Since I am supposed to cook at lower temperatures for the first few cooks on the BGE to let the adhesives cure, I decided to try smoked BBQ chicken. Chicken is one of the easier meats to smoke and I thought it would be a good starting point for the new grill. I have smoked pulled pork, pork ribs, beef brisket, and chicken in the past with my offset smoker so the process is not new to me.
I started by soaking the chickens in a brine overnight so that they would retain moisture during the cook. The brine that I used was 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of salt, and a little bit of the McCormick Grill Mates Chicken Rub. I submerged the chickens in this solution and placed it in the refrigerator for the night.
I started the fire in the morning and I was pleasantly surprised by how the BGE was able to come up to temperature quickly. I added some pecan wood to the fire and watched as it smoked. I checked the gasket to see if there was a good seal and there was no smoke escaping anywhere around it. This made me feel real good to know that I assembled the BGE the right way. I followed the dollar bill test and that helped me get the gasket touching all the way around. I was very happy to see that no smoke was leaking!
While the BGE was getting to the cooking temperature, I took the chickens out of the brine, washed them off with water, dried off the excess water, added rub all the way around, and placed them on upright chicken stands for the grill. Now, I was ready to add them to the BGE. I added a drip pan to the grill which contained water, apple juice, an onion, and some celery.
From previous experiences with my offset smoker, I was expecting to have to monitor the temperature of the grill and make constant adjustments. That was certainly not the case with the BGE. I think I adjusted the damper once or twice during the cook but that had more to do with me being obsessive about it rather than actually needing to adjust it. I was also expecting the cook would take about 6 hours to complete. With my offset smoker, I would usually have to take the chickens off and finish cooking them in the oven. I did not have to do this with the BGE. It only took 3 ½ hours at 300ºF.
I occasionally spritzed the chickens with apple juice during the cook. I took them off the grill when the thigh meat reached 170ºF. I also took them off the upright cookers and let them rest for 30 minutes before cutting them up. This rest period is so that the juices will not run out when you start cutting up the birds.
This chicken was very moist and delicious. It was the best chicken I have ever cooked on the grill. And, we also had extra for making chicken pot pie.
I am very pleased with the large BGE. I cut off the air flow after the cook and noticed that only half of the charcoal was burnt. I can reuse the remaining charcoal in the fire box for my next cook. I would usually go through about ¾ of a bag of charcoal with my offset smoker and I couldn't save any of the charcoal that remained in the fire box after the meat was done.
So, not only is the BGE a great grill for cooking, it is also more efficient with fuel usage. I'm now wondering why it took me so long to buy one of these grills.
Next up: Pulled Pork
