Smoking on a Weber Master Touch

[deans6571]

I have a BBQ coming up this weekend and want to try something new (only had my Master Touch a short while - 2 cooks in total so far!).

I want to try and smoke my meat. Will be cooking chicken drumsticks, thighs and breasts and have also bought some Weber Cherry Wood chunks.

Do I need to sear the chicken first and then add the wood chucks to the briquettes and then cook the  meat over indirect heat OR do I not bother searing the meat at all and just add the wood chunks to the briquettes right off the bat, and cook the chicken on indirect heat, right from the off?

Additionally - when cooking over indirect heat, do I cook my chicken to 165F or 175F (some website state 165 yet others state 175? My thermometer has its chicken preset as 175??)?

[SMOKE FREAK]

170 is a good temp IMO...
Searing will make the meat more attractive and shorten the cook time...
Doing poultry parts low and slow I would always brine first...

[MINIgrillin]

No need to sear. Throw em in there indirect and let em be happy. Don't use too many smoke chunks. It will make the chicken taste kinda acrid. A light blue clear smoke from the top vent is all you need. If you have a top vent that resembles a coal plant smoke stack then you have too much wood in there.

[deans6571]

No need to sear. Throw em in there indirect and let em be happy. Don't use too many smoke chunks. It will make the chicken taste kinda acrid. A light blue clear smoke from the top vent is all you need. If you have a top vent that resembles a coal plant smoke stack then you have too much wood in there.

.....how many is too many?!!!! I was thinking of adding perhaps 2 or 3 chunks!

And would I need to add some water (inside my drip tray), inside the Weber (i've seen people do this before??)?

What would be the exact temp to cook them to - 165 or 175, or somewhere in between?

[Filibuster]

   160 to 165 for the white meat, 175 for the dark meat and indirect for both. If you dont brine at least inject the white meat.

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[deans6571]

How about if I was to soak 2 or 3 wood chunks in water before hand - would that work instead of filling my drip tray with water?

[kettlebb]

How about if I was to soak 2 or 3 wood chunks in water before hand - would that work instead of filling my drip tray with water?

Two different subjects here. No need to soak wood chunks. Put them on and they should produce thin blue smoke. Not too much for poultry though. Poultry takes the smoke with ease.

Water in the tray is to add humidity to the cooker and to be a heat sink for better heat control. I only use water when I'm doing a brisket.


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[kettlebb]

Just oil and season the chicken then cook it on high indirect heat. Add minimal smoke wood if you want the flavor profile.


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[mhiszem]

Soaking wood will produce steam not smoke.


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[deans6571]

...thanks for all the advice here guys  -appreciated.

[deans6571]

What are people's views on this smoking method, as demonstrated by Weber Grills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ1do5y_X7M

...as I'm only doing small pieces of chicken (drumsticks, thighs and breasts) are these likely to come out as dark as the meat shown in this video?!

[Foster Dahlet]

What are people's views on this smoking method, as demonstrated by Weber Grills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ1do5y_X7M

...as I'm only doing small pieces of chicken (drumsticks, thighs and breasts) are these likely to come out as dark as the meat shown in this video?!

Soaking chips is fine and the set up here is fine too.  There is more than one way to skin a cat.  This one is a good way to start..You can make adjustments to your process after a few sessions.  I am not sure about a low and slow smoke for chicken parts....it is not really necessary.  You can simply do a hot and fast indirect cook setup, with 1 or 2  wood chunks (depending on size) and come away with plenty of smoke flavor and color.   

[HoosierKettle]

+1 on hot indirect. You can bank on both sides or 1.

I use a modified large basket but you don't have to use any basket. Just dump the coals banked on one side and throw a wood chunk in the coal and cook in the other. Super easy.

You can also sauté on the hot side








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[deans6571]

...appreciate the advice guys - thank you! Lots of different methods to experiment with. 

Just wondering if a set up like this would work, to smoke small pieces of chicken:



So red are my briquette baskets, which I like to use, centred under the centre section of my grill with some cherry wood chunks thrown in, and then have the chicken (brown circles!!), all around the outer ring of my grill on indirect heat, with the lid closed, until my connected temperature probe reads the correct temperature...

Thoughts?!

[HoosierKettle]

Yep. That will work great


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