I did change the brine proportions... as it was for my son's birthday, I increased it to give it more flavor; I knew he'd like it. I made it up with:
10 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 tablespoon of DQ Cure
I smoked it until the breast was 170° F, let set 10 min, then chilled for 2 hours until we had to leave for the party. I made up 10 lbs. of summer sausage and sliced up about 6 lbs. of it ahead of time and put it in a ziploc, plus a 3 lb. chunk of Cabot Extra Sharp white cheddar cut into 1"x1"x1/8" pieces with Spicy Brown Mustard and Townhouse crackers on a serving dish. I carved up the chicken in front of everyone, deboning and skinning it (had several jump at the skin, scarfing it down!) and cutting into bite-sized pieces, filling a plate (it was a 5lb. fryer, a big bird). Everybody went absolutely NUTS over the chicken, plus loved the summer sausage (I've taken that for several years to his parties) and cheese, crackers and mustard. No one had ever tasted a true smoked chicken and raved that it was a delicasy (which, actually, it is). As long as it was free, they dove into it! Just about everyone who arrived my son had to take them over to the table to have them try "Dad's pickled and smoked chicken meat", plus it was another excuse for him to grab some more too! And, most of all, my wife agreed it was better than the previous one! So that's my brine and I'm stickin' to it! haha!
I brined it for the same amount of time, 3 full days. If you get the chance to try it, let me know how you liked it!
I'd like to try it with quarteredd chicken legs, the 5lb. bag you can get cheap if the budget allows. Maybe in a week or two.