Would you smoke a chicken for 9 hours?

[Pappymn]

Got into a Facebook discussion on the Mak page with a guy who smokes chicken for 9 hours at 170 degrees. I had concerns about food safety.

Would you do it?

[smoker pete]

I absolutely see no reason to smoke a chicken for 9 hours at 170ºF. I've smoked poultry (chicken, turkey, Cornish Hens) for an hour or so at the smoke setting before bumping the pit temperature to something between 320ºF and 400ºF to finish off the cook. But keeping poultry at a low internal temperature for an extended period of time is something I would never do!

I'm no expert but why would someone want to spend 9 hours smoking a chicken? For me the smoke setting is used to infuse smoke flavor into the meat and not cook the entire protein. I could see using the smoke setting for many hours when using my smoker box on my MAK 2 Star to cold smoke something ... But not 9 hours for a chicken.

[Big Dawg]

I hate having to wait 9 hours for some nice pulled pork, no way I'd wait that long for some yardbird . . . and think if the skin ! ! !





BD

[GusRobin]

I would think it would be on the dry side.

[rwalters]

Interestingly enough, last year I was talking w/ Bruce Bjorkman (Mr. BBQ) before he retired from MAK Grills. He had placed a turkey in his 2 Star and set it to Smoke with the intention of kicking up the temp after a bit of smoking time had passed. Well, there was an unexpected emergency and he had to take his wife into the ER. 9ish hours later upon their return, he was fully expecting to have to toss the turkey that he had forgotten about in their rush to leave the house. To his surprise it ended up being one of, if not, the best turkey he’s ever cooked. Go figure...

[sparky]

Nope, not with chicken.

[teesquare]

At 170F....the water in the bird will not "boil out". But I would be curious as to if a chicken would hold up to 9hrs. like a turkey. I would think not. Much smaller mass.

[Ka Honu]

I'll deny ever having said it, but I agree with tee.

My "go to" method of roasting turkey is low and slow (at about 170-180^oF) - takes 10 or more hours for 12-14 pounds - but I'm not sure a chicken could spend that much time in the sauna.

[smokeasaurus]

Nope. I cook em hot and fast. Don't want to get sick and I like crispy skin.

[TentHunteR]

At 170° the chicken is never sitting in the "Danger Zone".  It's within hot-smoke temperatures, so it is being cooked while being smoked and provided it gets up to an I.T. above 132° within four hours, it should be perfectly safe from a safety standpoint.  If a turkey can withstand those temps from a safety standpoint then a chicken, which would come up to temp quicker, certainly can.

I have a friend who does a turkey every year at hot-smoke temps and I have to say it turns out pretty dang good (the skin is a bit leathery but the meat is succulent).

I usually spatchcock and go hot & fast, but whole chickens are cheap. I wouldn't be afraid to try one.

[sparky]

Come on cliff.  You one of the smartest people I know.  I can't believe you would try that.

[Pappymn]

Well I guess I learned something today. But I bet the skin was garbage


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[Ka Honu]

I have a friend who does a turkey every year at hot-smoke temps and I have to say it turns out pretty dang good (the skin is a bit leathery but the meat is succulent).

I guess I should have said that I usually cook my turkey in the oven at 500^oF for 15 minutes and then lower the temp to 170-180^oF until it's done. I've always thought that the 500^o takes care of the safety issues and the skin ends up decently crispy so I kind of agree with Cliff, too (and I'm not afraid to admit it).

Still don't know if it carries over to chicken but I don't crave smoked chicken that often and as long as Costco sells rotisserie chicken that's cheaper and far less trouble than anything I can make, I'll probably never find out.

[Pappymn]

I have a friend who does a turkey every year at hot-smoke temps and I have to say it turns out pretty dang good (the skin is a bit leathery but the meat is succulent).

I guess I should have said that I usually cook my turkey in the oven at 500^oF for 15 minutes and then lower the temp to 170-180^oF until it's done. I've always thought that the 500^o takes care of the safety issues and the skin ends up decently crispy so I kind of agree with Cliff, too (and I'm not afraid to admit it).

Still don't know if it carries over to chicken but I don't crave smoked chicken that often and as long as Costco sells rotisserie chicken that's cheaper and far less trouble than anything I can make, I'll probably never find out.

Agreed. 5 buck chicken that isn't over cooked by much is hard to beat


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[RAD]

Nope. I cook em hot and fast. Don't want to get sick and I like crispy skin.

Same here.