Setup for cooking at 300 for 3-4 hours on a Bronco Pro?

[jdsegra]

Hey all. Going to cook a chicken today on the Pro. What's the conscious from the group on the best way to run a fire at 300ish for 3-4 hours? I plan on cooking this one on the rack, but without the deflector plate.

Following this recipe for Cornell Chicken from Chud's BBQ. (This is a great channel by the way. Highly recommended. Bradley knows his stuff.)

I was thinking I'd place a tumbleweed in the middle of the basket instead of the side. Do I need a full basket of charcoal, or should I be able to cook with a half?

[Finster]

I still have limited experience with my Pro, but I've done several 3-4 hour cooks at 250ish, and half a basket of cowboy briquettes has been more than enough fuel.
I light mine using the minion method though, not with tumbleweeds.
About half a chimney of lit on top of unlit in the basket. Then leave the lid up for about 10 minutes, with the vents wide open to make sure I get a good fire...
when I put the lid down, once temps get close to my cook temp, I close the intake to 1 and leave the exhaust still wide open. I adjust the exhaust from there as needed

[Steve R.]

Same here.

[fracmeister]

You cooking some really big chickens? I cook at 350 in my Bronco Joe and 2 Costco chickens are done in 1.5 hours

[jdsegra]

5.5 lbs. I've halved the bird.

To be honest, I've never cooked a whole chicken before, so not sure what to expect.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I was wondering that myself.
Not a Bronco owner yet, but the Pit barrel has chicken halves done in @1.5hrs at 325 degrees.

[DTro]

Use two or three starters spaced apart form each other towards the center of the basket. You won't need full basket, just remember your charcoal will expire quicker than low and slow. Please let us know how it turns out without the deflector.

If you like to cook full birds a lot, pick up a set of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Oklahoma-Joes-4929479R06-Skewers-3-Pack/dp/B07NWK38NT/ref=asc_df_B07NWK38NT/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241909336538&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3026547642464302140&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007881&hvtargid=pla-691009372754&psc=1

[bbqLuv]

I refer this to Panhead John
He thinks he knows.