Point of whole chickens?


 
T

Tim O

TVWBB Fan
Why smoke whole chickens? We all know the skin almost always comes out rubbery and sometimes the leg and thigh meat is simply rubbery. Why not smoke breasts instead? Does anyone do this for chicken regularly? I feel like it'd better in terms of flavor and portion size, anyway.
 
I do whole chickens because they are cheap and fun to do. My kids get a kick of watching the chicken just standing there. Plus my family removes the skin. Any left overs I chop and make enchiladas or tacos.
 
If referring to B/S breasts, I've only grilled them. I used to smoke butterflied chickens quite often on my bullets, but gave up on crisp skin, striving for TENDER skin, instead. CRISPY skin is MUCH easier at 350*+ and on a kettle, and that's a BIG reason why I snatched up my 26" OTG off CL. I just try to keep the drippings from getting too close to the fire side of the kettle and messing with my wood smoke flavor too much.
 
Dude! Breasts are only white meat! What about all the nice juicy dark meat on that bird? Chicken on the bone is waaaaay better than just breasts. ( don't get me wrong , I like breasts ) put me down for a whole chicken any day , with or without the skin. I'm just sayin. :wsm:
 
I agree, Frank. No matter how moist and perfectly I cook the breast, brined or not, more folks seem to prefer the dark meat. As someone already posted, whole chickens are fairly cheap. Butterflied indirect is the way to go if you have the space, whether on a smoker or grill.
 
Love the ease of just chucking a whole chicken on the que and letting it go for a few hours.. As mentioned I run it 340+ with a little oil (or goose fat mmmmm) drizzled on the skin and have never had an issue of rubbery skin or meat..
 
My family just discards the skin any way........high heat on the kettle is how I usually roll.

I try the WSM from time to time........the kettle is much easier to regulate high heat imho.

I love breaking down whole chickens and making chicken salad with the leftovers. Grilled/Smoked chickens make killer chicken salad!
 
I like to smoke the whole bird, toss the skin and then pull all of the meat from the bones and mix it all together.
 
I love the Tom idea!...But usally we do a full bird to have a mix of meats.(not a big skin eater) Butt the kids have a meal of the breasts...And we have a meal of the legs/wings...Cheaper ofc...But i Love B/S chiken breasts smoked or grilled or SV. And we do this all of the time. Today its chicken breast kebob´s.
 
I am also a fan of whole chickens... Butterflied/spatchcocked, beer can... Just did Rick Bayless roadside chicken this past weekend and it was excellent! GAD!
 
Now, I will NOT pretend to be an "authority" on the WSM. However, my first cook on my rather new WSM was a couple of Cornish Game Hens. I halved each one, foiled the water pan (no water) and smoked them at 350 degrees. I placed them on the top grate and didn't even have to turn them. They came out PERFECT with crispy skin and were delicious!

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?37856-Cornish-Game-Hens-on-the-new-WSM

I see no reason that larger chickens would not react the same (probably take longer but same results).

My most used method of cooking chicken is cooking pieces indirect on my 22.5" OTG (limit the coals to 1/3 of the grill with two fire bricks). I use a simple rub (sometimes a Cajun rub) and often finish with BBQ sauce or Orange Marmalade Srirachi Sauce and in less than an hour, I have excellent thighs, legs, and wings. Breasts can also be done the same way but are more particular as the "window of perfection" is smaller. I see no reason to think that I can't do the same on my WSM (could do twice as many pieces) - but would also run at 350 degrees with a foiled water pan.

FWIW
Dale53
 
To me, any meat cooked on the bone just tastes better. Plus the skin acts like a fatty, juicy, removable blanket on all that tasty chicken meat!
 
We love whole Chicken as well, and in my opinion, nothing does chicken easier & better than my Charbroil Big Easy Oil-less fryer. "

"In less than one hour, (with no effort) we have perfect chicken". I had heard that statement several times before I purchased the unit, but it's so true.

The only issue is, the unit will only cook one chicken at a time. I'm looking at modifying the basket to hold two chickens.

:) :) :)
 
The whole yardbird because it is cheaper. I butterfly mine cook in my smoker @350* and skin comes out good. usually after 1 hour in the smoker, I put on my BBQ sauce and cook another 30 minutes.
 
I love me some chicken (and turkey) on the kettle. Throw some wood in, and get the same smoke flavor. It's darn easy to get the high temps too. The skin is so darn good. Don't know if I'd even eat chicken without it. LOL
 
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