This is an idea I've been kicking around for awhile, so with the wife working late tonight I had nothing to loose if it didn't turn out, but boy did it. I've been wanting to use the ingredients for a true Baja margarita (as opposed to the gringo crap) and made into a poultry brine. I learned how to make a true Baja margarita at the Hotel California in Todos Santos (a little town 30-40 minutes out of Cabo san Lucas), A true Baja margarita uses Tequila, Licor de Damiana and lime in a salted glass.
So here's my brine recipe:
1 cup water
1/2 cup tequila (don't waste a good sippin tequila to cook - the $8 bottle works fine)
1/2 cup Licor de Damiana (or like the family likes to call Boobs n' Butt because of the bottle)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tsp garlic powder
2 Tsp rubbed sage
3 Tbs kosher salt
Juice from 1/2 a lime
(I dont like spicy, but you can jazz it up by cutting up a Jalapeno or two for the soak)
I used chicken thighs and brined 1 1/2 hours in the fridge, swishing the bag around every 1/2 hour.
I stoked up the smoker to 300* to get a good crispy skin, and smoked to an internal temp of 165*. It took about 45 minutes to cook, so I lit both ends of the AMNPS and I used Todds Oak pellets.
I still wasn't totally happy with the skin, so I put the thighs on a baking sheet and into the oven broiler for a few minutes - perfect. Had leftover No-Boil Mac n Cheese from the other night, and the two remaining sweet pepper ABT's on the side. The taste was very good, and I'll be doing this again. I may even try the Jalapeno addition next time to see how it goes. Guess I should have included my Margarita on the rocks in this shot, but it was in my right hand!
So here's my brine recipe:
1 cup water
1/2 cup tequila (don't waste a good sippin tequila to cook - the $8 bottle works fine)
1/2 cup Licor de Damiana (or like the family likes to call Boobs n' Butt because of the bottle)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tsp garlic powder
2 Tsp rubbed sage
3 Tbs kosher salt
Juice from 1/2 a lime
(I dont like spicy, but you can jazz it up by cutting up a Jalapeno or two for the soak)
I used chicken thighs and brined 1 1/2 hours in the fridge, swishing the bag around every 1/2 hour.
I stoked up the smoker to 300* to get a good crispy skin, and smoked to an internal temp of 165*. It took about 45 minutes to cook, so I lit both ends of the AMNPS and I used Todds Oak pellets.
I still wasn't totally happy with the skin, so I put the thighs on a baking sheet and into the oven broiler for a few minutes - perfect. Had leftover No-Boil Mac n Cheese from the other night, and the two remaining sweet pepper ABT's on the side. The taste was very good, and I'll be doing this again. I may even try the Jalapeno addition next time to see how it goes. Guess I should have included my Margarita on the rocks in this shot, but it was in my right hand!
