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Theory: Downside to Spatchcock

For the first year and a bit of owning my egg I have preferred to cook my chicken indirect. However I have finally been one over to the spatchcock side. Tonight I am doing a pizza cook and it is taking me forever to burn off the smoke, in fact I don't think it will ever go away. My theory is that this is chicken fat embedded in the coal. With indirect cooking I could just throw away the tinfoil that was on top of my platesetter but I believe from now on I will have to use a fresh load of lump if I want to have smoke-free cooking.

Seriously, it's been burning for an hour at 600 now!

New Brunswick, Canada

Comments

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I think you have a valid point!  I would crank the egg up a little higher until the funk burns off.  


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • tksmoke
    tksmoke Posts: 776
    Not sure I agree - I've been doing a direct spatch a week for a year and a half, and never noticed any smoking problem.  I may be insensate, but think I would have noticed.  What kind of lump?  And what temp? 
    Santa Paula, CA
  • llrickman
    llrickman Posts: 654
    I did two spatchcock's earlier in the week then asparagus after ,then made a peach cobbler. when i took the chickens off i did notice and large amount of smoke coming from the egg and was afraid it was going to ruin my cobbler but after cooking the asparagus waiting 15 min or so the smoke was gone and the cobbler turned out perfect
    2 LBGE
    Digi Q
    green Thermapen
    AR

    Albuquerque, NM
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Try this - no fat problem.  And the best chicken I've ever had.  There isn't any other way to do them now, for me.

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1166822/roast-chicken-cast-iron-seared#latest
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    I am with you @bigwings. I find the smoke from burned chickens taints the chicken and whatever follows. I do my birds indirect with a drip pan. Many here do otherwise though. Personal preference
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
  • BigWings
    BigWings Posts: 172
    I'm using Nature's Own. It's my 6th or 7th bag and it never took this long before. After the second pizza it cleared off pretty good. I think next time I'll let it go nuclear and then drop the temps. Either way, aside from a delayed meal time it turned out great, no complaints, my buddy Sparky was a fan!

    New Brunswick, Canada

  • BigWings
    BigWings Posts: 172
    edited June 2014
    Oops. Picture fail! Can't upload from the phone for some reason. Pics of the pizza, and Sparky tomorrow.

    NOLA, I'll be giving your cast iron idea a try this weekend.

    New Brunswick, Canada

  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    For me, the downside of Spatchcock is it still has breast meat.  I want a 4 legged 4 winged chicken that's been certified by the IBTC.  :))
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    Zmokin said:

    For me, the downside of Spatchcock is it still has breast meat.  I want a 4 legged 4 winged chicken that's been certified by the IBTC.  :))

    Sounds like a challenge for meat glue.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    Zmokin said:

    For me, the downside of Spatchcock is it still has breast meat.  I want a 4 legged 4 winged chicken that's been certified by the IBTC.  :))

    I hear they run rampid next to Chernobyl.

    =))
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • ads75
    ads75 Posts: 391
    I usually do spatch indirect also. Whenever I make something direct, I do bump the temp up a bit and then go eat, hoping/letting whatever dripped on the charcoal burns off while I eat.
    Large BGE, Mini BGE
    Morgantown, PA
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    After I Spatchcock I let it go for about another 30-40 minutes and this has worked well for me in regards to the drippings causing issues on the next cook. I personally haven't encountered this.
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Have always went 400 raised/ direct spatchcocked. Never a problem.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • I dont do this every time, but it is my favorite way to spatch ****. Indirect over a pan of root veggies.
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629

    I dont do this every time, but it is my favorite way to spatch ****. Indirect over a pan of root veggies.

    I realize the chicken is cooking and same on veggies but, for me I don't much like having chicken drippings in my food. It's not the same as making a stock using the neck, gizzard, heart & liver etc. Just my opinion and ya know what those are worth. ;-)

    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • keepervodeflame
    keepervodeflame Posts: 353
    edited June 2014
    Yeah, I have heard that before. But you know I really haven't found the result to be greasy. I put white wine, chicken broth, garlic, and herbs in the veggie pan before I start the cook. So in reality it is somewhat like a stock. I pull the veggies with a slotted spoon, so most of the fat stays in the pan. I wouldn't fix this when I have my Dr. over for dinner. 
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    I think the secret is to not snuff the egg right away. Take the bird off and let it run at 400º or more for another 15-30 minutes, clears it right out as noted by @NPHuskerFL
    If I part the birds out to get more on, I use adrip pan with root veggies/wine/broth. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • BigWings
    BigWings Posts: 172
    Here we go, so the pizza turned out pretty good after the extended wait.   Sparky certainly approved!imageimageimage

    New Brunswick, Canada

  • Nature Boy
    Nature Boy Posts: 8,687
    Nobody has mentioned it so far, so I'll throw it out there. I do chicken (and many things ) direct, and do not have a smoking problem with successive cooks. The trick? Don't use more charcoal than you need. It's easier to control the fire as well. Then when you go to fire up again, there is very little soiled charcoal left.

    Just an idear. Works for me! 
    Cheers
    Chris
    DizzyPigBBQ.com
    Twitter: @dizzypigbbq
    Facebook: Dizzy Pig Seasonings
    Instagram: @DizzyPigBBQ
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Try doing the bird indirect with a beer can stand. Cut out a bit of the neck and put it on neck down. Cook indirect and you will have a perfectly done bird and great drippings for gravy.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I dont do this every time, but it is my favorite way to spatch ****. Indirect over a pan of root veggies.
    I realize the chicken is cooking and same on veggies but, for me I don't much like having chicken drippings in my food. It's not the same as making a stock using the neck, gizzard, heart & liver etc. Just my opinion and ya know what those are worth. ;-)
    It is actually a fact that chicken drippings on taters and veggies is delicious. :P


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    @nolaegghead

    Never heard of a ramp before in my life... Must be some yuppy veg. 
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I first heard about ramps when I was reading a foodie blog and it was in some people's lists of their favorite foods/ingredients.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • bettysnephew
    bettysnephew Posts: 1,188
    Interesting discussion.  The last time I lit the Egg was after a chicken cook, raised direct invertabird, and noticed a lot of smoke for a much extended time on the relight.  Did not put the two together until this thread.  I waited til the smoke cleared which seemed to be an excessive time but it makes some sense now.  We really liked the way the chicken came out, but I will let the coals continue next time while we eat and then shut down.
    A poor widows son.
    See der Rabbits, Iowa
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    edited June 2014
    @nolaegghead

    Never heard of a ramp before in my life... Must be some yuppy veg. 
    @tarheelmatt, Seriously?

    Go west, son. They are all over west North Cackalacky, down where the kudzu grows.

    They are a staple of Appalachia, not exactly a yuppie area. I remember going to festivals when I lived in Cherokee County. Brasstown represent!
  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
    Glad the pizza finally worked out for you. Just for the record, spatchcocking is not a grilling method. It is a way of preparing the bird so it cooks more evenly. Whether you do it direct, indirect or in the oven is up to you. The best chicken my wife and I have ever had was the first one I ever made on my then new LBGE. It was spatchcocked, cooked at 375 degrees indirect on the s/s grid on the Platesetter installed legs up. I used a foil drip pan to catch all of the drippings. It was started breast side up, and midway through the cook was flipped to finish breast side down. It took about 90 minutes total and was the moistest bird either of us had ever tasted. So if you continue to have issues cooking it direct, there is no reason you can't do it indirect.

    Jim
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
  • BigWings
    BigWings Posts: 172
    jfm0830 said:
    Just for the record, spatchcocking is not a grilling method. It is a way of preparing the bird so it cooks more evenly. Whether you do it direct, indirect or in the oven is up to you. 
    Good point, I just always associated spatching with direct.   

    @Little Steven, I used to do my chickens un-spatched, indirect, but the beer can holder to catch the drippings is a great idea.   I miss good gravy on my mashed potatoes since I got the egg.

    New Brunswick, Canada

  • Elde
    Elde Posts: 148
    I first heard about ramps when I was reading a foodie blog and it was in some people's lists of their favorite foods/ingredients.
    I first heard about ramps while studying historical Appalachian cooking back in the 1970's.  Though they're little known by the general populace, they've been a delicacy across the Eastern half of the US for centuries if not millenia.  (Everyone knows that Chicago in the language of the then local native tribes means "place of wild onions"...  few know, as it's a recent discovery, that the onions in question were actually ramps.)

    They've not become popular or widely known (among other reasons) because as perennials rather than annuals, they're pretty expensive to grow and thus commercially unnatractive.