Slow cooking BBQ Chicken Advice

[riverboy]

Hey Guys

Hoping you can help me out. I have a big family party this weekend and plan on BBQ legs and thighs, cooking some itailan dressing style breasts and some pineapple/teriyaki chicken breasts. Now normally I cook on a gas grill but Im having too many people to use that grill so Im borrowing my buddys 55 gallon drum grill with side box. Now Im planning on using charcoal and I have some apple tree wood. I need advice on what tempature to keep the grill and how long I should cook for? Im looking for a slow cook method so I plan on coooking for 2 to 3 hours. Should I soak the Apple wood in water?. Just burn the apple wood in the side box with some charcoal spread on the bottom of the grill? Do the legs and thighs take longer than the breast? I have a Tempature taker. Any advice or tips will help!!!

Thanks guys for your help.
Scott

[Riva]

I like skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. You can buy them in bulk at Costco's or Sam's. You will still need to trim them back a bit because they do have giant amounts of excess skin that you should remove. You can marinade them with simple Italian dressing and just put some quality bbq rub on them just prior to putting in the cooker.

The key is not necessarily the temp you cook at but rather, the temps the chicken must reach until its fully cooked (180F). Don't trust your insticts to determining doneness, particularly chicken--get an instant-read thermometer if you don't already have one.

[Spanky]

I prefer hot smoked/cooked chicken. There are just too many things to go wrong with poultry to do them low and slow. Unlike beef and pork, chicken needs to reach the 175-180 mark fairly quick. There fore I do mine at a higher temp, even the parts.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/Captspanky/therm.jpg

thats where I cook my chicken, here is what the digital at the grate was at when I took the above pic. Most smokers won't register the same as the dial near the grate. I am a lucky man!

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/Captspanky/therm2.jpg

And these are what was for dinner today. This was shot at the same time as the previous pics. The drummies were at 165-170 when I took the pic, I left them in the pit for about another 30- 35 minutes. They were at 185-190 internal when I took them off. And since I did them hot, the skin was nice and crispy.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/Captspanky/drummiesonthursday.jpg

[wannabapro]

Spanky - you are a god!

Those look fantastic. You definitely have had a lot of practie and have good eqip.

[MSUICEMAN]

sniffle sniffle.... i wanna eat at spanky's place.... dang man, you got the entire smoking/grilling thing down to a science.

[Halffasthog]

I smoke chicken leg quarters with a rub @ 220-240 degrees for 3 hours. Comes out like it's been baked. The skin is leather, but juicier meat is not possible.

[Spanky]

IMO there is no reason to do chicken low and slow. That is reserved for cheaper meats that would be too tough to eat if cooked quickly. Fried chicken or chicken cooked/baked in an oven at 375 is very moist, everyone knows that deep fried chickens and turkeys rock!! Why do I do them in the smoker/cooker, cuz i like to cook em over wood for the flavor/smoke, and I am usually doing something else in there too.

Sooo, sunday, I had a few drummies sittin around in the fridge, and was gonna do a couple fatties and a pan of beans and some corn on the cob anyways. Toss afew more logs in the firebox, boost it up to 350-380 and blaze some drummies. I hate to admit, I didn't take pics. I figured you guys have seen enough of my action anyways. So the beans were an hr into their smoke, and the corn was about to go on, and the drummies(10 of them) were slathered in a new concoction that riva showed us the other week, the butter blend ( actually margarine) and a couple different rubs.

The corn goes on and so does the drummies, and they go at it hot for about 75 minutes. Took the internal(kinda tricky) with my instant read therm and all were at 175-180, so off they came and rested in a hot oven while i finished the corn. It is one of the best drummies I have had and the skin was as crunchy as fried chicken, light and tasty. the meat was moist and flavorful. I was very happy with the results. Corn was to die for, smoked in the husk and perfect with just a small hint of smoke. After the beans and corn came off, I shut her down to the 250 mark and tossed a couple fatties on.

Low and slow is my favorite way to cook over wood, but when you are doing poultry, its not always best IMO.

I will be trying this method alot more times as summer comes to an end. I have 4 of those drummy holders and I want to do some wings the same way soon.

I wish I woulda took a few pics, cuz these things were awesome.;)

[Slick fishing]

Hey Spanky where did you say you bought those chicken leg holder from again??

I see Riva and you are useing that butter blend hey;) how is that working out? Cya Slick

[Halffasthog]

I like more smoke flavor than the average bear is why I do chicken longer. I'm not a huge fan of grilled chicken, but I'll tear up some smoky yardbird.

[Spanky]

Slick, I get them at Lowes. I have 4-5 of them right now, got a couple of them for gifts after I already a few of them. They work great. I am gonna try them for wings next!

And yes the butter blend is working very nicely for chicken, have yet to try in on pork or ribs. But I will eventually!;)