Is it worth it to cook a chicken?

[JPSBBQ]

Whew! I was worried it did HAVE to be for everything. Whew!

 

[CMTiger]

Whew! I was worried it did HAVE to be for everything. Whew!

If you have 13 of them like you do then is probably try and do everything on them

 

[JPSBBQ]

If you have 13 of them like you do then is probably try and do everything on them

I find that most just sit there and get lonely. I used to have more free time for cooking than I do now. I was just clowning around anyway.

 

[CMTiger]

I find that most just sit there and get lonely. I used to have more free time for cooking than I do now. I was just clowning around anyway.

Haha I was clowning back at you

 

[Scott_R]

Well, just did the chicken this evening.
I followed these guidelines, going for the dry brine on a rack in the fridge overnight. The next late morning I wiped the salt off the now-dry skin an put it back on the rack in the fridge. I put mesquite into the Traeger and set it to 325; while it was heating I put a rub on the chicken (Penzey's 33rd and Galena, which has no salt).
I have Meater thermometers, so I put two in the chicken (breast and thigh) along with the Traeger's probe, because why not. Oiled the grate and cooked.
I went by temperature, not time, so I pulled it when both Meaters had hit 165, confirmed by several spot checks with my Thermapen (about an hour and a quarter). Strangely, though the Traeger's probe was roughly parallel to one of the Meaters, it read >10 degrees higher. I suppose it could have somehow been right below the skin but I hadn't thought so--I even removed and reinserted it to be sure.
Gave the chicken a rest and carved.
The meat was tasty--moist and flavorful, and I could taste the smokiness. The skin was a big disappointment though; I've read others who've said that theirs was rubbery, but my chicken's was like leather. I guess the salt really dried it out but the grill never crisped it. My cardiologist would probably be pleased that I skipped the skin, but I do enjoy having a bit. Eating this skin, though, would have been masochistic.

Usually, my favorite spatchcock chicken recipe is this one from the NY Times (sorry, paywall). Fabulous results--crispy skin, drippingly moist interior. I don't know if this can be translated to the Traeger.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Well, just did the chicken this evening.
I followed these guidelines, going for the dry brine on a rack in the fridge overnight. The next late morning I wiped the salt off the now-dry skin an put it back on the rack in the fridge. I put mesquite into the Traeger and set it to 325; while it was heating I put a rub on the chicken (Penzey's 33rd and Galena, which has no salt).
I have Meater thermometers, so I put two in the chicken (breast and thigh) along with the Traeger's probe, because why not. Oiled the grate and cooked.
I went by temperature, not time, so I pulled it when both Meaters had hit 165, confirmed by several spot checks with my Thermapen (about an hour and a quarter). Strangely, though the Traeger's probe was roughly parallel to one of the Meaters, it read >10 degrees higher. I suppose it could have somehow been right below the skin but I hadn't thought so--I even removed and reinserted it to be sure.
Gave the chicken a rest and carved.
The meat was tasty--moist and flavorful, and I could taste the smokiness. The skin was a big disappointment though; I've read others who've said that theirs was rubbery, but my chicken's was like leather. I guess the salt really dried it out but the grill never crisped it. My cardiologist would probably be pleased that I skipped the skin, but I do enjoy having a bit. Eating this skin, though, would have been masochistic.

Usually, my favorite spatchcock chicken recipe is this one from the NY Times (sorry, paywall). Fabulous results--crispy skin, drippingly moist interior. I don't know if this can be translated to the Traeger.

I believe a dry brine requires salt. However, drying overnight uncovered in the fridge should have been a huge help. Also the initial quality of the bird is a huge factor. Some of the big brands sold at grocery stores is loaded with extra fat under the skin which is problematic. I often raise the temperature to 400 to get crispier skin in the last 1/3 of the cook. Also I utilize the upper rack if possible as the heat rolls off the top of the cooker which helps in the crisping. I’ve done tons of whole birds and love me some chicken. I like spatchcock method because it allows for the skin to have maximum exposure and will cook faster and more evenly. You can even cook skin down for a portion of the cook to help with your issue. Just keep at it and make incremental adjustments until you find what you like. Recipes are simply guidelines for ballpark results. Every bird is different as are the other proteins. The journey can be part of the fun. Sounds like it was a good start to me. Enjoy

 

[Scott_R]

I did a dry brine overnight with kosher salt mixed with ground black pepper, only wiping it off with a damp paper towel late the next morning (about 18 or so hours later), and let the skin dry off (from the damp towel) for a few hours.
The chicken I had was from a local farm.
I'll try raising the temp the next time.

 

[JPSBBQ]

I did a dry brine overnight with kosher salt mixed with ground black pepper, only wiping it off with a damp paper towel late the next morning (about 18 or so hours later), and let the skin dry off (from the damp towel) for a few hours.
The chicken I had was from a local farm.
I'll try raising the temp the next time.

Ah I see. No salt after the dry brine. Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Houseboater]

I have had some great luck with whole chickens starting at 225 for the first two hours, then raising the temperature to 325 for about 20 minutes until the breasts come up to temperature. Per the video, I only seasoned with salt and pepper and it was really good. Big compliments from my guests (who also own smokers) who raved about the crispy skin. And really easy so give it a try. Link to the recipe video is below....

 

[Robin R.]

Spatchcock chicken (or turkey) is fantastic on the Traeger. I've done dozens of chickens and Thanksgiving turkeys for the past 5 years. It's easy, fast and always comes out evenly cooked and juicy. I use butter and PGS (Pasta Girl Seasoning) every time.

 

[fpottle]

Brand new to Traeger, and I was thinking of doing a whole chicken--mainly because I already have one from a local farm in my freezer that I'd been meaning to use.

I've come to like doing whole chickens in my Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven (from the Instant Pot company)--they call it an air fryer but it looks like a cube-shaped toaster oven. For whole chickens and the like it has a rotisserie attachment, and it does a great job of roasting an up to almost 4-pound whole chicken in about an hour, moist inside, crispy skin.

From what I've been reading here, it's not so easy to do a whole chicken on a Traeger (I have a Pro 575). You need to spatchcock it, and people still report getting rubbery skin. Some advice has been to skip the smoking step and do it all at about 350 to ensure a crisp skin.

Presumably, one benefit to doing a chicken in a pellet grill is some smokiness. I suppose the question isn't can I do a whole chicken in the Traeger, but should I?

Traeger grills are EXTREMELY good at cooking chickens (and for that matter turkeys). In fact, the best poultry I’ve ever had has come out of my Timerline.

My favourite method is “Beer Can Chicken” and goes like this:

Open can of beer.
Drink the first third.
Put remainder on baking tray in Traeger
Ignite Traeger and set temp to 225 (super-smoke mode optional)

Chicken rub (Thanks to ‘Sam the Cooking Guy’ on YouTube for this):

1. Mix 2 tbsp avocado oil with 2 tbsp chipotle sauce. Any “high smoke point” oil will work.
2. Rub this sauce all over the chicken.
3. Mix the following dry ingredients to you liking:

(I use approx equal amounts of each)

Chipotle powder
Garlic powder
Ground Cumin
Salt
Black Pepper
Soft light Brown sugar

4. Rub dry rub into chicken skin.

Cooking:

When your Traeger reaches target temperature, take your chicken and push it onto the beer can (legs at the bottom, wings at the top).

Insert temperature probe into the chicken breast in a top-to-bottom direction leaving the tip of the probe at the thickest part of the breast. Set probe target temperature to 165.

Smoke for 15-30 mins depending on how much smoke you want.

Increase temperature to 350.

Continue to cook until probe reads 165. This will take roughly an hour from here (based on 4.5lbs chicken). Baste with melted butter twice during that hour.

Use thermopen to check the temp of the breast at other points, the thighs too. If all at 165 or above, you are done! Eat and enjoy!

 

[Scott_R]

The chicken meat was pretty good; it was the skin that was horrid.
I did get one of those ceramic beer can substitutes--I did have some concerns about the cans (ink on outside, plastic liner inside), but I also simply never have beer cans around, so this seemed like a good compromise.

 

[JPSBBQ]

The chicken meat was pretty good; it was the skin that was horrid.
I did get one of those ceramic beer can substitutes--I did have some concerns about the cans (ink on outside, plastic liner inside), but I also simply never have beer cans around, so this seemed like a good compromise.

Best ways to get crisp skin is drying in fridge overnight, dust with corn starch prior to cooking and/or raising the cook temp go 375-400.

 

[RayClem]

I have generally found that cooking large pieces of meat is easier than cooking small ones. I have not tried cooking a whole chicken, but I have done split chicken breasts with bone-in and skin-on. If your family likes chicken drumsticks, thighs, and wings, an entire chicken is the way to go.

If you do boneless, skinless chicken breasts, they will dry out if you cook them low and slow unless you do something to minimize moisture loss. I ended up with chicken jerky the first time I tried chicken breasts. That is why I now go for the largest split chicken breasts I can find.

 

[YYCRed]

I cooked 3 whole chickens and a boatload of chicken wings on Monday and all of the skin was crispy. I'm not going for smoke flavor, so I cook it at 350F until IT hits 150F and then blast it for 10 minutes or so at 450F. Super juicy meat and crispy skin.