My wife is not a big red meat eater so I cook a lot of chicken... probably 6 or so birds a month.  I normally buy a 2 pack of Foster Farms birds from Costco for around $12-14.  I add 1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of kosher salt into a bucket and will let the birds brine for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 24 hours.  I dry the birds off with paper towels then truss them. 

I apply a generous coat of Tony Chachere's:
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Then they go into the smoker at 225:
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for about 3 hours:
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I then foil them and let them rest in the cooler for 1-2 hours:
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Very moist, great taste, super easy!

Looks great. Easily my number 1 most used off the shelf seasoning mix.

Tony Chachere's ..... Way too salty! .... but that's what makes America great. ..... everyone can use what they want. ..... But, Once you wein off the salt fix, you won't believe it. .... But, The birds do look gorgeous! LSFS.

Those are some fine looking birds LSFS!    I like to use Tony Chacheres to inject into a boneless turkey breast.  I grind it up to a fine powder in a little coffee grinder and mix it with water to inject as a slurry.  Don't open the grinder right away or you can take it outside.

The first time I tried it I didn't grind it up.  Plugged up my injector needle.  DOH!

BP

Good lookin birds, how was the skin.

Why the Chicken Bondage? What does that do?

>probably 6 or so birds a month.

I heard on the news yesterday that the US consumes 9 billion chickens per year. Looks like you're doing your part

Those look great.

Why the Chicken Bondage? What does that do?

When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful smoked bird.

Sure looks good 

Beautiful birds.  Never considered Tony's for this.  Now I need to try it.  Thanks.

For those who find Tony's too salty -
From Tony's cookbook, his Creole Seasoning is:

26 oz salt
1.5 oz ground black pepper
2 oz ground red pepper
1 oz garlic powder
1 oz chili powder

The recipe used to have an ounce of Accent in it.  I use 1/4 of the salt and put the Accent back in.  I don't know for sure but I don't think this recipe is in the newer printings.

Beautiful birds!

My grocery store (Harris Teeter in NC) carries the salt free version of Tony Chacheres seasoning. It's also available on Amazon. I've never tried it but I'm a huge fan of the regular version.

Maineac,
Is that 26 oz of salt or 2.6 oz of Salt?

Maineac,
Is that 26 oz of salt or 2.6 oz of Salt?

That is 26 ounces!  In fact, it's written, "26-ounce box free flowing salt (Morton's)"
It's easy to see why many think it's too salty.  He also says, "If too peppery for children, add more salt to mixture..."

Sounds like a "Blood Pressure Rocket" to me. ..... 26oz?

We use Tony's a lot as a seasoning. A light sprinkle here and there is good, but I made the mistake of using it as a rub on a bird last year and it made it mostly inedible. Looking at the recipe Maineac posted it's easy to see why. If you use it, sprinkle it on at the same rate you would add salt.