Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

I cooked the chicken low since I wanted the ribs done low, so the chicken just went along for the ride. I hadn't said it, but I did spatchcock the chicken too, first time trying that and surprisingly easy to do.

 

Ah gotcha... Yeah i have always found with low and slow chicken, just give up on the skin, it'll be rubber.

 

What is this salad of which you speak? It looks like what food eats, didn't work this hard to get to the top of the food chain to eat what food eats. I do eat a fair amount of salad. As long as it has meat in it.

My .02 cents on chicken and poultry, I do a fair amount of it. And wild game birds.

The skin is key to keeping it moist. I breast or skin out my wild birds (ruff grouse and pheasants) which usually makes them poor candidates for smoking or grilling. Have plucked phez and smoked but they are lean so even then not the best candidate. Hence the cooking method of pheasant under glass, the glass is to keep them from drying out. But if the birds aren't too shot up I will pick pellets out with a toothpick and use a light coating of homemade shore lunch and fry in bacon grease on low heat in a cast iron skillet. Because all great recipes start with first you cook a pound of bacon. The batter helps act as an "artificial" skin to help keep the meat moist.



But will do boneless skinless chicken thighs on the gas grill a couple times a month. Those I marinate overnight in a ziplock with Italian Dressing. And keep the burners down as low as possible. Can't probe them but when the thinner pieces start to dry out your usually done. Can do them on charcoal but that can be tricky without even heat, and also very low heat.

Whole birds with skin intact always work best. For chicken I salt them at least an hour ahead of time just like a good steak, I just do the outside if you do it advance no need to do under the skin. It helps keep the skin crispy and juices flowing on the inside of the bird. The chickens here are Iowa corn fed birds and the size of a small pterodactyl. And contain a lot of fat internally. Cooking longer helps render the fat out into the meat so usually try to keep the temps down ~275*. For chicken splatchcocking seems to do well as does rotisserie, but can get 2 birds on the spit so if looking for leftovers will often do that. Doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between splatchcocking chickens and rotisserie, both are really good. I do the standard 165 in breast and 180 thighs and they are never dry with salting the skin in advance. 165* is the minimum safe temp for poultry.

Splatchcocking chicken is one of the few times I use the slow n sear although the charcoal baskets do just as well. Paid $100 bucks for the som of a bitch so going to use it!



As the skin dries you can see bubbles of fat run up the breast between the thighs to the top of the breast and then drip back down and start over again. Damn that almost sounds sexual in nature... Splatchcocking a chicken for supper tonight and will be doing it this way.

Turkey I wet brine overnight in an old Igloo cooler with ice. Between smoking, splatchcocking and rotisserie the rotisserie seems to be a clear winner on the turkeys. Not sure why, but those that have eaten mine cooked the different ways all seem to agree too. They all seem to take 6-8 hours depending on time of year, etc.

The Weber Genesis gas grill does an acceptable job although lacks the complex flavors of charcoal obviously. The drip pan with veggies stays cleaner and cooks better on the gas grill. Still need to parboil the potatoes no matter how you do it however. Grilled veggies basted in turkey fat are always a good thing.



But turkey on the kettle rotisserie seems to be the consistent winner.



Again just my 2 cents and worth what you paid for it.

 

I've never been able to stomach spam. Looks and smells like someone already ate it lol. Odd because I LOVE corned beef hash and it looks and smells like something someone already fed to the cat as my wife tells me.

 

I like spam never smoked it may have to try it. They make Spam near here and Hormel even has a Spam museum in Austin, Mn. near where I shoot skeet.



Can't find any scrapple in these parts though. I think I know why all the best parts of the hog go into Spam instead of scrapple around here.

 

There are some somewhere in this thread

Mmm, love me some corned beef hash too

Spam museum?!?! That's awesome!

Living on the west side of the country there is no way I'm finding scrapple here. I make my own every once in awhile.

 

Homemade scrapple... So what time is breakfast?!

The best that I have found that is close to homemade and like I used to help my grandfather make back in the late 60's-70's is from Leona Meat Plant in Troy, Pa. They ship anywhere in the CONUS although shipping in coolers and freezer packs cost more than the pans of scrapple. Every year before hunting season I order a couple of loafs from them. How a person is supposed to follow the dog through the woods all day busting brush without a decent breakfast of scrapple and eggs is beyond my comprehension.



Cooked in bacon grease. Of course.

 

Those of you that have a side smoker box attachment or made on the grill, do you always put your coals, wood, etc. in the side box and cook by temperature or does it depend on what you are cooking? Using my gas grill, I cook chicken breast @ 350 degrees with two outside burners going and two inside burners off for indirect grilling. Grill for 15-20 minutes, put on plate and wrap in tin foil, let them sit for 10 minutes or so and they come out juicy and tender. Just trying to get my thoughts together for when I start cooking on charcoal.

 

There are a lot of things i grill direct, usually on raised grid. Boneless chicken breasts, pork tenderloins, really most lean things i go higher heat, raised direct, and just hit with some smoke at the beginning. If i want some more smoke, sometimes i will go indirect until 10-20 degrees from finish temp, and then hit them direct for a few min just to get a char/crisp. Thats what I do with chicken thighs and usually with wings (if i sauce them, throw them back on direct for 1 min per side).

 

Oh man, I didn't know I could order scrapple from the source! Thanks for the info, might just order some today!

 

In 20 minutes I'll be eating my brisket sandwich. This will be the fifth day in a row and the last. I'm not complaining but also happy I portioned up the remaining and vacuum sealed it

 

I do spatchcock turkey at 325 to 350 . 12lb turkey cooks in about 1.5 to 2 hours . Surprisingly moist . Heard because of fast cooking doesn't dry out .Worked for me. Skin not crispy but soft and edible (my favorite part lol)

In Hawaii spam is " Da Steak of Hawaii lol " There is a a Spam Jam blocks (lol) party on Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki every year

 

I've been trying to drink my allergies away. It isn't working.

 

Snort the beer

 

Birthday Dinner! 4 hours on the WSM!

 

Niiice

 

That's some amazing color on them. Well done

 

Sunday I'm gonna attempt to smoke bacon wrapped scallops, lobster tails & ribeye steaks for mothers day, wifey's request.

 

Hoo boy, will need a report on those scallops please.

 

Will do, along with pics. Haha