I've cooked quite a few chickens before, but never have I smoked one. I used to almost turn my nose up to the idea of smoking a chicken because if i roasted it i could use the drippings to make gravy. GRAVY! But since I just bought a smoker somewhat impulsively and a whole chicken was the only protein in my freezer I decided that it was the way to go, and my oh my was I happy...
It started out with a simple brine - water, salt, honey, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, peppercorns.
I had read the success people have with spatchcocking chickens first so i butterflied it open, crammed it in a dutch oven, drowned it in brine, and left it to time.
12 hours later and a nice rinse in the sink and i was ready for a rub. I had made a bbq rub a while back and i have trouble remembering every ingredient. Its largely brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, onion, and garlic.
EXTREME CLOSE UP!
Here's where things got a little interesting...
I had a little trouble getting the desired temperature in the smoker. First it was about 450. Then i took some coals out and it dropped to 325, which is exactly what i wanted. it ended up dropping down to about 220 later on and i had to add some coals. On a side note, whats the best way to gain more temperature? i simply dropped coals straight from the bag into tray under the smoker but they took a while to catch fire and put off heat, should i have lit them in the chimney lighter first?
anyways this is what progress looks like
(you want atleast 6 feet between open fires and your house right? thought so.)
this is what my crazy neighbors yard looks like (i counted 11 litter boxes, 3 rubber maid containers, 2 crates, 4 flower pots, and 1 plastic dish rack)
and the final product...
Ive never had chicken this good before. Usually i don't even eat chicken breasts cause they're dry. I can roast a mean chicken in the oven but the breast is still too dry for my liking (im also a thigh man) but this was perfect, absolutely perfect.
I learned a lot this round. I should let my wood chips soak longer than 1 hour, and i probably don't need as much just for 1 chicken (it was about 3 handfuls of chunks, maybe 2 lbs?). 1 good layer of charcoal on the bottom is enough to heat my smoker to 325, not the large pile that i started with. And starting this project in the early afternoon will not only make my food ready at a reasonable hour, it won't leave me cooking in the dark.
Hope you enjoyed this, what should i tackle next week. Brisket? Pork butt? Wings? Salmon? I'm leaning towards brisket.
It started out with a simple brine - water, salt, honey, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, peppercorns.
I had read the success people have with spatchcocking chickens first so i butterflied it open, crammed it in a dutch oven, drowned it in brine, and left it to time.
12 hours later and a nice rinse in the sink and i was ready for a rub. I had made a bbq rub a while back and i have trouble remembering every ingredient. Its largely brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, onion, and garlic.
EXTREME CLOSE UP!
Here's where things got a little interesting...
I had a little trouble getting the desired temperature in the smoker. First it was about 450. Then i took some coals out and it dropped to 325, which is exactly what i wanted. it ended up dropping down to about 220 later on and i had to add some coals. On a side note, whats the best way to gain more temperature? i simply dropped coals straight from the bag into tray under the smoker but they took a while to catch fire and put off heat, should i have lit them in the chimney lighter first?
anyways this is what progress looks like
(you want atleast 6 feet between open fires and your house right? thought so.)
this is what my crazy neighbors yard looks like (i counted 11 litter boxes, 3 rubber maid containers, 2 crates, 4 flower pots, and 1 plastic dish rack)
and the final product...
Ive never had chicken this good before. Usually i don't even eat chicken breasts cause they're dry. I can roast a mean chicken in the oven but the breast is still too dry for my liking (im also a thigh man) but this was perfect, absolutely perfect.
I learned a lot this round. I should let my wood chips soak longer than 1 hour, and i probably don't need as much just for 1 chicken (it was about 3 handfuls of chunks, maybe 2 lbs?). 1 good layer of charcoal on the bottom is enough to heat my smoker to 325, not the large pile that i started with. And starting this project in the early afternoon will not only make my food ready at a reasonable hour, it won't leave me cooking in the dark.
Hope you enjoyed this, what should i tackle next week. Brisket? Pork butt? Wings? Salmon? I'm leaning towards brisket.
