Not even sure why I am posting this except its usually the first thing folks do.
Its all about prep.
That a chicken, big chicken cause we gonna make it tender as hot butter anyway. WASH the damn chicken well inside and out! I am sorry but this new wave of thinking that its better not to wash a chicken, well do you know what goes into that little bit of juice in the bad? Well if you like chicken, keep it that way.
Mix your brine. There are a million variations of brine, matter a fact I believe I can truthfully say very very few of my brines are every the same. This time I used no cure#1, I like that slightly hammy taste it gives as well as the increased osmosis of the brine it perpetuates.
This time its basic!
1/4C salt, canning
1/3C brown sugar
1/3C white sugar
1t garlic
1t onion
2 bay leaves
1 lemon rind
1qt of water Boiling
1qt of ice Frozen
36 hours chilled in my custom Tupperware brining unit. (see below) Its perfect for up to a 6 pound bird.
Wash it well and pat it dry. Place it on a paper towel lined tray and in the reefer uncovered overnight. 1 hour before ready to smoke remove from the reefer and place under a fan to guarantee that you raise a good pellicule (thats means bring the good yellow fat near the surface of the meat.
The dryer the skin the faster, better and smoker the smoke absorption. Look at all that good yellow fat on that bird, good pellicle formation.
Into the smoker, this time with 100% apple. I love apple on birds it makes a pretty amber coloring. Other woods make other colors. The smoked has been preheated with the vents closed to heat the chamber well.
Not the probe is not inserted yet, I use this time to do a differential temp test to check the validity of the chamber temp. I'll come back in 30 to 45 mins. At that time, I will drop the chamber temp to where I want to smoke (this time I was low and slow at 220). I had lots of time, why not slow and keep all the juices and make that bird primo tender. I crack open the exhaust vent to about 1/2 way, add the smoke this time an AMAZIN short tube, and insert the temp probe. Walk away till it hits 160+.
You know you have to check and get a picture at least once....LoL
Its not going to be red or mahogany, its apple, see that color? I missed and wanted to show the tube smokin!
I pulled it at 161 degrees, I know its going travel up a little after pulling but not must since I smoked it so slow. BTW it stayed in the smoker for 4 hours. Did it need to? No, I could have jacked the temp up and crusted thru in 2, but the smoke flavor I achieved was and the juiciness, and OMG tenderness...... Sometimes you just need to sit back and listen to the frogs croak.
Pretty color and well colored for simply apple wood low and slow. It rested for an hour. Temp was down to 80 degrees, and then I split it. Yes I could have split in in half or spatchcocked it. But.......
Can you see those juices? That red is the breast bone split. I swear its so tender, I would have had no trouble cutting it with a spoon. And that taste..... the aroma.... isn't it delicious.
Thats it, an apple smoked brined chicken. Simple as can be.
Its all about prep.
That a chicken, big chicken cause we gonna make it tender as hot butter anyway. WASH the damn chicken well inside and out! I am sorry but this new wave of thinking that its better not to wash a chicken, well do you know what goes into that little bit of juice in the bad? Well if you like chicken, keep it that way.
Mix your brine. There are a million variations of brine, matter a fact I believe I can truthfully say very very few of my brines are every the same. This time I used no cure#1, I like that slightly hammy taste it gives as well as the increased osmosis of the brine it perpetuates.
This time its basic!
1/4C salt, canning
1/3C brown sugar
1/3C white sugar
1t garlic
1t onion
2 bay leaves
1 lemon rind
1qt of water Boiling
1qt of ice Frozen
36 hours chilled in my custom Tupperware brining unit. (see below) Its perfect for up to a 6 pound bird.
Wash it well and pat it dry. Place it on a paper towel lined tray and in the reefer uncovered overnight. 1 hour before ready to smoke remove from the reefer and place under a fan to guarantee that you raise a good pellicule (thats means bring the good yellow fat near the surface of the meat.
The dryer the skin the faster, better and smoker the smoke absorption. Look at all that good yellow fat on that bird, good pellicle formation.
Into the smoker, this time with 100% apple. I love apple on birds it makes a pretty amber coloring. Other woods make other colors. The smoked has been preheated with the vents closed to heat the chamber well.
Not the probe is not inserted yet, I use this time to do a differential temp test to check the validity of the chamber temp. I'll come back in 30 to 45 mins. At that time, I will drop the chamber temp to where I want to smoke (this time I was low and slow at 220). I had lots of time, why not slow and keep all the juices and make that bird primo tender. I crack open the exhaust vent to about 1/2 way, add the smoke this time an AMAZIN short tube, and insert the temp probe. Walk away till it hits 160+.
You know you have to check and get a picture at least once....LoL
Its not going to be red or mahogany, its apple, see that color? I missed and wanted to show the tube smokin!
I pulled it at 161 degrees, I know its going travel up a little after pulling but not must since I smoked it so slow. BTW it stayed in the smoker for 4 hours. Did it need to? No, I could have jacked the temp up and crusted thru in 2, but the smoke flavor I achieved was and the juiciness, and OMG tenderness...... Sometimes you just need to sit back and listen to the frogs croak.
Pretty color and well colored for simply apple wood low and slow. It rested for an hour. Temp was down to 80 degrees, and then I split it. Yes I could have split in in half or spatchcocked it. But.......
Can you see those juices? That red is the breast bone split. I swear its so tender, I would have had no trouble cutting it with a spoon. And that taste..... the aroma.... isn't it delicious.
Thats it, an apple smoked brined chicken. Simple as can be.
