Pulled chicken?


 
Tim,
I'm not expert. I've done pulled chicken 5 or so times. Actually, excluding fried, it's my favorite way to eat chicken. Yes, you can definitely pull breasts.

I smoke whole chickens and remove the skin prior to pulling. I normally target 250 degrees and smoke to an internal temp of around 170, maybe a little higher for the thighs. I cook at 325-350 if I'm going to keep the skin, but when I keep the skin I don't pull. I think the meat is more tender and moist when cooked at the lower temp and the skin removed afterwards.

I prefer to either butterfly or quarter the chicken. Chris has a good video on butterflying. I keep the thighs and legs on the outside area of the grate. You may not have this option if you're cooking for a large crowd. You'd be surprised how little meat can be pulled from a 3.5 lb chicken. I've never weighed it but I'd be surprised if it was over 1.75 lbs. Two or three chickens are about all you'll get on an 18 WSM if you do it this way. You can get 2 or 3 times as much by going the beer can route.

P.S. I found the link to the recipe I use. I don't believe he mentions removing the skin before pulling. I also brine the chicken for 3-4 hours using a 1 gallon water, .5 cup salt, .5 cup sugar brine.

http://bbq.about.com/od/chicken/a/aa082705a.htm
 
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Gary,
Thanks for the tips. My limited experience with whole chickens has been the same: great to eat, but does not produce enough meat (at least not for the crowd I'm feeding!). I'm thinking of getting a jumbo pack of breasts, brining, then using dry rub. I'll hit em with some sauce after!
 
Tim,
That would give you more meat capacity. Never tried breasts only but it shouldn't be a problem, especially with the brine. I heard of people injecting butter but never tried it.
 
I'm a greedy dark meat lover. I cook the whole bird till the breasts are done and juicy. I give the white meat to the family and hoard the dark meat for myself! If they want dark meat they can cook their own!:D
 
Tim, I've done the pulled chicken thing many times myself. In fact I smoke the biggest dang chickens I can find and pull them mixing the white and the dark and freeze most of it for future uses. I do brine them in apple juice/salt solution but after that i just place them on the smoker whole patted dry. I have a 22.5 and can get 3-4 chickens on per grate (depending on size) as someone mentioned the beer can method could yield more but that means investing in those little stands and I'm satisfied with just placing the chicken on the grate whole. Point is, I mix the white and the dark together to try and even out the taste and moisture (white is drier than the dark) An alternative may be to buy Breast (with skin on) and Thighs (with skin on) and mix the two or don't mix and give your guest their choice between white and dark.
 
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