Ain't Smokin' A Turkey Q View with Onions

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wntrlnd

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Oct 18, 2009
283
14
out on the western plain
I'm travelling tomorrow, so I'll have to wait until Saturday to cook my turkey. 

Had the day off today, though, and I smoked some chicken quarters, a beef keilbasa, some chicken-apple sausages and a few onions.

Didn't decide to smoke until about 10 am this morning so there was no time to brine the chicken, I just hit the meaty side with some salt and pepper.

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Here's a presmoke group shot:

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OK, everybody in the pool!

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Next thing you know, ol' Jed's a Millionaire!

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I tried one of those legs as soon as it cooled off enough to bite into,  OOOOoooooWeeeeeeeeee!  That's good chciken!

We'll start off with a Greek salad, with Persian cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta cheese:

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And here's that chicken (minus the skin, which looks great, photographs great, but, lol, you wouldn't want to eat it!), with some rice and a couple bites of sausages:

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Hope you enjoyed the Q view!

Thanks for lookin' in!
 
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I want to be like you!!!   that looks great

I have not smoked any chiken yet...   how long at what temp?  What internal temp do you go to?

I am curious...   what do you make with the onions after they come out of the smoker looking so great!! 

thanks for sharing
 
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Now I really like the chicken and the color was awesome.
 
Just posted the dinner pix!
MMMMM.....looks GOOD. The color on the chicken is bee-yoo-tee-full!
Thanks, BarbeQueen!   Thank you very much! 
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Quote:
Nice lookin quarters, love the onions! What was your wood of choice on this smoke?


Thanks, buddy!  As you see, I wasn't doing the comp method you taught me.  My main goal today (besides dinner tonight) was cooking off some chicken to use in other recipes next week, so I didn't need to end up with edible skin.  Still much obliged to you for sharing 'the way'! 

I'm cooking with almond, and I'm pretty happy with it.  Sort of mellow, not obtrusive.

Thanks again for the compliment! 
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I want to be like you!!!   that looks great

I have not smoked any chiken yet...   how long at what temp?  What internal temp do you go to?

I am curious...   what do you make with the onions after they come out of the smoker looking so great!! 

thanks for sharing

Hey dalton, thanks for the comments!   I smoked these quarters at between 240 and 270 for about 2 and a half hours, took them to 165 internal temp.before I pulled them off.

Glad you asked about the onions!  I chop them up and freeze them.  They're great in just about anything you usually use onions for and want to add a little sublte smoke flavor to.  I've used them in spaghetti sauce, soups, chili, as a condiment on sandwiches and in omelets.  As soon as you have some, you'll think of dozens of applications.


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Now I really like the chicken and the color was awesome.
Thanks, Mark!   The smoke on that chicken was just right, and the chicken itself was moist and tasty. 

As I mentioned above, the chicken skin sure looks good and photographs well, but it's inedible!  It did its job, though, keeping the quarters from drying out in the smoker. 
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Hey Wntrlnd, Once you understand how the skin behaves in different temps, and smoke. It sure makes a world of difference in the finished product!  Glad to see a fellow smoker pull another one off!! 
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Hey Wntrlnd, Once you understand how the skin behaves in different temps, and smoke. It sure makes a world of difference in the finished product!  Glad to see a fellow smoker pull another one off!! 
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Thanks, buddy!   And yeah, I'm just beginning to start to really get that skin/temp thing!  I plan on doing some more research into the subject because research is delicious!   


I with you on the skin, I love it but use it for stock.


Wow, meateater!  I guess Great Minds Think Alike because that's exactly what I did with the skins.  I didn't even know if it was a good idea or not.  But right before I was going to toss them I thought, hmmmm, I wonder if I could make smoked chicken stock with these? 

And then I thought, hmmm, If it works,  I bet I could use that stock to make the gravy for the turkey I'm cooking on Saturday.  So, I made stock last night.  

Now that you mentioned you make stock with the smoked skin, I know it's going to be great!

Also, now I know to always save and freeze extra smoked skin in the future for stock making.  No sense in wasting usuable smoke saturated ANYTHING!
 
I see jalapeno peppers and onions...What Up Wit Dat?

Chix Legs look awesome!

Todd
 
Great nlooking quarters, I really like the idea on the smoked onion for ingredients on other thing, I will have to give that a try, would you mind some detais on temps & such on the onions?
 
I see jalapeno peppers and onions...What Up Wit Dat?

Chix Legs look awesome!

Todd
Thanks, Todd!  By the way, I just opened my A Maze N smoker, and I can't wait to try it out! 

Yeah, the jalapenoes thought they were going to become ABTs, but it didn't work out.  Instead they're proably going to sneak into the turkey stuffing I'm preparing today to go with the turkey I'm cooking tomorrow.

As I mentioned elsewhere above, the onions got chopped up and frozen, to be used in various other recipes down the road.


Great nlooking quarters, I really like the idea on the smoked onion for ingredients on other thing, I will have to give that a try, would you mind some detais on temps & such on the onions?
Thanks, tbakko!  All I do to the onions is take off the outermost layer of skin, shave a little sliver off bottom (so it will sit on the grill) and slice it about half way through so the smoke can get into the middle some.

I put them in the smoker at the far end away from the firebox and let them cook at whatever temp I'm smoking at for a couple hours.  This time I was doing chicken, so I was running at about 250.  YOu can sort of tell when they're done, they get a nice rich brown color. 

It's astounding how much smoke they can take on.  When you pull a bag of these frozen onions out of the freezer, you can smell the smoke before you even open the bag.  And the smoked opnions blend really nicely into whatver you're cooking, adding a subtle smokiness...not overpowering at all.
 
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Thanks, SQWIB!   Nope, oil or no butter, just good ol' chicken skin 
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And the stock I made from the bones and skin from these leg quarters was outta sight!  First time I tried making stock with smoked stuff, and I was really happy with the smoky flavor in the end product.

I used that smokey stock last night to make the dressing for the turkey I'm cooking today.  I didn't know if the smoke would come through all the other flavors, but it did, and it added a depth of flavor that I really like.

Hope you and the family had a great and Happy Thanksgiving, SQWIB!
Damn! that skin looks awesome, no oil or butter?

all Looks good, thanks for making me hungry!
 
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