Hanging Chicken On The Bronco - Deflector Plate In Action, Saves The Day! ๐Ÿ˜‰

[Panhead John]

I split a chicken in half tonight and hung it on my Bronco for the first time. I think a lot of people, myself included, might not realize how much fat and juices drips out of a chicken during the cooking process. Watch how much juice is actually spit out during the short video. I can now see how a PBC might get some of the coals extinguished during a cook with chicken, as they have no deflector plate.

I used the Bone Sucking Sauce Rub on the chicken a few hours before the cook. I wanted to stray from my usual Hickory chunks, so I looked for Pecan.

I couldnโ€™t find any Pecan chunks so I had to settle for the chips. I soaked them in water a few hours ahead of time, hoping to keep them from burning up so fast. Iโ€™ve always used Hickory or Mesquite before, so this was my first time using Pecan. It was ok I guess, I just prefer a little stronger smoke. A little too nutty for me, but still good though.

In the video you can easily see how the dripping juices still sizzle and smoke from hitting the deflector plate. In my opinion, this is just as good as hitting directly on the coalsโ€ฆwithout the worry of putting some out. I cooked the chicken at a steady 325* for about 1 1/2 hours. It was very juicy, even the breast meat. The skin was pretty crispy, but not quite as much as I like it. I think next time Iโ€™ll shoot for 350* - 375* for the entire cook. Overall for my first chicken on the Bronco I was pleased. Room for improvement? Yes, but still happy. And as usual, this thing held solid temps the whole time. Once I got it settled in to 325, it didnโ€™t vary more than 5* either way.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

How often do you have to fiddle with the the temps? Every hour?

All your cooks look awesome! Thank you for sharing!

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Pit membership can be extremely expensive!

I mention the PBC because my coals kept going out mid cook so I wonder if the drippings were causing issues. Maybe a deflector plate would have made the difference.

[Panhead John]

I feel pretty comfortable saying yes, thatโ€™s what was making your coals go out . I also have to say Iโ€™ve never owned or cooked on a PBC before. Thereโ€™s many people here who have one, maybe they can comment on that. This is the first time Iโ€™ve ever watched a chicken cook like this. But, I didnโ€™t realize how much juices come out during the cook.

[Panhead John]

That being said, if I would have removed the deflector plate during my cook tonight, thereโ€™s no doubt a lot my coals would have been extinguished. Or at least some of them.

[Troutman]

Weโ€™ll look at you, improving from hot dogs and hamburgers. I hang chicken halves all the time in my WSM and let the fat drip on the coals. Creates the fog and oh so much flavor. Donโ€™t get hung up on crispy skin, just get it bite through. Well done padawan ๐Ÿ‘

[Clark]

Panhead John That is a beautiful china pattern. Did you get that at Denny's when they went out of business?

[Panhead John]

Lifted it from an IHOP.

[jfmorris]

All I have to say is this:

1. Great looking yard bird!
2. Where are the paper plates?

[GolfGeezer]

Didnโ€™t you know? He only uses his high-end paper plates for guests.

[Steve B]

Yeah. Thatโ€™s why he brought out the I-Hop plates

[pkadare]

"saves the day" is, IMO, a little strong. I have had a PBC for about 3 years now and have never had a problem with dripping juices putting out enough coals to affect either the temperature or the finished product. Your yard bird does look good.

[Panhead John]

Thanks. Yeah. I was being a little bit sarcastic. Thatโ€™s why I added the ๐Ÿ˜‰ Next time I hang a chicken Iโ€™ll probably leave off the deflector plate, just to see what actually happens.

[pkadare]

I've always said that we need a snark or sarcasm emoji. My talents in that area simply don't come across electronically. :-)

[Uncle Bob]

OJB, OJB, OJB!!!

Seems to me a species of smoking wood that is "nutty" would be perfect for YOU..........................

[Panhead John]

Yโ€™all are just plain mean. ๐Ÿ˜ฅ๐Ÿ˜ฅ๐Ÿ˜ฅ Those guys over at BBQ Brethren are so much nicer. ๐Ÿ˜‚

[GolfGeezer]

I looked for you over there, but couldnโ€™t find a post from a Painhead John.

[Steve B]

Hahahahaha

[Panhead John]

I forgot to mention this, but my first few cooks I relied on the factory thermometer. I hadnโ€™t gotten my new Thermoworks Smoke yet. I recently got it and used it in this cook for the ambient temp. Most of us already know the factory thermometers are usually crap. This proves it, again. I tested my ThermoWorks with boiling and ice water before using, so I know they were accurate. I also made sure to hang my probe at the same level and near the factory thermometer, so I wouldnโ€™t skew the results. Below are pics of both the factory readings and the ThermoWorks at the same time during the cook. At one point there was a 65* difference in temps. Once I had the temps stabilized there was about a 50* difference.

[Dalmore]

That's about what I'm seeing too. I've got my probe centered about an inch off the grate. starting about 150 F, the probe and the guessometer start to diverge. At about 225 on the probe, the guessometer is about 175 and stays about 50 off the rest of the way up.

[jfmorris]

BTW that is a ThermoWorks Smoke. ThermoPro is an entirely different company making entirely different thermometers than the Smoke.

[Panhead John]

Thanks Jim. Youโ€™re right. I used to have ThermoPro before this one. Gonna correct my mistake. Good catch.

[fracmeister]

As to fiddling with temps. I put in the same amount of charcoal each time when cooking two costco birds. I leave it wide open and be CER even look at the temps. I donโ€™t even open it for 90 minutes when I check breast temps. Always means i need about another 15 minutes so i take one out and sauce it and put it back ,.,,, leave the other one nekkid. It is a machine

[Old Glory]

Man that looks good!!!

Hearing that sizzle made me drool!

[bbqLuv]

I could eat either half. BBQ chicken and PBR.
You done Good.

[Potkettleblack]

I legit thought the chicken had fallen off the hooks and been saved from the coals by the deflector plate...

[Panhead John]

Iโ€™ve heard stories here of that happening.

[jfmorris]

That is what I expected to read when I saw the title of this thread.

[fzxdoc]

Nice cook! It's good to hear that you're enjoying that OJB.

Kathryn

[lbyer]

How about attaching your pit temp probe to the end of the built-in thermometer?

[Panhead John]

Not sure why Iโ€™d need to do that. I had my probe hanging very close to the built in thermometer for my comparison readings.

[Potkettleblack]

I have an ambient probe and I just twist the wire around a hanging bar a couple times and lower it close to the center... much better than the probe, which is way off to the side, and reported to be pretty inaccurate by users more experienced with the cooker than I.