Found a decent deal on large whole chickens, 79¢ lb., so I picked up a 6-pack. Whipped up my favorite turkey-chicken brine:
2 gallons water
1 gallon 7-Up[emoji]8482[/emoji] (soft drink)
2-1/4 cups powdered dextrose
1-1/2 cups salt
1 cup Prague Powder #1
Shot up each bird with about 8oz of the brine and then let them soak in the brine overnight in a cooler full of frozen OJ jugs, about 39º
After wrapping the birds in stockinettes I pre-heated the Pro 100 to 110º with vents wide open and let them dry for one hour. Then I closed both upper and lower vents to 1/3 open, raised the temp to 125º, and put on a pan of moistened applewood for four hours, then it was time to change the chip pan and raise the smoker temp up to 140º for another four hours. It was then time to remove the chip pan, close the vents, and raise the temp to 185º until the birds registered a internal temperature of 165º. I pulled the 6-pack of chickens from the Pro 100 and let them cool on racks on the kitchen counter for about four hours before going into the fridge overnight. The next day I whacked the birds in half, shrink-wrapped and froze. There's something about the 7-up in the brine that make these chickens, or turkey, stay really juicy with a great smoky flavor. RAY
PS: I didn't get the pics to DL in the proper order, but it's easy to figure out the sequence. I'll keep working on that!
2 gallons water
1 gallon 7-Up[emoji]8482[/emoji] (soft drink)
2-1/4 cups powdered dextrose
1-1/2 cups salt
1 cup Prague Powder #1
Shot up each bird with about 8oz of the brine and then let them soak in the brine overnight in a cooler full of frozen OJ jugs, about 39º
After wrapping the birds in stockinettes I pre-heated the Pro 100 to 110º with vents wide open and let them dry for one hour. Then I closed both upper and lower vents to 1/3 open, raised the temp to 125º, and put on a pan of moistened applewood for four hours, then it was time to change the chip pan and raise the smoker temp up to 140º for another four hours. It was then time to remove the chip pan, close the vents, and raise the temp to 185º until the birds registered a internal temperature of 165º. I pulled the 6-pack of chickens from the Pro 100 and let them cool on racks on the kitchen counter for about four hours before going into the fridge overnight. The next day I whacked the birds in half, shrink-wrapped and froze. There's something about the 7-up in the brine that make these chickens, or turkey, stay really juicy with a great smoky flavor. RAY
PS: I didn't get the pics to DL in the proper order, but it's easy to figure out the sequence. I'll keep working on that!
