Kamado Joe Joetisserie Chicken
I keep ticking things off the wish list and I keep being inspired by the versatility of the Kamado Joe Classic. The Joetisserie got a call-up this weekend for a Kamado Joe Joetisserie Chicken.
Kamado set-up, a little unconventional
Joetisserie cooks are pretty easy to set up, for this chicken I was aiming for a dome temp of around 350f and a likely duration of around 1.5hrs. However, I wanted to cook some roast veggies (corn, pumpkin, potatoes) so I needed to be a little creative with the grill rack set up etc. The downside of the classic size, perhaps a Big Joe (or Joe Jr) is in order.
I removed the fire box ring and placed the ½ moon standard D&C rack directly on top of the fire box, this was for the veggies to sit on. I then placed a heat deflector vertical as a divider to add a bit of protection from the direct heat of the fire. Being down that low and so close I was worried I would end up with nothing but a scorched mess. It pays to experiment.
With the dome temp almost at where I wanted it, in went the veggies. I knew it would be a tight time frame to get the veggies done at the same time as the chicken, so I gave them an extra ½ hr or so.
Veggie prep
- Corn – left in the husk, adds some protection from the direct heat.
- Pumpkin – A ½ of a medium-sized butternut pumpkin, cut in ½ again. The skin on (important to add some protection to direct heat)
- Potatoes – 4 largish quartered, sprinkled with a little veggie oil and a light dusting of the same rub.
These were then placed on the rack for the best fit.
Prepping the chicken.
Nothing too fancy here, a dash of olive oil (as a binder) and then simply add a liberal coating of “Plow Boys BBQ – Yardbird Rub.” The colour straight out of the shaker was amazing. My method of applying rub is to sprinkle a little and let it “soak” in then add some more. Make sure that all sides were covered well.
Threading the Kamado Joe Joetisserie Chicken.
Learning from the last cook, this time I measured where the centre was to be and locked in one side of the prongs before I added the chicken. On with the chicken, I didn’t have any butchers string to truss the legs and wings so I threaded the chicken on in such a way that helped hold the limbs in place. A bit tricky, but possible. Next time I’ll definitely use some butchers string. As during the cook, one of the wings did come loose.
Now for the fire
Dome temp was holding steady at around the 350f mark, as with previous cooks with the Joetisserie, vents a little more open than normal, accounting for the holes in the Joetisserie ring etc. Veggies were looking good and had progressed pretty well.
Mounted the Joetisserie into the motor and switched on, checked for good rotation and found an issue with the bird spinning one way the wing caught the deflector I had in place. With a cycle of the motor on/off switch (a couple of time) the direction was reversed and we are good to go.
See you in around an hour and a half.
Check-in time
At around the hour mark, I check the veggies and felt that they weren’t cooking quick enough so I removed the deflector that I had standing vertically and allowed for a bit more direct heat. Fingers crossed.
Done
1 hr and 35 mins the temperature of the breast and thigh were exactly where I was aiming for around 75 deg c, time to remove the chicken and let the veggies finish off. I removed the chicken and placed a foil tent over, just to let it rest while I got the plates and veggies done etc.
Time to eat.
OMG – simply the best damn chicken I have EVER eaten. Now I am not a roast chicken fan, or at least I wasn’t. From now on I am a Joetisserie roast chicken fan.
My wife and kids loved it, the flavour was amazing. There was a little bit of spice in the rub but nothing overpowering. Couldn’t stop eating the skin. The flavour throughout the chicken was subtle, but definitely there. All parts of the chicken were still so juicy.
The corn and the pumpkin worked out perfect, but the potatoes were a fail – wasn’t enough time.
Joe On !!!
