Smoked up 4 chickens for a party this weekend. I'm new to the smoking game, as this was only my third time smoking anything, and these were the main course. Safe to say I was as nervous as a groom on his wedding day.
Had them in a brine for 24 hrs. Stuck some butter under the skin, rubbed some extra virgin olive oil on 'em and sprinkled some rub over 'em
Stuck them in the smoker for 4-5 hrs until the internal temp was 165*
The worring was for nothing, they came out great...
We've been looking at smokers lately, is this an electric smoker that you used?
How was the clean up?
.
Mine is a dual fuel smoker. It's a Masterbuilt pro dual fuel. I can use charcoal or propane. I use the propane burner.
Clean up is the same weather its electric, propane, or charcoal in a vertical type smoker. Crap rolls downhill. Tin foil is your friend. I lined the water pan with foil, and I lined the bottom of the smoker with foil. Wipe the sides down and clean the grates in the sink and remove the foil and it will take 15-30 min.
One downfall of some of the gassers, is even when on low, you cant keep the pit temp low enough. So a needle valve mod solved that issue, as well as I installed a door seal to keep the smoke in. One downfall of most electric smokers is the max temp is 275*. Hard to finish or crisp up food at that low temp. Every smoker will have a learning curve that can only be learned by using it.
Here comes the Ribs and Corn. A summertime favorite.
Just before the ribs are finished wrap them in foil with your favorite sauce or my favorite is sauerkraut. put them back in the smoker along with the corn still in the husks (you may want to soak the corn in a pail of water for an hour or so before cooking)
How long did you have the birds over smoke? I've found that 2 to 3 hours gives plenty of flavor, even with brisket or roast. Apple, cherry, and pecan give good flavor, go with maple to sweeten things up.
I have a Masterbuilt Electric smoker and I love it. I do ribs(pork and beef), pork tenderloin, Beef brisket and we also do corn and potatoes when we are smoking. I'll have to put some pictures up wehn I cook for mine and my daughters late birthdays overt 4th of july weekend.
How long did you have the birds over smoke? I've found that 2 to 3 hours gives plenty of flavor, even with brisket or roast. Apple, cherry, and pecan give good flavor, go with maple to sweeten things up.
john
They got a good 3 hrs of smoke. Heavy for the frist hr, then toned it down for the remainder.
I have a Masterbuilt Electric smoker and I love it. I do ribs(pork and beef), pork tenderloin, Beef brisket and we also do corn and potatoes when we are smoking. I'll have to put some pictures up wehn I cook for mine and my daughters late birthdays overt 4th of july weekend.
Bill C.
Ive heard the best reviews about the Masterbuilt Electrics.
Like to hear more about what sauce or rubs used on different meats?
Snoopy, check on line for rub and sauce recipes, and there are some good books with recipes in them, look around. I've gone through 2 electric smokers, a Brinkman and a Masterbuilt, picked up a Smoke Hollow 4400 last year, it's a propane burner, and I'm still getting dialed in with it. The electrics were good, but couldn't get to the temps needed unless they were shielded from the wind, and a friend of mine has a charcoal burner that just takes too much attention to hold the temp.
I should be doing a brisket round soon, I'll try to post what I use on it.
I've read the propanes have to be watched closely because they are hard to control temps?
There actually very easy to control temps. The issue with some gassers is its difficult to get low enough pit temps 225-240*, when even on low. I had this issue, and it was easily solved with a needle valve mod. It allows very fine adjustment of the flame. DO NOT use the main tank valve to adjust the gas flow. It must be opened fully for safe operation.
Also, whatever type you get, the temp gage on the front of these are known to be unreliable. Mine was 65* off. I now use a maverick dual probe digital thermometer. One probe goes into the meat to monitor the IT(internal temperature), and the other get cliped onto the rack to monitor the pit temp.
Put some chickens in the smoker this weekend....
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Damn...
on your fantastic results, with one of those contraptions! 
Originally Posted by SNOOPY
Free range? Yum, 
!!" 
