettle but that too depends on how many tools you have in your cooking arsenal.

I have a big webber kettle and a jr webber. Havent used the big kettle yet in two years because I have a 22 inch old smokey which is about the same as far as grate height so im going to wear it out first. It just sets in the yard barn for now. Love the jr for steaks. I love chicken and I call it the lettuce of meats because it taste like whatever you put on it. I will most likely use briquetts with wood chunks. Thanks for the coments so far.

 

[Frank H]

When I cook chicken on my 18 WSM I do it like this. Full big chimney of unlit....small chimney of lit. No water pan. Take it right out. Put the chicken on the top shelf when the fire gets nice n hot. Throw the lid back on. Cook the chicken til it's done. You should get temps of 350 or better and the juice dripping in the hot coals adds a nice flavor. I think of my WSM as a UDS in this mode. Makes awesome chicken.

 

[Tony R]

When I cook chicken on my 18 WSM I do it like this. Full big chimney of unlit....small chimney of lit. No water pan. Take it right out. Put the chicken on the top shelf when the fire gets nice n hot. Throw the lid back on. Cook the chicken til it's done. You should get temps of 350 or better and the juice dripping in the hot coals adds a nice flavor. I think of my WSM as a UDS in this mode. Makes awesome chicken.

I been doing it like this lately. Chicken comes out great.

The way Matt Gard suggested I do that also.

Try both options and do what taste better to you and your family. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Colby R]

Wow I would never use my wsm at that high of temp might as we'll use your grill because at that heat there isn't even a reason to have it In a smoker I broke mine in with ribs and it was perfect then and way better now that it's very seasoned I would smoke them at a lower temp then finish them off on grill to make them crispy that's much better in my opinion

 

[Gary S]

Wow I would never use my wsm at that high of temp might as we'll use your grill because at that heat there isn't even a reason to have it In a smoker I broke mine in with ribs and it was perfect then and way better now that it's very seasoned I would smoke them at a lower temp then finish them off on grill to make them crispy that's much better in my opinion

Sorry Colby don't agree. Some of us even have two vents in the dome of our WSM making it like an outdoor oven. There is a difference in flavor and it comes in part from the distance the meat is away from the fire. There are three forms of smoking; cold under 100, hot up to 170 and smoke cooking above 170. Different strokes for different folks. It's all in how you use your tools.

 

[Chris E]

If I'm doing one or two chickens I will use my OTG kettle. It's much easier to get high heat and you don't need to burn a long time. The kettle is a little harder to dial in the temp and you have to fiddle with it a bit. But you can run the temp up fast at the end for crispy skin. I usually do half chickens or spatchcock for BBQ chicken on the kettle.

I do run the WSM at 375 if I have to do a lot of chicken (6 whole chickens) but in Denver I have to put a stick under the lid and sometimes crack open the side door to get it above 325. No water, foiled pan in place. I have not tried cooking directly over the coals on the top rack of the WSM with no water pan in.

If I want low and slow chicken, I'll go with the WSM and cook 2.5-3.5 hours at 200-225 with a hint of pecan or peach. The skin is not crispy but the meat is melt in your mouth and I usually pull it like pulled pork and make sandwiches, chicken salad the next day etc.

Today I'm doing 1 rack of spares for myself and I'll use the WSM because it is a lot more steady and it can burn 6 hours without adding coal.

I'm in favor of being able to use every tool you have an many ways---like grilling on the bottom of the WSM if it's all you got at the campsite. Now get on with smoking out the neighbors!

 

[Frank H]

Wow I would never use my wsm at that high of temp might as we'll use your grill because at that heat there isn't even a reason to have it In a smoker I broke mine in with ribs and it was perfect then and way better now that it's very seasoned I would smoke them at a lower temp then finish them off on grill to make them crispy that's much better in my opinion

Me , I only own one charcoal burning cooker right now and that is the WSM. I cook my chicken regularly at 350 degrees and it comes out amazing. Tender , juicy , smoky chicken meat and Nice crispy skin with no extra step of putting it on another grill. I heartily disagree that there's no reason to use a smoker at high heat. Try it sometime , you might be pleasantly surprised.