Page 93 - Barbecue Chicken Made Easy

So it’s best to remove the bird at 155 to 160°F in the breast and 160 to 165°F in the thighs to allow for carry-over. It will be safe. And juicier.
How long does this take? Actual cooking time will vary depending on how well the chicken is defrosted, whether or not you brined or injected, what temperature your fridge is, if it sat at room temperature for a while, how close your bird is to the gravy pan, how well your cooker holds steady, the quality and accuracy of your thermometers, airflow within the cooker, humidity in the cooker, and the breast size of your bird. That's a lot of variables! We’ll give you estimates in our recipes, but remember, cook with a thermometer, not a watch.
Digital thermometers
As for monitoring and maintaining the desired grill/smoker temperature, the built-in thermometers are generally worthless. To become master of your instrument, you need a good digital oven thermometer and you will need to spend a few hours trying the different combinations and writing down the oven temp so you can use your notes later.
You also want a thermometer that can measure food temperature in 5 seconds or less. Here is the Thermoworks Dot for about $40, the best all-purpose thermometer going for the price. It can be clipped