Chicken; Whole Cut-Up vs. Whole... Intact?

What kind of smoker are you using Frank?

I've always smoked whole chickens, I think the chicken stands up to it better as one piece, and it retains more moisture.

I've never had the problem with rubbery skin, I mean it's different than if you grilled the thing, but still not rubbery.

A whole chicken in a cookshack smokette takes at least five hours, six is better, and doing two or three at a time is better than doing one.

Sorry, I am using a Smokette

I don't think you are cooking the chickens long enough, especially if you have to put one on a grill or in an oven to finish it.

One great thing about a cookshack smokette, you can hardly overcook something.

Try leaving a couple of whole chickens in there at 225 for six or seven hours.

Also, allow 20-30 minutes resting time, and use poultry shears to cut the chickens up. You'll need to remove the backbone, and split the breasts, then you can quarter and eighth if you choose.

I guarantee you will not get rubbery skin. The skin breaks down with heat and the like just like meat does.

Must be the higher voltage and cycle speed over there. Even doing chickens on 250* for 6 hours (overcooked) turns out rubbery skin. Gotta use the grill or indoor oven broiler for the skin. I would not do poultry on 225* if 250* is available.

Nope, never had those problems you speak of, and that was in Texas where my unit ran off of 110

Also, I would never cook chicken at 250, only 225.

As a matter of fact, I cook nothing at 250.

That just shows to go ya..........theres more than 1 way to cook a chicken!

Must be one of those fellers what can't do nothin wrong. If you have a Smokette with a broiler setting, well then, there ya go.

I don't know, y'all, I just never have trouble with the skin on my chickens. I would never consider putting it on a grill or in an oven, I mean the Smokette is actually a smoker-oven.

GLH, considering you are the official forum bouncer, I don't really appreciate your inference, however thinly veiled, that I am a know it all or that I do everything perfect.

I've smoke cooked a couple of hundred of chickens in the unit, and I've never had a complaint about rubbery skin. While the skin might not be crisp like a rotisserie chicken, who expects it to be? It is a smoked chicken.

P.S. if you insist on having crispy skin on your chicken, try this age-old Chinese secret (they do it with roast duck). Put a pot of water to boil and (the best way you can) pour it over the skin of the chicken before putting it in for the smoke. You can use a large colander and the kitchen sink to get this done. You might even let it cool off for a minute or two so you can season it with whatever sort of rub you like. Then put it to smoke.

Not that I need to mention it, but I have cooked many chickens both in my Smokette and 30 at a time in large pull-behind wood fired smokers. I get a similar skin finish in my smokette that I did in the big unit, the conditions were similar, dry and low heat.

Another bit of advice, I find whole fryers finish nicer than roasters, and are way cheaper. If you are smoking a roaster (five, six maybe even seven pounds) then you'll have to adjust cooking time accordingly. The smaller birds take to the smoke better and cook through very nicely in a reasonable time frame.

Hi Everyone,

I like Chicken quarters.
When I smoke chicken it's rolled in olive oil, then put rub on it.
I use the oil on chicken skin with my Smokette @225, Amerique and SM150 @300 deg.
Some how the oil helps the skin texture look better.
For whole chicken I put it on a can.
Half way filled with Orange juice and Mango juice half a stick of butter and lots of pressed garlic and some
Cookshack Rub.
Heat in a sauce pan then pour into a can put the chicken on it, Rub chicken with olive oil and some Cookshack rub.

Thank you,
Brian E.

No 'inference'. Only my awkward attempt at humour.

I have also cooked alot of poultry in my time. I consider it done by temp probe reading, usually. I do not like overcooked meat, especially when I can simply crisp the skin in the oven or on the grill. I disagree that the Smokette is anything like a normal kitchen oven. It is the moisture from the meat itself that keeps the skin from getting crisp. Anyone who eats poultry skin wants it to be crisp. I pretty much have the poultry thang down, but thanks for the advice.

as with all things, i suppose it is a matter of taste, but I have not been pleased with the texture of the skin-on chicken skin (akward) when it comes out of the smokette. I can only descibe it as rubber-like. I consider finishing on the grill to be a texture thing, much like you would do with a steak or pork chop. I'll get to work on these and see how it comes out and report back, rubber or no.