smoking two chickens, need a little advice

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tasunkawitko

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
May 27, 2008
2,397
26
Chinook, Montana
g'morning, gals and guys -

i'm currently brining two chickens for a toal of four hours and then will smoke them beer-can style in my ECB. the brine consists of:

1-1/2 gallons of water
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2tsp creole seasoning

here are my questions:

1. any suggested woods for this smoke that will compliment the brine above? i'll be using kingsford briquettes (no lump available right now) and the woods i have available are: apple, cherry, alder, hickory, mesquite and maple.

2. my son was helping me prepare the brine and get the chickens ready and unwittingly skinned one before i could tell him not to. i am planning on smoking it on the lower grate of the ECB, where the lower temperatures, proximity to the water pan and falling juices from the chicken above might help keep it from drying out. would some judiciouos basting also help that chicken turn out OK? if so, any bastes suggested?
 
sounds like u got it going on-great brine-good plan-as far as a baste? where to start-haha-have fun and pic's please.
 
You might try wraping in bacon? That's a tough one, too bad.
 
ron - the bacon idea sounds like it would work just right, but we don't have any in the house and payday isn't until monday.
icon_sad.gif


i found this one from danny gaulden on the BBQ FAQ - will give it a try -

Danny's Lemon-Butter Basting Sauce

1 cup melted butter or margarine
2 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp celery salt (seed)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp granulated garlic (garlic powder)
1 tsp sugar

Just put the ingredients into a sauce pan and heat it up. Put the chicken...in the smoker and keep that temperature at 240-250F. Mop the chicken every 30 minutes or so until it's done, 170F internal temperature.
 
The brining is gonna help the skinless one... alot. The lower rack sounds like a good idea!

Nice sounding brine, BTW.

Apple/cherry combo would be my vote..please keep us updated!
 
richtee -

i asked the same question on "the other BBQ site" and also got apple/cherry blend suggestions. one fellow suggested that maple would probably compliment the brown sugar nicely, and he has a good point.

since i can, i just might blend all three together. the wood is in chip form, so it should be easy to do.
 
i'll give it a try with an equal blend of apple, cherry and maple. i'll also use the "mop" posted above in lieu of bacon.

will report on results and will try to post pix - no promises there though becuase my wife might need the camera for work today.
 
I am one of the few, the proud... the people who will take a man's <or woman's> word that it did indeed happen without pix ;{)

Carry on soldier!
 
well, all's well that ends well!

i smoked them on my ECB for about 5 hours, keeping the temperatures between 225 and 240 degrees. i used half a can of beer for each chicken and added 2 tbsp of soy sauce to the beer. the smoking wood was the above-mentioned blend of equal parts of cherry maple and apple (and produced a very good, outdoorsy aroma, by the way). i also used the basting mop posted above once an hour.

results were pretty dang good if i do say so myself, and the flavors complimented well with none overpowering another. even the skinned chicken was moist and juicy with only a little bit of dryness on the outside. in fact, the fact that it was skinned really helped smoke penetration.

2008-08-10_110746_chicken_smoke_qview_-_9aug08.jpg


if anyone gves this a try, let me know how it goes!
 
thanks, all -

i was very worried about that chicken that got skinned, but the measures i took (bottom rack near water pan with baste and juices coming down from above) turned it into quite an unexpected success!
 
we came up with this for the leftovers and YOWZA - it was good!

--------

Tasunkawitko's House Chicken Pot Pie

Ronâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Notes: My son, Billy, and I came up with this as a way to use up some left-over chicken that I had smoked the day before. This stuff tastes GREAT and is so easy that a kid in junior high can make it. The smoke-permeated chicken provides a great aroma that brings images of bacon in a cast-iron skillet over a campfire, but the chicken inside is lean, juicy and full of flavor. This is an easy and satisfying go-to dish that will make a well-balanced meal. If you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have smoked chicken, use regular chicken and enjoy!

• 2-3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, diced fine
• 1 large or two standard-sized envelopes of chicken gravy (an equal amount of gravy in a can or jar would be fine)
• 3-4 cups smoked chicken, cut into bite-sized cubes and pieces
• 2 cans of your favorite vegetables, or a combination, drained (an equal amount of frozen veggies would be even better!)
• 2 tsp. your favorite seasoning or herb/spice mix (or a little salt-n-pepper)
• 2 nine-inch pie crusts (or make your own)
• 2 cans biscuits (or make your own dough)
• 1 egg, beat with a fork, for brushing
• A couple of handfuls of shredded cheddar (or your favorite) cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. SautÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] the onion and garlic in the butter until they are translucent, then add the chicken to heat it up and blend the flavors. Add the vegetables and seasoning to the sautÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] pan and heat the mixture through. At the same time, you should be preparing the gravy so that it can simmer on low and thicken up a bit.

Spray the bottoms of two pie pans with Pam or other cooking spray and line them with the pie crusts. Divide the mixture equally into each pie pan, then do the same with the gravy over the top of the chicken and vegetables. Spread the filling if necessary to reach the corners and edges of the crusts.

Open the cans of biscuits and flatten each one slightly as you lay them out across the top of the filling the same as you would line pepperoni around on a pizza. Donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t worry if there are a few small holes in the topping here and there as these holes will allow steam to escape. If any pie crust is sticking up from the sides of the pan, fold it in toward the biscuits. Brush the beaten egg across the biscuits and around the edges of the topping to seal. Sprinkle the cheese across the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the biscuits and cheese are a rich, crusty brown (usually about five minutes after you think theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re done). Remove the pies from the oven, allow to set for 5 minutes, and then dig in. There should be plenty left over for lunch the next day.
 
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