We were recently fortunate enoughto inherit a family-sized smoker. We have a nice small one that we can use on a stove top–that’s lots of fun!–but it’s pretty much limited to smoking a few servings at a time. Today we are using the bigger smoker for a whole chicken, and we’ve brined it to yield a recipe that reminds us of a blend of Southern barbeque from around the region. We’ve used lots of vinegar but also lots of heat in the brine, and I added chili powder to the rub. That means this barbeque lacks ties to any distinctive Southern soil but nicely blends our roots (North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas).
Both smoking and brining are age-old culinary tricks to preserve food. That said, we aren’t planning on letting this chicken sit around for long! I have never declared food “righteous” before in my life, and I don’t think Mr. Homestead has either, but both of us agreed that the term could be applied to this incredibly juicy, smoky, spicy bird.
Start by preparing your brine.
Brine
- 1 cup canning salt
- 1 cup tabasco
- 4-6 whole cloves
- 1/2-3/4 cup molasses
- sufficient water to completely cover the bird
Boil together about 4 cups of water with the salt to get the salt to dissolve. Now add the molasses. Finally, add the tabasco. Chill the mixture, and then pour it and sufficient water to cover over your bird in a non-reactive, non-plastic container that’s large enough to get the bird completely covered with the mixture. I used an enameled canning pot, but you could use glass or stainless steel. Note: Had I had a pot with a smaller diameter, I could have used less brine. As it was, I’ll be in the market for a better briner for chicken than my big canning pot, which works great for a big turkey but is wasteful for the smaller bird. Leave the bird in the brine for about 24 hours. Now take it out and dry it off.
Are you wondering what to do with your leftover brine? It’ll make a great weed killer. Just be sure not to use too much, as the salt will hang around and kill nearby plants. It’s both the salt and the vinegar that kills, although frankly straight vinegar is better than this watered-down mix.
Rub
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
Sprinkle on the rub and then use your hands to even it out and gently pat it into the surface of your well-dried chicken. Now go smoke!
We use a chimney loaded with newspaper in the bottom to start natural charcoal, so we don’t get petroleum products in our food.
Once you light the newspaper, the heat spreads up the chimney, starting the coals.
Our smoker has a little door through which you can feed the smoker with coal.
A 5-pound chicken smoked with low heat and moisture will take about 5 hours to smoke with low heat. Our smoker has a convenient dial to indicate “ideal” temperature, although an actual thermometer (registering around 225 degrees F!) would be better. You may need to add coals a couple of times to maintain “ideal” temperature.
We added some soaked apple wood to the coals for the last hour of cooking, to produce sweet smoke.
As you think the meat is getting close to being done, use a meat thermometer to check. Be sure to pick a thick portion of meat away from bone. When chicken is done, the meat thermometer should register 165 degrees F.
Mmmmmmm. Here’s the bird. As tempting as it may be to cut right into it, please please please let it rest for at least half an hour or so before you cut into it. The rest time will help the moisture stay inside the bird instead of spilling out. You can spoon the juices left inside over the top if you want to take a little crisp out of the skin.
Collect the juices left behind in the drip pan and strain them through a coffee filter to get out any ash. You can also chill the liquid and skim off any fat, although the coffee strainer should handle that too. What you’ll have after you’ve strained is a smoky, spicy stock that you can use to make a barbeque sauce, add to soup, and so forth.
Do you have a favorite barbeque recipe? Do you have a smoker? If so, what kind of food do you smoke? Do you have questions about smoked food? Dear readers, please add comments.
OK, this is too much. I own the EXACT same smoker. Honest.
When we first bought it my BIL made us some smoked whiskey short ribs that were to die for. We were so inspired that we vowed to smoke something each week. The next few “smokings” turned out noghint like the first one-one was raw after hours and hours of cooking, another was so smokey you couldn’t eat it. So since then the smoker has been used as a patio grill for s’mores but nothing else. You have now inspired me to try again. And yes, we do have a chimney, too. My husband turns wooden bowls so there is always some kind of exotic spicy wood around the house to turn or…burn.
Speaking of which, you should go read this:
http://pollyspath.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-name-is-polly-and-i-throw-stuff-away.html
That is such a cool coincidence! I think adding the apple wood close to the end kept it from being overly smoky.
Okay, you threw away homework and burned a cherry log? It sounds like you and my husband belong in the same club. Then again, maybe that’s better than having every paper for years back . . . . 🙂
[…] you’ve read here here the past few days, you’ll know that I got really excited by our spicy barbeque smoked chicken earlier in the week. We have continued to enjoy it, each time with a little variation in its […]
We recently purchased an electric wood smoker, it is a Masterbilt product from Atlanta, Ga. What a great way to smoke when you live in the suburbs! The company is great for trouble shooting any problems we encounter. We are hooked now too. Is it customary to brine meats? What is the purpose of this? Home smoking is still a fairly new concept here in my part of Canada and we tend to use a lot less “smoke” then Americans. I think one of the reasons we travel to USA is for the BBQ! To me BBQ is American cuisine along with cast iron cooking!
Brining is an old technique that I think a lot of US home cooks are re-discovering. Marinades get into the outside layer of meat; brining allows the good flavors and moisture to penetrate the meat. I like it for any food that needs a slow preparation, be it roasted turkey https://ozarkhomesteader.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/why-brine-your-turkey-it-works-if-you-have-a-good-turkey-to-start/ or smoked chicken.
I remember what it’s like to smoke food when you live in a suburb. Everyone smells it and wants some! I take it you like your smoker from Masterbilt?
The only drawback is the wood loader is a little stiff. It holds about a cup of wood chips and depending on what you are smoking gets filled about every hour or so. The Masterbilt is convenient, it also keeps the heat consistent and low for long cooking such as a briskett. We debated the smokers that use charcoal and thought this wood be better because basically you can walk away from it and let it smoke! The wonderful smell of slow wood cooking is awesome. Hopefully our town won’t pass a by-law to prevent people from smoking food! The customer service lady is excellent!
It sounds like it makes really tasty, easy food. Does the smoker have a thermometer?