Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Half chicken, first time... help me not screw this up!
Options
Butcher cut a whole chicken in half and I'm going to cook it tonight (froze the other half.) I brushed some Newmans vinegar/oil salad dressing on it, on advice of an experienced BGEer who sold me the egg. I bought some split bricks at Home Depot, wrapped them in foil and put 3 of them on the fire ring so I can cook raised-direct (which everyone here says is the preferred method.) How long will half a chicken cook? Do I need to set a drip pan on the coals to catch any fat? Naked Whiz says 375 degrees for a whole chicken? is that about right? Whole Foods chicken is expensive. I don't want to "butcher" it... or I'll never hear the end of it from my very expensive wife!!!
Comments
-
375 will work, it should take close to an hour. Cook to temperature though, I would check the breast and leg separately. 160 for breast and 180 for the thigh. I would cook it bone side down and check the temperature after about 40 minutes._________________________________________________Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
Green Man GroupJohns Creek, Georgia -
The result: fantastic. You would not believe. (Well I guess many of you WOULD believe.) I put some cherry wood chips (soaked for about an hour) on the coals as I added the chicken. I also added some poultry seasoning that I bought at my dealer's store.Got a lot of smoke with the wet chips... held the temp at around 375 although it did drop to 350 which surprised me... but I raised it again. Cooked for an hour... let it rest for 10 mins... outstanding. I wish I had taken a pix... but you've seen these pix over and over again on this board... skin, which had a bit of "crisp" to it, was a dark-to-golden brown... and the flavor of the breast area had a nice smoky taste... not a charcoal taste (which wife does not like.)I had doubts about the egg... since cooking chicken with the plate-setter yielded ho-hum results... but cooking this half-bird with the raised-direct method... resulted in a truly outstanding meal.Thanks for the help.
-
-
No need to soak wood next time. Sounds like you did it right.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.
-
_________________________________________________Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
Green Man GroupJohns Creek, Georgia -
Chicken is sort of the proof test that the Egg is better. Glad you had a great cook.
XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys -
+1 on no need to soak the chips. You did half a spatchcocked chicken. Next time try a whole spatched one. Nice cook.__________________________________________It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.- Camp Hill, PA
-
So why do so many people say to soak the chips? If you put dry chips on, won't they go up in smoke too quickly?
-
The water cooks off before you get any smoke out of them. They have to burn to generate smoke. Water can only get to 212 max temp. Wood needs (remember Fahrenheit 451?)...couple hunnert degrees hotter. So the water just cooks off, doesn't make smoke.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Plus, you can soak them for hours...the water barely penetrates more than 1/16 an inch on the cross-grain. End grain maybe 1/4"
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
acegg77 said:So why do so many people say to soak the chips? If you put dry chips on, won't they go up in smoke too quickly?Try an indirect as well. I do them both ways, smaller birds direct raised, the big ugly ones indirect at 400-425 grid. Indirect uses a drip pan, direct no. If you put a drip pan under a raised direct, it is in fact an indirect.Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
Categories
- All Categories
- 182.7K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 163 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 35 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 312 Health
- 292 Weight Loss Forum