Multiple Chickens in a 22" Kettle

[OD.1]

Good Morning,

I am theorising a cook where i stick  four or five chickens in a 22" kettle.

The plan is to bank about 30 briquettes on one end on the charcoal grate, with two chickens (in a foil pan) right next to the coals on the charcoal grate; a further three chickens will then go on the grill grate directly above them. Wood chips will be added to the coals when the lid closes for the entirety of the session.


I imagine that this would be a two hour (at least) cook, and the temperature range will be between 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit given the amount of meat inside the grill. Another foil pan with liquid (beer) will be placed directly above the lit coals to add moisture to the set up.

Has anybody tried this before, and if so, is there a manner in which to tweak on my above idea?

Input would be appreciated.

[Joetee]

I would think the two chickens on the bottom grate would be only 1/2 cooked by the time the top chickens were done because it isn't as hot down there. Heat rises.
Also the liquid in the pan would give you moist skin. People normally like crispy skin. Your preference.
I believe what would be better for a whole chicken would be a Cajon bandit Rotisserie which might hold 3 or 4 chickens side ways. Or do spatchcock chicken maybe 2 or 3 depending on how big your birds are which cooks faster and also are very good.
I use a rotisserie and love it. The Cajon bandit seals better on the kettle.
Here are two 5 1/2 pound birds I did with the lid off in about 1 hr 15 minutes give or take. They were awesome. Crispy  skin and juicy meat.



Sent from my SM-G955U using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[OD.1]

Thanks for the response Joetee,

Those birds sure look good.

I also use the rotisserie for two birds at a time. I imagine that another two would be able to lie flat underneath the turning spit on top of the cooking grate.

I think your take on the aspect of heat circulation is probably correct; your proposal of sticking them on the rotisserie side by side in order to fit more makes good sense. Trussing them together, alternatively using skewers to secure the two middle birds will likely be the biggest (but not insurmountable) challenge.

The original idea of having chicken on the charcoal grate came from grillers complaining that the poultry roasters (Weber version) lets the chicken make contact with the lid, which some have remedied by simply placing two birds on the charcoal grate next to the coals (two zone fire) or in between the coals (three zone indirect setup).

[Joetee]

I've used the Rotisserie both with lid on and lid off for the entire cook with great results. The photo above was with lid off. So if you don't have room between the bird and lid, remove it. The meat was as good as with lid on. The only difference is you need to attend the fire more by adding charcoal along the way and it might take a bit longer.
Pick up another kettle. I have two and use them both together often. Like when I grill corn on the cob, veggies, etc or for in your case, extra chicken.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[MacEggs]

Good Morning,

I am theorising a cook where i stick  four or five chickens in a 22" kettle.

The plan is to bank about 30 briquettes on one end on the charcoal grate, with two chickens (in a foil pan) right next to the coals on the charcoal grate; a further three chickens will then go on the grill grate directly above them. Wood chips will be added to the coals when the lid closes for the entirety of the session.


I imagine that this would be a two hour (at least) cook, and the temperature range will be between 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit given the amount of meat inside the grill. Another foil pan with liquid (beer) will be placed directly above the lit coals to add moisture to the set up.

Has anybody tried this before, and if so, is there a manner in which to tweak on my above idea?

Input would be appreciated.

This should work.  I personally would want the birds no bigger than 3-4 lbs. 
You might want to consider lighting about 15 briquets and dumping them on the 30 unlit ones. 
Pre-heat for maybe 10-15 minutes, add the birds, then let 'er rip.

Whatever method you execute, be sure to take pics and let us know how it turns out.

[OD.1]

I reckon I'm gonna give Mac's method a shot.

[MacEggs]

I just re-read your initial post ...

Another foil pan with liquid (beer) will be placed directly above the lit coals to add moisture to the set up.

It's just something else that the charcoal needs to heat-up / cook … Becomes a heat-sink, slowing down the cooking of the chicken.
Beer is usually 95% water, so just go with boiling water if you do go with this set-up.
I would personally avoid doing this, however it is ultimately up to you. YMMV

Remember, take lots of pics!

[OD.1]

My main concern would be whether the fifteen briquettes will initially hit around 250 degrees. Worst case would be getting a few more going in the chimney.


Sent from my iPad using Weber Kettle Club

[MacEggs]

My main concern would be whether the fifteen briquettes will initially hit around 250 degrees. Worst case would be getting a few more going in the chimney.

The 15 lit briquets will slowly light the 30 unlit, and the cooker's temperature should not be an issue.
I figure the birds will be done in 1.5-2 hours at most.

[OD.1]

I confirm that you can run five whole birds on the 22".

The set up was as follows:

I measured one charcoal basket of briquettes and got it going in the chimney. [The local char baskets appear slightly smaller than the silver (stainless) ones you have in the States]. I guess it was around 24 briquettes.

Once lit, i poured it out and let the kettle hit 300 degrees.

With the basket to one side on the bottom grate, i arranged five (2.5 lbs a piece) seasoned birds, indirect, on the upper  grate. The chickens were lying flat.

Hickory wood chips went on simultaneously with the birds and I shut the lid for 50  minutes; after 50 minutes i added six unlit briquettes to the basket.

Bottom damper fully open for the whole cook. Top vents 1/2 open for about two thirds of the cook and fully open at the end to keep the temp at 300. Temperature range remained around 280 - 320 degrees for the duration.

When i hit the total cooking time of two hours the birds came off, perfectly cooked.

[addicted-to-smoke]

Thanks for the follow up. Would like to see a picture of that next time!