I am planning on purchasing a SM009. I have done a lot of beer can chickens on my Charcoal Char Broil Wood smoker and would like to know how many chickens I could realistic do in a SM009 at one time. I normally do 2 chickens at one time as close to 5lbs that I can buy. I have heard that with the heat being more at the bottom it would be the hotter area especially if I used to racks and stacked the chicken. Since I don't currently have a SM009 I am at a loss on what would work. I also am planning on buying a temperature probe the kind that you stick in the meat and read from outside the smoker. Where should I run the ribbon from the chicken to the outside? When I use the Charcoal smoker I cook until it reads 180 degrees thighs and breast and have not had any problems with any parts being raw. I also cook with the skin on but I don't eat the skin to help keep my blood fat under control. Also what about the fat dripping off the chicken should I put a pan under the chicken to catch the fat drippings like I do in the charcoal cooker or...
I know this is probably a lot of dumb questions but I am new to this kind of smoker and am hoping some of you experts can help me.
Your help will be appreciated.
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