smoke'in advice

Unknown

Hello All, Just purchased my large egg this last Friday. Cooked on it both days this weekend. Tried whole chickens on Saturday using hickory chips, and did not use a drip pan. Chicken turned out tendar and juicy, but was too smokey for my taste, due to the fat dripping on the coals. Cooked a pork loin on Sunday using hickory chips and fashioned a drip pan using foil wraped around a V rack and it turned out just right. However, my V rack won't work for multiple chickens. Does anybody have a good way to make a drip pan that will cover a larger area, keep the food out of the drippings, but will not signifacantly interfere with air flow through the egg. Any other advice for smoke'in on the egg would be great. All help would be greatly appreciated. look forward to becoming an active member of your forum.

smokeydrew

Zinger,
Try spatchcocked chicken ala the naked whiz. And buy a platesetter or try firebricks for indirect cooking. 2 great pieces of advice I have received from this forum.[p]smokeydrew
[ul][li]The naked whiz[/ul]

Gene

Zinger,
I use a plate setter with the legs turned up with a 14 in pizza pan covered with foil for cleanup, just fold the foil up and put in trash. The Grid is placed on top of the platesetter legs.

Gene

Zinger, Forgot the Pizza Pan is deep Dish

WooDoggies

Zinger,[p]It could be the overly smoky chicken is coming from the woodsmoke and not the fat dripping on the coals. Chicken absorbs a lot of smoke during the cook and hickory can be a strong flavor.
You may want to start off by cooking the birds with straight lump and no chips.... the straight lump will impart a nice smoke of it's own to the chicken which may be enough for your palate.
If you are using either straight lump or lump with chips, it will help to let the fire subdue from billowing smoke to just a thin stream of nearly imperceptible smoke...... should take 30 - 45 minutes from lighting the coals and worth the wait .....the initial smoke from a freshly started fire tends to be bitter and just too overwhelming for the food.

I like to cook whole birds on these setters with no drip pan on a raised grid that's just about flush with the bottom lip of the egg. [p][p]
I will fashion a round of foil, the footprint of the bird, and place just under the setter to keep the bottom of the chicken from scorching. Cook for about an hour and half around 325 - 350 and they usually come out evenly brown and pretty good.[p]3 large chickens will easily fit on a raised grid with setters.[p]Experiment and let us know what you come up with.... and welcome to the forum![p]John

Nature Boy

Zinger,
My pal Woo has some great points along with that picture he tortures us with. I also suspect that your too-smoky flavor might have come from the hickory. I have had great results doing chicken direct....and even prefer it.[p]The smoke from the fat and the smoke from the wood have totally different flavors, and with a little experience you will be able to tell them apart with one quick taste....or better yet, by simply smelling the smoke coming from the top of the cooker. I have experienced too-smoky chicken from fat, but only when that big glob of fat was left on, or from cooking untrimmed leg quarters.[p]Before you give up on direct cooking, try doing one with lump only, and give your fire plenty of time to get established....until you can barely see a wisp of smoke. Chickens are cheap, and you get to eat your mistakes![p]Welcome to the forum!
Chris

yaB

Zinger,
As already pointed out, hickory in any quantity can be pretty strong stuff for chicken. Try apple or pecan for a milder flavor maybe more suited to poultry. [p]Also, make sure any meat you're smoking is not refrigerator cold. Give it some time to come down toward room temp before putting it in the Egg. Strong flavors from wood smoke and/or charcoal smoke can condense on the cold surface, adding an unpleasantly strong smokey flavor, no mattery what wood you're using.[p]I haven't tested this, but I've heard that wood chips or chunks that have been soaked will give off more "acrid" smoke at first, compared those that are dry. Wrapping dry chunks tightly in foil with a small hole or two poked through the foil is an easy way to get the hint of smoke you're probably looking for. [p]Bob