Whole Chicken/lump charcoal

bbqdiva

Had the green egg for 1 month. Have made chicken, pizza, ribs, salmon, tuna, steak, burgers. I love my egg. Have questions? Does anyone use Royal Oak Natural Lump Charcoal? Also, when I have cooked a whole chicken, what temp and how long? Is it suppose to be butterflied? I do use a platesetter. I have cooked it both ways. My hubby seems to think it was cooked too long. I cooked at 325 for about 2-1/2 hours.

fishlessman

sounds too long to me too get a thermapen, they are pricey but they make your cooks that much better. this chart is fairly accurate for when to take the food off the egg, cook to temps, not by times and things will really improve
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/doneness_chart.htm

wrjohns

A whole chicken is one of the few things I've made so far. It was a 3.25 lb chicken, that I smoked at 250 deg for about 2 hours. At around the 2 hour mark, the breast was about 160 deg. I closed the vents off, and let it go for another 20 minutes. The breast then measured at 167 deg. Took it out, and let it sit for another 15 minutes before we dug in. Came out perfect.

As for lump, I'm using Ozark Oak.

Florida Grillin Girl

A whole chicken cooks in 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes at 350 dome - for a 4 lb. chicken.

Lots of eggheads use the Royal Oak. What is your question about the charcoal?

Faith
Tampa

Florida Grillin Girl

Here is a great site you should check out regarding charcoal. There are reviews of many kinds of charcoal.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

Faith
Tampa

FearlessGrill

Hi and welcome.

To answer your questions:

1) RO makes pretty good lump, though the consensus is that their US made is superior to that from Argentina. Check out www.nakedwhiz.com for the bible of lump charcoal brands.

2) Your husband was probably right. With BBQ, you don't generally cook by time. You need to check the internal temperature of the meat. With chicken, you want it cooked between 160 and 180 internal (yes the 160 is lower than what some recommend, but enough to kill any ickies that are along for the ride). In my experience, cooking at that temperature, my chicken would be done to my liking in 2 hours or less. Get a good instant read meat thermometer like a Thermapen and use it.

In terms of how to prepare chicken, butterflying or 'spatchcocking' is not necessary, but it will reduce your cooking time without impacting the end result otherwise, so I generally do it unless I need to cram a bunch of chickens in at once, as they take up more space once spatchcocked. Temperature-wise, it depends on what you're trying to achieve. For maximum smoke penetration, cook at a lower temp indirect (with platesetter) and some apple or other fruit wood added to the lump. If you are going for crispy skin, cook indirect at a higher temp - 375-450F. I generally don't do whole chickens direct so I don't need to pay attention to them.

For a simple chicken recipe that I like with directions on how to prepare it on the Egg, try this lemon chicken recipe we came up with. The picture is kind of lousy, but it's really tasty. http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2008/06/recipe-lemon-ch.html

Good Luck,

-John

Cadillac Grill'n

I use Royal Oak but make sure it is the USA Brand and Not Argentina. The Argentina lump pops and cracks which results in splattering all over your food.

Good Luck

Cadillac Grill'n

bbqdiva

John,
Thanks for all your info. Since I am new at this, I am asking all kinds of questions. Another ? I have is about wood chips. When I smoke a chicken, I get the grill up to temp, then place soaked chips on coals, put platesetter on and then drip pan and then grill rack and place chicken on top. By the time I do all this the wood chips have burned all away. I have since place chips in a cast iron smoker box. What do you do for your wood chips. Also, if you are smoking a brisquit(my next challenge) do you fill the box all the way to the top. What about smoked turkey. Tell me all about your experiences. Like I said, I am a beginner egghead. Karen

wrjohns

FWIW, I've only smoked once, and I followed pretty much the steps you mentioned, except I didnt think to use a drip pan or a rack (Next time, I'm definitely using a drip pan).

I started the fire, left egg open for 7 minutes as the fire starter brick did its thing. Then I tossed on some soaked wood chips, put the plate setter in, legs up. Put the grate over it, and chicken directly on grate. Closed it all up, and closed vents, made minor adjustments until it stabilized at 250 deg.

The chips were smoking furiously until I got the vents closed. With the reduced air flow in/out, the amount of smoke coming out was greatly reduced (as I think is normal & expected).

When all was said and done, I still had unburned wood chips remaining (but not many).

The next time I do this, I'm going to let it stabilize at 250 first, and THEN add the chips, etc.

As an aside, I'm kinda baffled at the included dvd video which seems to indicate you should put the chips before even lighting the charcoal. But I'm still very much a newb at this, too.

-Wyatt

bbqdiva

Hey FearlessGrill,

It's bbqdiva AGAIN. How do you search the forum for past posts other than what's limited by my scrolling down. I tried to respond to your 7/28 message but couldn't find it. You are soooo helpful.

[Deleted User]

There was another poster here a year or so ago named bbqdiva. (Whoa, I just checked and she hasn't been here in over two years! I gotta get a life!)

Just to clarify "done" temps- breast is 165, in thigh is 180. I always check the thigh and prefer it cooked above 180. it was a little too rubbery for me at 180.

seems to me that a whole chicken always takes 1 - 1:15 wether spatchcock, beercan or just roasted. If you go direct, my best chicken has been cooked on a raised grid, whether parts or whole.