Question about cooking time...

[Nomad]

Just got a 1400 and cured it last night. Today I marinated some medium-large bone in chicken breasts and set at 225 with a remote thermometer. Was gone 50 minutes and the temp read 173. I got one out and cut to the middle and it was very moist but all white, no pink. I eventually took off at 180. It was all done, I believe but from all I've read it seemed to cook way too fast.

I used one of the block pieces of wood that comes with the unit plus a couple of pieces of real charcoal. Does it sound like my unit is cooking way hotter than 225? It was about 85 degrees out and the smoker was out of the sun.

[antler]

I always go specifically by the internal temp. One thing that always effects the cooking temp/time is the condition of the chicken when you start. I used to do 6 double breast (whole-which I can't get anymore) and if the middle had not thawed out completely it would take longer. You indicated that the chicken was the first thing you cooked after the initial seasoning of the box, I believe the heat sensor would not have any of the build up of smoke and grease that changes its sensetivity early on. Keep using the thermometer and your smoked food should be just right. Keep at it.

[kylougrad]

I was told to not use the wood blocks that came with the smoker for anything but breaking it in. They told me to throw away any left over, don't use it for food smoking.

Keep trying with real wood chunks and not too much..you'll get a much better flavor. Ilike apple for chicken.