So I decided to branch out from smoking ribs to trying a whole chicken this weekend.
Anyone have some recipes for a brine ( yes, it can include beer if you want ) and rubs for my maiden voyage into the smoked chicken world?
Most of the brines I’ve seen online say water, salt, & sugar and spices if you want. The spices part is what I’m curious about. I don’t want to over do it.
Thanks.
Check out Sean Paxton’s site http://www.homebrewchef.com/recipes.html
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I usually keep it simple and my family loves the outcome. I haven’t ever done a brine but the meat stays moist as long as I keep the temp low.
I use a combo of Lowrey’s seasoned salt, cumin, black pepper, a very small bit of cayenne and/or red pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I don’t really measure much. 8^( I don’t even mix a rub anymore, I just shake the spices on both sides, cover for a couple of hours and then into the smoke.
Most people will tell you I’m breaking all the rules and couldn’t possibly make anything edible but it works for me. I made 6 birds, one Friday, for a chicken salad that family members who “don’t like smoked food” could not stop raving about. Of course I cheated a bit using my Weber kettle to smoke 2 birds at a time for about 3 hours and then moved them to my gas grill (set really low) until the next 2 were done in the smoker. Rotated the first two out and the next two in each time. It was very tender, juicy and tasted great.
Paul
In my recent experience, mopping the chicken while it smokes is important.
I did a couple whole chickens a few weeks back and forgot to mop them (went to a party and stayed too long). They were good, but dry.
I did a ton of chicken last weekend for my son’s first birthday (plus seven racks of ribs and a bacon explosion). I kept the chicken moist with a mop sauce and it was awesome.
The dry rub I use is brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, mustard powder, cayene, chili powder and maybe a touch of cumin (depending on my mood).
When I brined a turkey awhile back I threw typical turkey spices in the brine: rosemary, thyme, marjoram, not sure what else. I smoked this on the Weber and it came out very well.
If I was baking a chicken, I’d probably use similar spices on it. For smoking, I tend to go for the BBQ spices.
Whole chickens are easy and there’s 1,000 ways to do it. I’ve done chickens with and w/out a brine and no one could tell the difference. I don’t baste my chicken, but I have a spray bottle with some apple juice that I’ll spray on them every now and then. I have an offset smoker, so I’ll also keep a pan of apple juice and water under my meats to help keep them moist. I would give you a rub recipe, but I don’t think I’ve done the exact same ever. I will suggest getting the rub up under the skin to help enhance the flavor of the meat.
I just use pickling spice mix (mustard seed, bay leaf, peppercorns, other stuff) that I get from the bulk store. About a tbsp in a brine is enough for me. I usually use it for pork roast but I’ve done chicken parts too. Never a whole bird yet.
I don’t know that you will be able to impart much herb flavor through your brine. I would stick to a basic saltwater brine. Lot of great rubs out there. One thing that I definitely think helps is to rinse and dry the bird after brining followed by a light coat of oil. Most rubs are oil soluble but not water soluble.
Don’t over smoke it. I use no more than 4oz of fruitwood. Have fun with it.
YMMV
I put garlic and thyme in my chicken/turkey brines and you can definitely taste it.
This thread makes me hungry!
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IIRC it’s equal parts salt and sugar dissolved in one quart of warm water. One cup of each. Then whatever spices and maybe some citrus fruit slices. But nothing acidic or it’s then called a marinade.
Brine chicken for a couple hours then pat dry and leave on rack uncovered in fridge overnight. Reseason if desired and place in smoker.
This is a real winner. I got this recipe from another forum and it is extremely popular.
ROADSIDE CHICKEN
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup veg oil
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 TBS Sea or Kosher salt
1 TBS white sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
Mix/shake till well dissolved. I put mine in a old worcestershire bottle with the shaker top. You can marrinate the chicken in the sauce for up to 2-8 hrs before cooking. If so discard marinade and make fresh for the cooking sauce. I apply the sauce every 5 min to both sides and turn every 5-10 min. Apply one final coating 5 min before removing from the grill. You can’t put too much sauce on while grilling. It will build up a nice layer of flavors. I would also use this marinade prior to a rotisserie. I usally add one small piece of apple wood while grilling.
I do like SlowBrew. No brine, just rub. The rub is never the same way twice. Just what ever fancy hits me at the time.
There is a type of kiawe-smoked (Hawaiian mesquite) chicken sold roadside here in Hawaii called huli-huli chicken. They are cooked over a kiawe fire on rotisseries (huli-huli means turn-turn). I make them at home on my grill and turn them every five minutes instead of using a rotisserie.
Huli-huli chicken ROCKS!
Marinate your chicken at least a half hour (several hours mo bettah!). Baste the chicken as you cook it.
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sherry
1-2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1-2-more pieces ginger root, crushed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Worchestershire sauce to taste
Sriracha or Asian chili paste (or red pepper flakes) to taste
Squeeze a lemon in if you’ve got one
enough for three chickens, or so.
I like to keep it simple too - brine in apple juice with about a cup of salt, simple rub of coarse salt, pepper and sage. Smoke over apple wood, with apple juice in water pan. Oh, and I like to halve chicken and be sure to break joints.
Huli-Huli chicken is awesome! We just got back from our condo in Maui and there are a couple of places off the S Kihei Rd where a few people will be grilling up some Huli-Huli. We got a couple of chickens from a guy that was grilling about 2 dozen at a time at Kamaole III. I remember growing up on Oahu, my dad and his friends would be doing Huli-Huli in our front yard when ever it was someone’s birthday.
I also like the simplicity of a basic rub for my Rotisserie Chicken. There’s enough flavor in the rub to make it taste really good. Marinade’s can add an extra dimension of acidity for the most part, but the sweet, salty and spicy flavors can all be incorporated through a simple dry rub just as well. There’s benefits to both methods.
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Well I went simple with it this weekend. The smallest bird we could find was 7.5 lbs. I brined the chicken for about 4 hours with a mixture of water, kosher salt, sugar, garlic, and onion. I made a simple rub of salt, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Put it on the smoker for about 6 hours at 225-250, with some cherry and apple.
It came out excellent. Even my son who is a picky eater was devouring it. Going forward I will probably experiment with some other spices, etc.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!
P.S. My son asked me if it’s possible to smoke cheeseburgers… ;D
Smoked gouda, smoked bacon, little bit o liquid smoke in the patty… there ya go.
You can definitely smoke burgers - they’re delicious!
Pipe or papers?