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Chicken dousing charcoal

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    Chicken dousing charcoal

    Ive always had a problem with chicken dousing the coals from all the fat and juices. Perhaps Im not getting the coals hot enough or is it an inevitability? Ive stopped monitoring temps but this is what I did in my last cook. Using weber briquettes. Lit in a chimney and waited until top briquettes are starting to ash. Dumped in the basket and closed the lid with rebar out for 10 minutes. Hung chicken halves on one rebar and left the other out. Chicken took about 1h15. Midway through I put sausage on the hanging grate. Was happy with the results but the charcoal under the chicken was smothered.


    Does this still happen with 15-10-10?

    Is it better to wait for the whole chimney to completely ash over?

    Finally what happens when there is chicken on both sides of the basket?

    Thx!

    #2
    What cooker are you using? Is it a Barrel type?
    You may need to cook it indirectly for a while, specially in the beginning. I’m not an expert with chicken in a barrel, but when cooking chicken in a kettle, it’s good to have at least half of your grill space kept cool, or free from coals, to prevent burning and for proper heat management.

    Comment


      #3
      Yes, you need HOT coals. That is one reason I run 400-ish with chicken in the Pit Barrel.

      Comment


        #4
        I personally would not wait until the top coals in the chimney start to ash over. You are probably losing energy by that point. Wait till the coals are hot about halfway up the chimney then dump them in your cooker.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Jerod Broussard View Post
          Yes, you need HOT coals. That is one reason I run 400-ish with chicken in the Pit Barrel.
          Thx Jerod. What should I do differently? 15-10-10? Should I crack the lid in addition to removing a rebar?

          Comment


          • Jerod Broussard
            Jerod Broussard commented
            Editing a comment
            I just light, rebar removed and lid cracked or top vent adjusted. Once I get 400+ install rebar that is needed to hang, crack lid and/or adjust top vent. ***I installed a vent on the lid.

          • FireMan
            FireMan commented
            Editing a comment
            Or you can lack the crid, Jerod Broussard talked about that once afore. Yup! 🕶

          #6
          For chicken I always remove one rebar. I also use the Kingsford Professional as it runs hotter for chicken cooks. I don't do the timing thing at start up but I do let it get going (hotter) then say for wibs.
          Last edited by HawkerXP; April 29, 2020, 12:14 PM.

          Comment


          • Greygoose
            Greygoose commented
            Editing a comment
            Less ash also

          • FireMan
            FireMan commented
            Editing a comment
            So, lemme see here, them brickets look up & see a chicken. One bricket says to another, "let’s step on the gas" & you get a hotter fire. Now if they see somethin else up there, well, that’s another story. 🕶

          #7
          Originally posted by HawkerXP View Post
          For chicken I always remove one rebar. I also use the Kingsford Professional as it runs hotter for chicken cooks. I don't do the timing thing at start up but I do let it get going (hotter) then say for wibs.
          Will definitely try the Kingsford Pro. Thx

          Comment


            #8
            I only use Kingsford Professional for chicken because it burns hotter and faster which is good for short chicken cooks.

            I wouldn't waste good Weber charcoal on a 1 hour cook, because Weber charcoal burns like a champ for longer cooks--much longer than KBB in my experience. Also, because Weber is harder to get to light well, I light it with a chimney of KBB whenever I use it for those long cooks.

            Getting the fire well lit before the meat is added is so important for a chicken cook, so for me, 15-10-10 (or 20-10-10 however long it takes in the first step to get the topmost coals in the chimney to just begin to ash over) works best because I can tell that the fire is good and hot when I add the chicken.

            I often cook 2 or 3 chickens (6 split halves) plus a couple of hanging racks of sausages in the PBC. For that I keep the lid cracked almost the whole time because of the chicken's tendency to make the fire burn unevenly.

            So any time you're only doing whatever fits on one rebar, just leave the other one out and put the rebar you're using on the diagonal so you have more room to spread the meat out.

            For more than 1 chicken I replace the rebars with thin stainless steel rods that I purchased at Lowe's. That way there is more air flow and the fire stays hotter.

            For my PBC, any fire hotter than 350° will get the birds done in just over an hour, just the way we like them.

            HTH,

            Kathryn

            Comment


              #9
              I was frustrated with this on my first few cooks on the PBC. After getting some suggestions from fzxdoc and trying out a few new methods here's what seems to work the best. Hope it helps...
              1. Trim the chicken. That means when you halve it, cut the loose fat that you find at both ends. This will help with minimizing excessive dripping. Foster Farm's usually have some fatty birds...
              2. You can get by on a half basket of briquettes - just fill to the edge stacked to just under the basket handle. It will provide at least 2 hours of cooking and you only need to last just over an hour to cook chicken. If I am doing more than 2 birds I'd switch to a full basket.
              3. Full chimney (the smaller Weber chimney that holds 40 briquettes perfectly) ashed over a little like you mentioned.
              4. 15, 10, 10 works great — but for chicken it doesn't hurt to run that last 10 for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. It helps make sure the barrel is running at high temps.
              5. One rebar, if possible run at a diagonal
              6. Crack the lid when the bird hits 135 and run it to 160/165 (temp probe in breast)
              7. Should be done around an hour and fifteen minutes.

              Comment


                #10
                Speaking of chicken cooked my first one on the pbc today follow y’all tips turned out great
                Attached Files

                Comment


                  #11
                  I don’t bother with a full basket for short cooks but I do let the coals burn for around 10 min with lid off and rebars our after I dump in my coals. This ensures the coals are well lit. Otherwise my PBC has trouble keeping temps up.

                  My process is light ~40 coals in my chimney. I dump just as the top layer as a bit of ash on the corner of the briquettes. Then let burn for 10 min with rebar out and lid off. Add rebar and meat and start cooking.

                  Comment


                    #12
                    Had to order Kingsford Comp since non of my local stores stock it and finally got a chance to try it. What a difference! Did 10-10-10 lighting, 1 rebar out and cracked the lid for the last 15min. No temp readings because all my probes are non functioning. Best chicken Ive ever made on the PBC by far. Thx for all the tips. Those that put wood chunks, what do you use for chicken. I used applewood but I would like to try cherry and/or oak.

                    BTW this was a frozen bird. I could only imagine what a fresh dry brined chicken that had a chance to air dry in the fridge for a couple days would be like
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by jlo; June 3, 2020, 04:06 AM.

                    Comment


                    • pkadare
                      pkadare commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Looks good. I tend not to use any wood for chicken in the PBC since chicken takes up wood smoke like crazy as compared to other meats. I find wood in the PBC with chicken simply imparts too much smoke flavour. I'm ok without it.

                    • N227GB
                      N227GB commented
                      Editing a comment
                      You might try something light like hickory for smoke. I never use a chunk larger than half a fist size no matter the meat.

                    • fzxdoc
                      fzxdoc commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I like cherry for chicken.

                      Nice cook! Those birds look delicious.

                      You must be happy that you switched to Kingsford Professional. Weber briquettes are good for long cooks but they have to be well lit using an easier-lighting charcoal like KBB to work well in my PBC. I wouldn't waste the more expensive Weber briquettes on a short cook, personally.

                      Kathryn

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