Smoking chicken pieces vs whole (specifically *thighs*)


 
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Sean M.

Sean M.

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Please point me to a thread about smoking pieces vs. whole chickens - if not, here is my question.

For various reasons, I want to do chicken thighs (10-15+) vs. whole chickens. Any advice on the typical:

* qty of wood
* type (i.e. - hickory)
* length of smoke
* ideal inside temperature

Can I smoke chicken thighs at the same time as baby back ribs?

etc.

Thanks,
~ Sean
 
Hi Sean,
I would use a wood like pecan or peach.
If you are doing the ribs be sure to put the chicken on the bottom grate and keep it there.
I would brine the thighs over night ( there are several recipes on this site) .
Having said that chicken and turkey tend to do better at a hotter temp ie 325 than do ribs.
I would do the ribs foil them after taking them off,put them in a dry cooler and then add the chicken after and increase the temp. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
The time on whole chicken vs thighs is almost nothing, on avg they take about 4 hours. You can do them at the same time you do Babybacks which also take about 4 hours. If you do them together the best you can hope for is tender chicken skin it won't be crisp. You would need to grill off chicken to crisp it up.
Jim
 
Cherry wood is heaven with poultry. Turns it a beautiful reddish color.

I fired up the WSM full-blast at one campout with two heaping chimneys of flaming charcoal, and was able to do about 30 lb of brined chicken quarters on four grates in right at two hours' cooking time, keeping temps between 330 and 350. I had already popped the joints in the quarters so that the joints would cook better, and the skin didn't turn out too awfully bad. Not crisp, but not rubbery, either. Would have been better had I

(a) let the chicken pieces dry for a few hours on refrigeration after they came out of the brine, and

(b) if I had had/taken the time to throw them on a grill for a bit

The natives were getting restless, though...

Keri C, still smokin on Tulsa Time
 
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