Well, it took me a bit to get around to writing this one.
​​​​​Last Sunday I did my first stick burn on the M1. I decided something simple and forgiving (and cheap!) Would be the best bet, so I went with a whole chicken. I unfortunately didn't get many pictures. In fact, no pics of the finished product and only 2 pics worthy of showing lol.
I spatchcocked it and seasoned both sides with a seasoning I made that is mostly just salt, pepper, and garlic.
I took this time to do a little reseasoning on some parts that maybe weren't hit as well when I first seasoned or were missed. I also sprayed some oil on the underside of the grill after reading that it was unfinished.
For fire set up I reused some charcoal left over from grilling and added a little more. After a good bit of coals were going I added a split of oak (from one of my own trees even!) and let the smoker get up to temp. Well my split was about 12" long and maybe 3in thick and that proved to be too big. Temps over shot by a lot and I had to let that log burn down to get the temp where I wanted (around 250). I had some 6in splits of hickory I planned on using during the cook and they were much better of a size. The M1 is amazingly efficient and doesn't require much wood to keep it hot. I added another 6in of cherry probably every 30 mins or so, but also a small piece of hickory I had. The smell was phenomenal!
One issue I started to run into was that it is so efficient it only takes a small coal bed to keep temp, but those coals tend to fall through the fire basket. Even though it sits about 1.5in or so above the bottom of the firebox it wasn't close enough to the coals falling through to make sure new splits reliably started so some took a little bit and smoldered more than I would have liked. I think next stick burn I will just take the basket out and build the fire in the ash pan or on the bottom of the firebox so the new splits can sit right on the coals.
​​​​​​​I found it pretty easy to maintain the temp between 220 and 250 once I realized I didn't need much wood at all. I cooked the chicken at that temp for maybe 1.5 - 2hrs, checked the internal temp in the breasts and it was around 145. At that point I added some extra wood and got the temp up to about 325 - 350 and cooked it another 30 -45 mins (can't remember exactly) to crisp the skin and finish cooking it until the internal was about 165 - 170. At this point I pulled it off and it slid off the pan onto my deck 😂. Not one to waste, especially after working hard on something, I dusted it off and rolled with it. My wife (who doesn't eat meat other than fish) had quite the laugh.
​​​​​​​Skin was crispy and the meat juuuiiiiicccyy! I have never made chicken that was that juicy. I don't think I even knew it was possible for chicken to be so juicy. I can't wait to try a turkey and see what I can do with it.
​​​​​Last Sunday I did my first stick burn on the M1. I decided something simple and forgiving (and cheap!) Would be the best bet, so I went with a whole chicken. I unfortunately didn't get many pictures. In fact, no pics of the finished product and only 2 pics worthy of showing lol.
I spatchcocked it and seasoned both sides with a seasoning I made that is mostly just salt, pepper, and garlic.
I took this time to do a little reseasoning on some parts that maybe weren't hit as well when I first seasoned or were missed. I also sprayed some oil on the underside of the grill after reading that it was unfinished.
For fire set up I reused some charcoal left over from grilling and added a little more. After a good bit of coals were going I added a split of oak (from one of my own trees even!) and let the smoker get up to temp. Well my split was about 12" long and maybe 3in thick and that proved to be too big. Temps over shot by a lot and I had to let that log burn down to get the temp where I wanted (around 250). I had some 6in splits of hickory I planned on using during the cook and they were much better of a size. The M1 is amazingly efficient and doesn't require much wood to keep it hot. I added another 6in of cherry probably every 30 mins or so, but also a small piece of hickory I had. The smell was phenomenal!
One issue I started to run into was that it is so efficient it only takes a small coal bed to keep temp, but those coals tend to fall through the fire basket. Even though it sits about 1.5in or so above the bottom of the firebox it wasn't close enough to the coals falling through to make sure new splits reliably started so some took a little bit and smoldered more than I would have liked. I think next stick burn I will just take the basket out and build the fire in the ash pan or on the bottom of the firebox so the new splits can sit right on the coals.
​​​​​​​I found it pretty easy to maintain the temp between 220 and 250 once I realized I didn't need much wood at all. I cooked the chicken at that temp for maybe 1.5 - 2hrs, checked the internal temp in the breasts and it was around 145. At that point I added some extra wood and got the temp up to about 325 - 350 and cooked it another 30 -45 mins (can't remember exactly) to crisp the skin and finish cooking it until the internal was about 165 - 170. At this point I pulled it off and it slid off the pan onto my deck 😂. Not one to waste, especially after working hard on something, I dusted it off and rolled with it. My wife (who doesn't eat meat other than fish) had quite the laugh.
​​​​​​​Skin was crispy and the meat juuuiiiiicccyy! I have never made chicken that was that juicy. I don't think I even knew it was possible for chicken to be so juicy. I can't wait to try a turkey and see what I can do with it.
Attached Files
Comment