BBQ Chicken with vinegar sauce

[dennisl]

Getting ready to smoke some chicken halves for the first time on my Camp Chef Smoke Vault. Have a few questions for you folks. Here in North Georgia a lot of bbq places use a thin, vinegar based sauce on their chicken as opposed to the thicker, sweeter sauce in other places. I have some of this vinegar sauce available and want to give it a try.

I plan to heat the smoker to 325-350 to make sure the skin gets crispy. First of all, should I use the water pan or not? Second, should I let the chicken smoke for a while before I mop them with the sauce? Forgot to mention that I plan on dry brining for a few hours before the cook. Will mopping the sauce on the bird cause the skin to get rubbery?

I would appreciate any opinions on smoking with the vinegar sauce. I really like the taste but have never tried it before.

[DWCowles]

I wouldn't recommend using a water pan and I wouldn't do no mopping till the end of the cook.

[Nate]

If you are going to use a vinegar sauce I'm not sure I would mop the birds while cooking. I would dunk them after they are done cooking (that is what I do with white sauce as well)

Only time I put sauce on the birds when I am smoking is to set a thicker sweet sauce and that is at the end.

[Huskee]

I agree with the above. Liquid on the skin will cause it to not crisp. Best to do it right before plating, or dip it as you're eating. Cook it up closer to the 350 side of your range.