smoking Chicken!

I decided to smoke my first chicken for dinner.  (I bought an extra just in case.)  
 
Brine started at 12:30.
 
Brine:
1/3 cup pickling salt
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/3 cup Lawry's lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon cayenne 
enough cold water to cover two birds in a stock pot
 
I pulled 1 of 2 chickens out at 5:30 (5 hours).  Patted it dry, slathered it with mustard, and sprinkled my usual rub.  I also coated the inside with extra rub.
 
Rub:
 
1/2 cup turbinado sugar 
1/8 cup salt 
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground 2017 cayenne
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespon cardamom 
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground fennel
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
2 teaspoons freshly ground mixed peppercorns
 
plus these rub modifiers:
 
+1 tablespoon of garlic powder
+1 tablespoon of Lawry's lemon pepper
 
It went on the old webber kettle with dry hickory from 6:00 - 8:30.  Temps ran a little hot 260F finally ending at 284F, but it didn't seem to dry out the bird.  It finally came off when the bird hit 175F (just to be safe).
 
I'm going to smoke another one tomorrow with a less aromatic rub.  I really liked the flavor, but I don't think I can eat it two nights in a row.  Plus I need to save some for the boston butt I picked up.    
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Looks great dude.  I don't mind high temps w chicken because it finished quick and yer less likely to get rubbery skin at 250 or better. 

Nice. I insist on brining whenever I make poultry. The difference is night and day. Nice job buddy.

Noice!!!

You can also hang the bird and let it air dry for an hour or so. The skin gets suuuuper crispy.

I love putting brown sugar, ginger, star anise, and tamari in my brine with a splash of orange juice.

Smoke with some orange and cherry woods.

Mercy.

Looks real good, my only advice is you might not be getting the full benefits of brining.seems like a light brining solution for such a short time, even with salt in the lawry's.

Nice job and thanks for the recipe.

Looks Awesome !! nice job

Hands down - 24 hours brine bird wins over the 6 hours brine.  Ashen you are correct! 
 
T0mato mentioning orange inspired me... so I made an "asian glaze" by putting all of these rub and glaze ingredients in a bowl: http://www.searedandsmoked.com/asian-glazed-chicken-wings/ 
 
I modified the quantities a little bit and thickened it with corn starch.  It was still pretty thin so it went on at the beginning and then half way through the cook.  It would have been good for injecting. 
 
I took the bird up to 180 with temps ranging from 170 to 190 at the end over the course of 3 hours.
 
This was probably my favorite chicken experiment taste wise.  I would do it again over the earlier rub.
 

Oh baby.

That's too bad it was too thin. If you do it again just put it on low heat for longer and let it reduce way down. The flavors will be super concentrated too.

Smoked chickens make excellent chicken salad too btw

....just in case you're not sure what to do with all those leftovers.