Smoked Spatchcocked Chicken - OK but not Great

[NapMaster]

A week or two back I smoked some chicken in my Shotgun smoker. All in all it went OK but I have significant room for improvement. I smoke 3, spatchcocked birds about 5 lbs each. No fryer sized whole birds were available. I used lump with mesquite wood chunks at about 270 F. Birds were dry-brined for about 3 hours and I used MMD for the rub.



Results and Observations: Overall, I give the cook a C+ to B-. The skin was rubber. I knew I needed to finish at a higher temperature but I just wanted to see what would happen. Go figure, rubber skin. The rub was OK. I need to add more next time. This was my first time to use MMD. My smoker has room to cook 6 birds, spatchcocked, of the same size as this cook. Nice to have plenty of room. The meat itself was awesome and juicy, even the breast. The next day, pulled all the meat of the bones and cut into smaller pieces which I subsequently vacuum-packed and froze. This past week I took some of the chicken and made nachos. Pretty simple fair with chicken, jalapenos, sun-dried tomatoes, and shredded cheese.


Next time: I have the ability to pull a tray out of the bottom of the Shotgun Smoker and provide direct heat. Next time I'll do this and after the birds get to 140 or so, I'll pull out that piece and run the temp up to 350 or so to finish. I'll also add more MMD.

Lastly, I've learned a load since I joined the pit. Thanks for the insight and comaraderie.

[MBMorgan]

Yeah ... 270F is too low for poultry. I dry brine overnight and normally shoot for 350-375F although, now that I'm cooking birds mainly on a pellet smoker, I make sure the meat is super cold and run at 250F for 45 minutes (for the heavier smoke) then crank it up to 375F to finish.

[NapMaster]

That is what I will do next time. Thanks for your help.

[RonB]

I run my kettle as hot as it will go for chicken. Dome temps can go as high as 500* F. I mentally subtract 50* to 75* for grate height temp.

[JoeSousa]

I did some thighs last night in my kettle with a full chimney in the Slow N Sear. Didn't bother running a grate temp probe but the dome thermometer was showing 600.

Not sure I would run that hot on a full bird but 400-450 is what I usually shoot for with chicken.

[fuzzydaddy]

I'll add that the sugar in the MMD you're using will likely burn around 350 and above.

[jfmorris]

My suggestion is to run the entire cook hotter - 350-ish for poultry. It will all get done quicker, and the skin will be great with no separate finish step required.

[NapMaster]

Thank you all. I need to run a faux cook in my smoker to see what temps I can reach. In reality, I've not had this smoker that long. Plus, due to family, and personal health issues, grilling and smoking have languished for 3-4 months. Again, thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[jfmorris]

The Shotgun Smoker website says it can run up to 400 degrees, so you should not have issues reaching 325 to 350. You might want to start with a few more lit coals than you do for 225, just to get there faster - that is what I do on my kettle with the SNS and PartyQ. The fan and controller will get you there, but more hot coals at the start will get you there faster.

[NapMaster]

Roger that jfmorris I can certainly add more lit coals than I normally do just to cut down on time. I still think I'm going to try a dry run to see how it goes getting up to those higher temps. The pit viper fan should be singing.