Help!!! Mothers Day Smoke – Brined Chicken & Jerked Pork

[island boy]

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m having 4 Moms & their families over for dinner on Mothers Day.
The plan is:
Jerk a 9* Pork Shoulder – Already dressed (Marinated & sitting in the fridge) Still working on a good Jerk Recipe (Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s getting better) Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll post the recipe when I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s acceptable.
Brined & Smoked Chicken – I Plan to create a brine using the Jeffâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s formula:
1 Cup Salt
1 Cup Sugar
1 Gal Water

Adding – a couple heads of garlic, Lime, Rum, Scotch Bonnet Peppers along with some herbs & Spices.

My Challenge is – Space in the “Fridge†– Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking – Place the Chickens along with the brine solution (complete with spices etc) in a suitably sized cooler and adding a quantity of ice to keep the contents cool.

My question is will this work? Do I need to make changes to the brine formula? How much ice do I need to add. How long do I brine for with this combination? (12 hrs would be perfect but whateverâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s necessary Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll do) My concern of course is with the growth of bacteria.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d really like to find solution to this challenge; as my plan is to Brine & Smoke a Turkey for Thanks Giving and there is never enough refrigerator space at that time.

I know others have faced this challenge before & will have a workable solution to offer.

I will be trying to post Qviws as I go along.

Thanks in advance.

 

[waysideranch]

Island Boy,

Solution Is Simple. Tell Wife You Need A Second Frig. For The Garage. (that's What I Did). She May Yell But Its Worth It. Look For A Nice Used If Poss. Hopefully She Is For It. I Had Lots Of Convincing To Do . Remember This Leaves More Room For The Beer . God Luck.

 

[travcoman45]

The ice thing I'll work in a pinch, but I agree with wayside, get yerself a used fridge fer yourself, I got one in the basement just fer smokin vittles.

I use a 5 gallon bucket with lid to do all my brinin in. Works really well. Sets nice in the bottom of the fridge too.

As fer yer brine, should be fine, not what I use, but this is a to each there own portion of smokin. I also inject my birds. An overnight brine will be just fine, rinse em off and apply a generous amount of yer favorite rub.

I smoke at 250* till an internal of 170*. I spritz every hour. Get a nice skin, now mind ya it ain't fried crispy skin but still nice. Ifin ya's wan'ts a real crispy skin ya can toss yer bird in the oven at 300*-325* fer a bit and help crisp em up too.

My brine recipe is:

Slaughterhouse brine #1

1 1/2 Gal Water
1/2 C Salt
1/2 C Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Cajun Spice
2 tsp Celery Salt

My Injection Recipe:

Slaughterhouse Injection #1

1/2 Pkg Good Seasons Italian Dressing
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 Tbs melted Butter
2 C Apple Cider

My Spritz Recipe:

Slaughterhouse Spritz

8 oz Apple Cider
6 oz Water
4 oz Whiskey
2 oz Cider Vinegar

This spritz give a nice "shine" to yer birds as well as hepin out the skin texture.

Good luck on yer smoke and may the smoke gods smile upon yer cooker!

 

[pigcicles]

If your brine pot or bucket fits completely into the cooler you can put a little ice in the brine and pack ice around the outside of the pot to keep the brine temp below 40º. Keep the lid closed and you'll be fine.

 

[island boy]

Thanks for the responses all.

Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a part of the problem; I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have pots/buckets that will fit in the cooler with the lid closed. Buying a Fridge, cooler, pots or buckets is not an available option at this time.

Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the shortest effective brine time? (I'm still thinking of using ice in the brine solution in the cooler).

 

[flyin'illini]

I have been doing this just making sure to add enough ice to keep < 40. (a good cooler handles this fine) One suggestion here was to put the ice in a zip-lock to prevent it from melting and changing the ratio of your brine solution. (TX-HTR I think)

PS - I have a 2nd fridge, too but it is full.

 

[island boy]

Thanks for the response.
What does “(TX-HTR I think)†mean? How can I be sure that the temp is below 40*.

 

[williamzanzinger]

For the jerk, be sure to throw some whole allspice berries in with the wood.