First kettle and first charcoal cook in 30 years.

[namtrag]

Hey guys,

I just picked up a DD SS Performer, and it's my first Weber kettle, and will be my first charcoal cook since I was just out of college cooking on one of those square grills with the orange lid (what the hell brand were those anyway?).  No wonder I switched to gas lol

Anyway, I cannot find the thread on here, but recall reading that a first good indirect cook for a noob would be to do a whole chicken.  I found them on sale at Target yesterday, and bought two 4.5 lb chickens for $3.99 each.

They look small enough to cook both at the same time, but when I see videos of whole chickens, they only cook one.  Maybe they have bigger chickens.

Anyway, do you agree with cooking chicken for your first indirect cook, and if so, should I spatchcock or just do the beer can way? And would two fit ok?

I plan on trying the method where you have a bank of coals on either side with a drip pan in the middle.

Any tips would be much appreciated.  I still have to buy charcoal and some wood chunks, and welcome suggestions on that as well!

[mirkwood]

Hi Namtrag,
If it were me, I would bank all my coals on one side of the kettle and put a drip pan under where the bird will be,
Spatchcock that yard bird and use your favorite rub or spices and introduce that bird to some indirect heat.
Be sure it reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast or thigh and take lots of pics..

[mike.stavlund]

You can indeed cook two whole chickens at the same time, but you'll learn a lot more by cooking them separately (or if you want to really multiply your learning, do them *serially*). 

If you want to do it simply/straightforwardly, just season up the bird, maybe truss it with some cooking twine, bank your fire on both sides (or use some charcoal baskets), and put the bird right in the middle (like you said, don't forget the drip pan to minimize the greasy mess).  A full chimney will get it done in an hour or less, and you can put some potatoes at either end of the chicken to cook at the same time.  Cook the bird till the breast meat is at an internal temp of 160  (which will allow your legs and thighs to cook a little higher, which will improve their flavor even more).  The potatoes are done at an internal temp of 205. 

Spatchcocking is a great technique, but I find something appealing about roasting up the whole bird... the convection action created by the kettle and two banks of coals will get you some wonderfully juicy meat and crispy skin. 

[1911Ron]

Try this thread out you have many examples of how to do a chicken and other things on a kettle, my setup (buckie is the inspration) is on page 2 with the chicken spatchcocked, enjoy your chicken however you decide to do it!
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/proper-setup-for-good-cooks/

[namtrag]

Mike,

Maybe I will try one whole and one spatchcocked   I have a lot to try and a lot to learn.

Ron, that setup is exactly what I was thinking of.

[1buckie]

I hardly ever get to do whole chickens as the wife swoops in & does them in the oven (very well, I might add), so not a ton of ideas there....but.....

"I still have to buy charcoal and some wood chunks, and welcome suggestions on that as well!"

Apple or cherry is kinda lite & goes good with poultry......don't go way overboard as  it will take smoke easier than say, beef.......couple, three chunks early in the game should do................

Stubb's natural briquettes, Kingsford's Comp maybe.....Blue bag K's if that's what's available.....

Start off with briquettes, then when you're more comfortable, test out lump charcoal....a little more finicky & burns a bit hotter, so get to know your cooker first..........

[namtrag]

I am going to try apple I think for the chicken.   I am tempted to get kingsford blue because lowe's has it on sale, 40lbs for $15, which seems like a good deal. 

But stubb's is my choice, and possibly trader joe's briquets, which are pretty inexpensive.

[GregS]

i put a bit of water in the drip pan.  i have a theory that it keeps things moist.  i've run chicken to 180 internal and it's been moist all the way through.

could be that i'm just lucky sometimes. 

[mike.stavlund]

IMO, Trader Joe's makes horrible charcoal.  I'd go with Kingsford Blue or Stubbs.  I like lump too, and am currently loving Coshell (available at some Lowes). 

[namtrag]

Greg, definitely using water in the pan, as I have seen that most people do, and it makes sense.

Mike, thanks for the heads up on TJ's...I had seen some good things about it, plus it's relatively a good price.  Will steer to others for now.

[mike.stavlund]

I would be cautious about using too much water in a drip pan.  While it does add some moisture and makes cleanup a lot easier, the water also acts as a heat sink, making it hard to get your grill up to crispy-skin temperatures.  This is the same principle that's at work in the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker (aka, WSM, or 'smoker')-- the NRG required to push the water through the phase change from liquid to vapor scrubs off a bunch of heat, making it really difficult for the whole volume of air to get much hotter than 250-275. 

[GregS]

thank you mike, i think i've been having that exact problem. 

[namtrag]

@mike.stavlund , thanks for that.  I probably would have overdone the water and wondered what went wrong. 

[1buckie]

thank you mike, i think i've been having that exact problem. 

@mike.stavlund , thanks for that.  I probably would have overdone the water and wondered what went wrong. 

Use Beans.............not all that much water vapor in beans...........

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/nothing-new-just-some-pork-beans/msg26001/#msg26001

[namtrag]

Looks awesome but I bet it's not as good with a chicken over top of them as opposed to a pork butt!

Actually, it might work pretty well with chicken since you can cook the beans the whole time, I bet, and not have to worry about them getting overdone and mushy!