This behemoth Roaster Chicken weighed in at 5½ pounds! My local SaveMart had Foster Farms fresh roasters on sale for 99¢/lb ... I couldn't pass it up. Rubbed on/under the skin with Roasted Garlic EVOO and Lawry's Perfect Blend Chicken & Poultry Rub. Wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 5 hours.
Preheated the Green Mountain Grill Davy Crockett Smoker-Grill to 225ºF with Pacific Pellet Gourmet Hickory pellets. Smoked the chicken for an hour. Used a roaster rack for easier handling and an aluminum pan to catch the drippings.
Raised the temperature to 375ºF and roasted the chicken until the thickest part of the breast reached an internal temperature of 170ºF. As always, cook to temperature not time but this yardbird took almost 4 hours to come to temp.
Don't be fooled into thinking that cooking a whole chicken will take close to the same amount of time that it takes to cook chicken parts. This bird took nearly 4 hours but when using this method on breast, drumsticks, or thighs it only takes 2 hours.
Zucchini Noodles with Smoked Chicken Alfredo - Smokin' Pete's BBQ
[…] the noodles are draining, mix leftover hickory smoked chicken with sauteed celery/onion/mushrooms and a jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce. Seasoned with […]
John
So is the total cook time 5hrs including smoking? (1hr smoking + 4hrs roasting?)
smokerpete
Total cook time was 4 hours John. 1 hour at 225ºF (smoking) and 3 hours at 375ºF. But the key is that you must always cook to internal temperatures. In this case – 170ºF for the thickest part of the breast which should bring the dark meat (thighs & drumsticks) to 180ºF or more. The dark meat can easily go beyond 180ºF. Besides the 4 hours cooking time there was also 30 minutes for preheating and 15-20 minutes resting loosely under a foil tent. Don’t forget that this cook involved a 5.5 pound whole chicken … most chickens will not be that big and will take less time smoke/cook.
John
Thanks for the info, I like big chickens too. I’m trying out a dry brine with my Thanksgiving turkey using coarse salt and custom herb mix, wish me luck!
Tim
Hey Pete,
I notice that you have foil on your grease tray.. Is it on both or just the top one? Does it affect the temperature?
I just got one and messing about with it..
Thanks
smokerpete
For all my wood pellet smoker-grills I have always foiled the grease tray from day one. With the Green Mountain Grills (GMG) Davy Crockett I found that foiling both trays was easier. I just helped my Nephew come up to speed with his new GMG Daniel Boone and we only foiled the top tray because of the difference in the design. I have never been a fan of allowing drippings, etc cake on my trays. So much easier to replace the foil and keep the smoke clean.
To the best of my knowledge I have not seen the foil affect the temperature of the pit. As you know, the holes are closed when you have an indirect cooking setup. A thin layer of heavy duty foil on the grease tray should not change the pit temperature. I use the big wide sheets of heavy duty foil that I find in big box stores like Costco, Sams, etc.
Tim
thanks sooo much… I tried it out for the first time for TG and it was a lot to do.. Kept “failing” on me and I would restart over and over.. Finally got it going and then all my pellets were gone.. hahaha.. I finished it off in the oven and the turkey was amazing..
The grease trays weren’t easy to figure out as far as if I should leave opened or closed (where the holes are blocked) and they slide pretty easy.. I searched far and wide for youtube videos showing exactly how but none (not even the how to on the site)
So I left opened and the turkey was a little burnt but taste… great…
Have you ever tried the Don Godke downdrafts? Recommend? Or a thermal blanket for it?
Sorry for so many questions..
smokerpete
You’ve probably already figured out that in order to smoke/cook using indirect heating you must have the holes closed. Most people use indirect cooking for 90% plus of their cooks. For direct cooking the holes must be open. When I used direct cooking I open the holes, cover with foil, and the use a philips screw driver to punch the hole in the foil. I will use direct cooking for steaks, chops, or hamburgers.
Until you mentioned it I had never heard of the Don Godke Downdraft. Looked it up and I personally don’t see a need for one. I may be wrong but it doesn’t look like they make one for the Davy Crockett.
Thermal Blankets are supposed to work fine but I haven’t seen one for the Davy Crockett. I don’t have a need for one cause where I live in California it only gets down to the 50s during the winter.
Tim
Yes I “figured out” the hole situation through the error of my black skin turkey (still was tasty)
The trays slide so easy against each other so I didn’t know if I had it in there correct and any video of the DC has black trays..
Thanks for the tip of the foil and hole punching.. I guess after I clean up the trays then I’ll do so from now on.. I should’ve checked in with ya before..
They do make a downdraft for the DC but I didn’t know if you had experienced hot zones on yours.. I rotated the turkey a few times because it had gotten dark on one side but could be because I was freaking out about the machine and it’s constant failing..
I also live in Ca. (southern) and I was just thinking a blanket for the DC because I’m not sure and hopefully you can advise if the colder temperatures affect the DC..
Thanks for all your help and great recipes!
smokerpete
When I first got my Davy Crockett (DC) I had issues with the left side being hotter than the right side. I rectified the issue by rotating the food just like you did. I contacted Green Mountain Grills and they sent me a new heat deflector. But I bought my DC when it first came out so there were problems they had to work out. The newer units have fixed most issues. Bottom line is that it’s extremely important to learn your unit. Run a few tests like the biscuit test which will tell you the hot spots, etc. Use temp probes to map the temps of your unit in different locations of your pit.
I would say that a thermal blanket is more appropriate for areas where it gets really cold and snows. Ambient temperature will affect a unit and a blanket will keep heat in. The colder the ambient temp the harder the unit has to work to maintain temps. It may not hurt to own a thermal blanket but I personally haven’t seen a need for one.
Tim
btw…. http://dongodkesdowndraft.com/green-mountain-grills-davy-crockett/
Tim
Oh gosh.. More work.. (the biscuit test) hahahaa… Guess I’ll figure out how to do so..
Not sure if I have an older or newer unit being as though I bought on sale from Sam’s Club and when I called they said the unit I had was a Canadian unit??? Whatever that means…
Thanks so much for the help and advice and definitely appreciate your recipes and tips.. Do you still use your SRG as much? I have put that on break but might have to pull back out.. Have you heard of the Tommy ring for that unit??
Full of questions here.. hahahaha
smokerpete
One easy method to test the grill surface temperatures for uniform heat and hotspots is the biscuit test. Pick up a package of refrigerator biscuits and space them in the corners, front, rear, and center. Cook the biscuits according to the directions on the package. Place and cook your food according to the information gained. If one side cooks hotter than the other you’ll see that biscuit done before the others.
No clue as to what a Canadian unit might be. I wouldn’t think that Green Mountains Grills would build a special unit for Canada but you never know. If they did it would be a unit that would better withstand the colder harsher temps of up North.
About the only thing I use my SRG for these days is baked potatoes. They are fantastic in the SRG. Clean and dry your baking potatoes, rub with roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil and season them with salt/pepper … I prefer using Fagundes Seasoning. Cook on HIGH with lid open for about 1½ hours until the internal temperature of the spuds reach 210ºF.
I’ve heard of the Tommy Ring … Member TMB (Tommy) on the Forum Let’s Talk BBQ is the King/Master when it comes to SRGs and he invented it. Many people on the Forum are now using his ring.
Are you a member of Let’s Talk BBQ Forum? I am … known as “smoker pete”.
Tim
Thanks for the biscuit tip.. I’ll definitely use this test. The “Canadian unit” definitely didn’t perform anything unusual on TG.. For some reason the day of and after brought in some serious winds and cold (Thanks Murphy)
I joined the forum about 2 weeks ago (Timcee) and I’ve been searching high and low for the Tommy ring but haven’t been able to find one.. I love toys and am wondering if it’ll really make a difference.. I’ll also be trying potatoes on the SRG too… Thanks for that tip! Although I’m not ready to just hand it over to just potatoes yet.. My wife’s favorite turkey was done on it (last year) so some kind of way I’ll have to take another stab at recreating that.
Thanks so much for the wisdom!
smokerpete
Next time you login to Let’s Talk BBQ forum send Tommy a personal message by going to “My Messages” -> “Send a Message” and in the To: put in TMB. For Subject: put in something like … Tommy Ring question and ask him all about his invention, where and how to get one, etc.
John Mooney
Hello, 2 years after you posted the recipe, on March of 2018, we followed the recipe to the ‘T’ on our brand new GMG smoker grill. The chicken weighed 5.8 lbs, slightly heavier than the one in the recipe. Cooking time was 1 hr at 225 and 1.5 hrs at 375 deg F for a total of 3.5 hrs cooking time (170 deg finished product temp). It was the most flavorful and moist chicken we’ve ever tasted. Heck, I was able to cut the chicken with a fork. I have no idea how or why it took us a 1.5 hrs shorter cooking time than posted. Either way, we loved it. Thanks, from John M
John Mooney
Correction, 2.5 hrs total cooking time. John M.
Tim
Hey thank you so much… Sorry for the delayed response.. been sick with whatever that’s been going around.. I will definitely ask about the ring and see if it’s something I need to pick up.. Thanks again!
Corey
Where can I get a small roast rack like your’s to fit in the Davy Crockett? Can’t find any around my area for that size. Thank’s
smokerpete
I believe I bought, at Costco, a Select brand 16″x12″x3″ Aluminum non-stick Roaster with “V” Rack a few years back. Turns out the “V” rack which is 12″x10″ fits nicely in the Davy Crockett. I kind of stretched out an aluminum pan so that the “V” rack would be stable in the Davy Crockett. The “V” rack legs are orientated in the same direction as the grate and it wobbled. The aluminum pan also caught the drippings which kept the grill clean and could be used for gravy if ones desires. I’ve made a few searches on the web and I haven’t been able to find a 12″x10″ V rack. If I find one I’ll let you know.
Steve Christoph
Can you cook this chicken directly on the grill grates.?
smokerpete
Yes you can cook the chicken directly on the grill grates Steve. I wanted to save the drippings for a scrumptious gravy. When I do cook directly on the grill grates I like to use Frogmats Non Stick Grill Mat ( https://amzn.to/2sC5m9c ) but you don’t have to. I also always foil my grill for easy cleanup … Pete
Libby Calnon
We followed this recipe yesterday on our brand new GMG Daniel Boone grill. Amazing! Thank you. 🙂
Libby Calnon
Thank you for this recipe. We followed this yesterday on our brand new GMG Daniel Boone grill. It was amazing!
smokerpete
The GMG Daniel Boone is a great unit. Glad to hear to recipe worked for you … Pete