Want to smoke a chicken or two

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Anyone have good brine and rub recipes for smoking whole chickens?

[ltusler]

Keep it simple at first. Cut the backbone out, flatten out, dry brine with salt and pepper for a couple of hours and lightly smoke for 1.5 hours 250ish and the take their temp to be sure they are done.

[MBAtarga]

There was a rennlist post I saw the other day using the beer can method with spices rubbed on the chicken. You after something like that?

Edit: https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topic/998243-grilling-smoking-barbecue-results-post-pics-and-recipes-3.html

Reference post 43.

[Charles Freeborn]

I do mine in the big green egg. Basic rub recipe begins with a simple 4 part. Sweet Paprika, Black Pepper, Salt and Brown Sugar. From there you can go anywhere you want - Garam Marsala for an Indian angle, Smoky Hot Paprika and Cayenne for Cajun hot, dried herbs, cloves, the sky's the limit - or more accurately your imagination and taste(s).
Then I put on an upright rack thing in an 8" square baking tray with about an inch of water in it. Giblets go right into the tray/water. Run the egg at 275º -300º, indirect flame and the tray elevated from the stone (I use a couple of pieces of 1" angle iron) for 2 ½ hours or until the dark meat is at 140º. The water and drippings from the baking tray make the gravy. Save the carcass and bones for the best broth you'll ever have.

Here's a chicken and a mess 'o potatoes:

A chicken, a couple of flank steaks and an Acorn Squash

[aigel]

PM me your cell number or Email and I willl send you pictures of the recipe for beer can chicken from the Weber Way To Grill book. It is a basic but phenomenal rub with chili powder and garlic.

The beer can is optional- I ended up buying a stand instead.

G

[Danimal16]

Shaun,

I use Elton Browns 'Good Eats" turkey brine and rotisserie on alder chips.

Here is a link:

Good Eats Roast Turkey Recipe | Alton Brown | Food Network

Good stuff

[cabmandone]

You're going to need some really big rolling paper!
Honestly, I stopped using brine. I couldn't tell any difference with or without. I stuff the cavity with Lemon slices, Rosemary & Thyme and tie up with baker's twine. I use Weber spice rub for chicken and smoke with apple wood.

[Tobra]

Spices need to be basic, brine it, some pepper, done.

Different sorts of wood impart different flavors. I have a patient who has been doing the smoker thing for a fair bit of time. He uses like 8-10 different sorts of wood and makes jerky, beef and venison. Cherry, pecan, citrus et al. Beef jerky is just black pepper and smoke added to the salty.

OMG

I just gave him a big sack of cherry that I ran through a chipper. Let it dry out well for a few triple digit days in the sun. He thought it was going be twigs and branches, like the almond and the peach were. He was pretty psyched when he opened the bag, apparently saves a lot of work not having to break up the twigs.

Chicken on smoker put it standing up on a beer can with a bit of water, maybe beer if you want, tin pie pan under it so it has a place to drip that is not likely to combust. They make stands that have a small pan that clips on bottom, very handy.

Soak your woodchips in water for at least a few hours before you start, plan on it spending a while inside the smoker

[mattdavis11]

No need to brine. Liberally salt the cavity, Tony Chachere's creole seasoning is your rub. MESQUITE WOOD ONLY.

Always start breast up, temp around 225f, turn over after 2 hours, smoke for 2 more, wrap with foil, and finish it off in the oven at 200 for 2 hours.

It doesn't get any better than that.

[porsche4life]

This guy has some good BBQ recipes. I used his turkey brine and recipe and it comes out perfect.

HowToBBQRight - Barbecue Recipes from Competition BBQ Pitmaster

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Good replies, one and all, thanks. George, I sent you a PM.

I'm going to do 2 chickens, one using of the methods above and another I'm going to make a Thai chili butter and stuff it under the skin on the breasts. Will rub some of the puree on legs and around as well.

Will do them tomorrow if all goes well. Have to do some shopping.

[wdfifteen]

You've inspired me! Went out yesterday and bought a 5 pound ethically raised chicken. Injected it with garlic butter and put it in the smoker about noon. The menu tonight is smoked chicken, smoked new potatoes, and fried green tomatoes.

[wdfifteen]

Dinner was fabulous. The chicken came out great, moist and tender. I smoked some new potatoes and had planned for corn on the cob in the smoker too. By late afternoon I was tired and decided to do the corn on the stove. I'm glad, I don't think I'd enjoy a plate where everything was smoked. Fried green tomatoes were OK, I think they were a little too green and kind of tasteless. I came across a recipe for dirt simple macaroni and cheese in the smoker and decided to make a batch for my grandsons. OMG! It wasn't even on the menu but it was by far the best dish out of the smoker.



Salted for 24 hours, injected with an apple juice and garlic butter mixture.



After 4 hrs in the smoker, ready to finish in the oven.



Roasted potatoes on a bed of onions in the smoker.



Dinner is served!



The mac and cheese is fantastic, and dirt simple to make.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Wow that looks awesome!!!

You are a better man than I. I got all the ingredients and was supposed to get it all ready at lunch. But I started taking a 76 Targa apart and all of sudden is 6.

I think tomorrow is going to be a good smoking day. Recipe for mac & cheese?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

Recipe for mac & cheese?

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 pound Gouda cut in 1/4 chunks
1/2 pound shredded cheddar
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk

Use your imagination for spices and anything else you want to throw in it.

Throw it all together, mix it up, into the smoker at 230 for 2 hours. Stir now and then. The more often you stir, the smokier it gets.
That's it.

Next time I'm putting onions, corn, chopped tomato, and zucchini in it. Maybe stir in some browned ground beef near the end. It wouldn't be mac and cheese anymore, but on a chilly fall day it would go great with a beer and a football game on tv.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks. I won't do it this time but I could see bacon and corn in there.

[billybek]

I had a package of 5 large boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer and this thread got me thinking of doing something different with them.
Used a prepared rub for chicken by Pride of Szeged and mixed it with brown sugar and cane sugar.
Removed the tenders and sliced each breast in half.
Seasoned and brushed with olive oil.

I used a metal skewer and put a half lime at the top and layered the smaller tenders at the top of the skewers alternating in a piece of bacon kind of like the chicken at a shawarma shop then working up to the larger pieces at the bottom.

Used one of my drip pans with a tinfoil pie plate inside. Punctured the pie plate in multiple places to allow the liquid placed in the drip pan to boil off evenly. Used two additional skewers to keep the leaning tower of chicken breast from tipping over.

Lit up the BGE and brought it to about 225 deg F added some Alder for a light smoke and shoved the tower of chicken in.

It was AMAZING! A successful experiment that will be tried again. Chicken was soft and juicy which is tough to do with chicken breast due to how lean the meat is.

Will take a photo next time I try it.

[vash]

fresh nutmeg in mac/cheese all the time.

and i dont brine much anymore. i prefer to salt and season under the skin now. it like the texture of the cooked meat more. it isnt that silky, wet meat you get from a brined bird. it has more "tooth" salted.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

Thanks. I won't do it this time but I could see bacon and corn in there.

Bacon makes EVERYTHING better. On a side note, anyone know where I can get some bacon ice cream?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

it certainly does!

Just roasted some Thai chilis, 150K Scoville units but I took half the seeds out. Onion and garlic too.

Reduced some tamarind, fish sauce and coconut milk, let it cool, put it all in blender with some pickled ginger and half stick of butter. It's more of an awesome Pad Thai sauce than anything else. In the fridge now, I'll cut slivers tomorrow and work the butter sauce under the breast skin and then rub it all over as well.

Other chicken I'm partial to doing plain jane salt & pepper like I do with briskets, and crock pot Boston butts. Then you can do anything with the meat.