Smoked Whole Chicken

First off... I apologize...the only picture I got that actually turned out, was of the full bird.  I did not get a picture of the beautiful meat on the inside.....you'll need to trust me on this one..it was smoked to perfection!!

Maybe it's a good thing that it take so long to smoke meat, because, honestly, after this weekend, I really don't want to eat my meat prepared any other way!!  I am now spoiled.  The flavor you get is unmatched.  And so far, everything I have smoked, with the exception of the potatoes, has been, perfectly cooked.  The meat just fell off the bone.  This chicken was way DELICIOUS!  You could definitely taste the smokey flavor in this...which I loved!  On the down side of it all.  I don't know if I just didn't have the probe in there right or if there is just something a bit faulty with it, but the meat thermometer did not read properly.  Again, I'm not going to say that it's broke or it sucks or anything like that.  I only used it once, so I need to try it again and see if it was the thermometer or just me....which is probably what it was.

I really must admit, I do love my new smoker.  I really cannot say thank you enough to Chris (Nibble Me This) for this great giveaway prize.  I would not say that I have mastered the smoker just yet... but I do feel pretty confident with using it.  Ok, Ok, so I ran outside every 10 minutes to make sure everything was fine, but still... that whole newness thing will wear off soon, I'm sure.  Masterbuilt has a wonderful product in this electric smoker.  Who knows, maybe some day they'll make me their spokesperson :) Hey, don't laugh, stranger things have happened!!

Anyway, the chicken was delicious, did I say that already?  Even though it took a bit longer then suggested through the dadgumthatsgood.com recipe, I was very pleased with the outcome.  The skin was perfectly tan, the breast was a beautiful shade of white, and the flavor was amazing!  I stuffed the chicken with a small lemon (cut in half), garlic, parsley, and thyme.  I sprinkled lemon pepper seasoning and garlic on the outside.  Those flavors combined with the smokey, hickory flavor....mmmmmmm....I can't even really describe the taste.  Oh, and let's not forget that in the water pan of the smoker, I added apple juice.  I don't know if could distinguish any apple flavor in the chicken, but you could smell the juice as it was heating up.  As I said before, the smokey flavor stood out more with the chicken then with the ribs I made on Saturday....but that's not a bad thing, it gave it a flavor I've only been able to get at a smokehouse or bbq joint.

Next week on the agenda:  Super Smoked Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings.....I mean it is football season and what's football season without some spicy wings???

Smoked Whole Chicken
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (mine was just over 4 lbs)
olive oil
garlic salt
lemon pepper seasoning
1 small lemon, halved or quartered
8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
handful of fresh parsley
springs of thyme (I used about 10 sprigs)

Additional items for smoking:
hickory chips (make sure to soak in water for at least 30 minutes)
12oz apple juice (I used Simply Apple apple juice)
1 cup water

Directions:
Clean out the insides of the chicken.  Rinse with water and pat dry.  Rub olive oil all over the chicken.  Season the entire bird with garlic salt and lemon pepper seasoning.  Stuff the bird with the lemon, garlic, parsley, and thyme.

Add the apple juice and cup water to the water pan of your smoker.  Add the hickory chips.  Let your smoker reach 220 degrees.  Place the whole chicken on a rack above the water pan, or place a rack in a shallow baking pan and place the chicken on that.  Smoke for 3-4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees.  Enjoy!