Yesterday I did 4 racks of BBs on the top grate, and 2 five pound chickens on the bottom grate. The overall cook time for everything was longer than I had anticipated, but well worth it.
For the chickens, I wanted to clean and rub them down on the night before the cook, but they were too frozen, so I had to get it all together in the morning. I got up at 06:30, and started cleaning them and stuff. Got a buddy off the couch at 7 and had him clean and fire up the Bullet (Minion method). I rubbed the birds, and injected one with a Creole Garlic mix, and the other with a Honey Bacon BBQ mix (store bought stuff). They both got the same rub (southwestern style - cumin, paprika, chili pwdr, salt, garlic). I chopped onion and garlic, put it in 2 half cans of Heineken with extra holes on top, and stood the chickens up with the cans you-know-where. They were on the bottom grate by 8 am.
Then I started the ribs. I trimmed them up a little, and then realized I was out of my rub. I scrambled and luckily had enough ingredients to pull it off. They went on the smoker around 08:45
Initially, I thought the thermometer in one of the chickens was in the wrong place or popped through, because the temp came up over 100 (from 46) in an hour, but later in the day, it really came up slowly.
We had some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and went fishing. Brother Tom caught the lunker /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
I sprayed the ribs and chickens with some apple cider a few times, and by 3 PM, the ribs were looking FINE! But the chickens were still around 165 deg...
After a little while, I made an executive decision to finish the birds off in the oven at 350. This took them the last 15 degrees in about 20 minutes. It also crisped the skin nicely. The total cook time for the chickens was 9 hours.
My buddy was instrumental in helping me get the beer cans out of the birds and onto a platter. This definitely takes two people and a little creativity. Once on the platter, my wife and I proceeded to shred the meat off the birds with two forks. It was unbelievable, so easy, so tender, and it smelled awesome. The guys stood around us picking and sneaking chunks off the birds like vultures when we weren't looking (a good sign).
It made for a nice, well rounded meal. The ribs were probably my all time most tender. The rib rub came out a bit on the hot side, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed. The chicken was definitely my best ever, I had only done butterflied and leg quarters in the past on the Bullet, this topped them all. The apple wood smoke penetrated beneath the skin, and the injectioned seasoning added good flavor. I highly recommend giving the chickens a try.
For the chickens, I wanted to clean and rub them down on the night before the cook, but they were too frozen, so I had to get it all together in the morning. I got up at 06:30, and started cleaning them and stuff. Got a buddy off the couch at 7 and had him clean and fire up the Bullet (Minion method). I rubbed the birds, and injected one with a Creole Garlic mix, and the other with a Honey Bacon BBQ mix (store bought stuff). They both got the same rub (southwestern style - cumin, paprika, chili pwdr, salt, garlic). I chopped onion and garlic, put it in 2 half cans of Heineken with extra holes on top, and stood the chickens up with the cans you-know-where. They were on the bottom grate by 8 am.
Then I started the ribs. I trimmed them up a little, and then realized I was out of my rub. I scrambled and luckily had enough ingredients to pull it off. They went on the smoker around 08:45
Initially, I thought the thermometer in one of the chickens was in the wrong place or popped through, because the temp came up over 100 (from 46) in an hour, but later in the day, it really came up slowly.
We had some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and went fishing. Brother Tom caught the lunker /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
I sprayed the ribs and chickens with some apple cider a few times, and by 3 PM, the ribs were looking FINE! But the chickens were still around 165 deg...
After a little while, I made an executive decision to finish the birds off in the oven at 350. This took them the last 15 degrees in about 20 minutes. It also crisped the skin nicely. The total cook time for the chickens was 9 hours.
My buddy was instrumental in helping me get the beer cans out of the birds and onto a platter. This definitely takes two people and a little creativity. Once on the platter, my wife and I proceeded to shred the meat off the birds with two forks. It was unbelievable, so easy, so tender, and it smelled awesome. The guys stood around us picking and sneaking chunks off the birds like vultures when we weren't looking (a good sign).
It made for a nice, well rounded meal. The ribs were probably my all time most tender. The rib rub came out a bit on the hot side, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed. The chicken was definitely my best ever, I had only done butterflied and leg quarters in the past on the Bullet, this topped them all. The apple wood smoke penetrated beneath the skin, and the injectioned seasoning added good flavor. I highly recommend giving the chickens a try.
