ak56
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2013
- Location
- Carnation, Washington
Cooked six chickens on the smoker on Saturday. Charcoal, with apple and cherry wood chunks. Learned a few lessons along the way.
First, 34 lbs of chicken pron.
Lesson learned: just because you can fit six chickens in the smoker, doesn't make it a good idea.
Had the temperature stable at about 345 degrees before putting the chickens in. Once the chickens were in, the temp was anybody's guess. With six chickens in there, there wasn't a lot of room for the pit temp probe, and it was affected too much by the proximity of the cooler meat. Next time I think I will clamp the probe below the grate. Also, with six chickens, the temp was less even across the pit than I have had with lighter loads, so I think I will try a max of four next time.
Overall, the chicken came out fairly good, Good flavor, nice smoke, a little over cooked on a couple of the birds. Meats been pulled, carcasses boiled down for broth, and about half of the meat made into hearty chicken soup for lunches and frozen. The rest will be used for dinners throughout the week.
Next weekend, I have about 15 lbs of pork butts for pulled pork!
First, 34 lbs of chicken pron.
Lesson learned: just because you can fit six chickens in the smoker, doesn't make it a good idea.
Had the temperature stable at about 345 degrees before putting the chickens in. Once the chickens were in, the temp was anybody's guess. With six chickens in there, there wasn't a lot of room for the pit temp probe, and it was affected too much by the proximity of the cooler meat. Next time I think I will clamp the probe below the grate. Also, with six chickens, the temp was less even across the pit than I have had with lighter loads, so I think I will try a max of four next time.
Overall, the chicken came out fairly good, Good flavor, nice smoke, a little over cooked on a couple of the birds. Meats been pulled, carcasses boiled down for broth, and about half of the meat made into hearty chicken soup for lunches and frozen. The rest will be used for dinners throughout the week.
Next weekend, I have about 15 lbs of pork butts for pulled pork!