Smoked chicken is so tender and full of flavor that you might be too busy eating it to bother with making or eating anything else!
My father likes new and shiny things. When things no longer shine (or one comes along with shinier buttons), he wants new ‘shinies’. This is a good thing and a bad thing for me. It makes the man a royal pain to shop for. He wants it – he owns it. However, it means that next summer I get a ‘new’ grill and that just recently we got a ‘new’ smoker. A year old and a little used, yeah, that’s still new to me.
Today I made a whole smoked chicken (my first ever anything smoked) and already my head is filled with ideas of what I can do with this new baby. I figured start small (and cheap) in case it was a total bust, so a 6 lb chicken it was. I named it Todd, which is kind of something my family has always done. Apparently, naming your poultry is not normal according to Handsome. Who’da guessed?
I served Todd with baked beans and tortellini pasta salad.
Have you ever made smoked chicken, or any other smoked meat?
I’d love to hear about what you’ve made.
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Beginners Smoked Chicken
made by me
Ingredients:
- 1 6-7 lb chicken (thawed)
- 1/3 cups salt
- 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 quarts water
- Spices of your liking (for the first try we used a pre-made chicken rub)
Preparation:
Introduce yourself to your poultry. If your going to get this handsy with something you should at least know its name and offer it a stiff drink first.
Soak wood chips for at least an hour before placing them in the smoker. I used hickory chips this time because they are easy to find at local hardware stores recently.
In a large pot mix the salt, sugar and water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and cool completely (brine can be made ahead of time). Gently place your chicken in, cover, return to refrigerator and let soak in the brine for 4 hours.
Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Evenly coat the chicken with rub, making sure to get the inner cavity, bottom and top, legs and wings, as well as, under the skin.
Place your new friend in the smoker at 275° for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (follow your manufacturers directions for soaking wood chips and other safety precautions).
Remove from the smoker and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
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Perhaps I should stick to smoked chicken, because I made another attempt at Alton Brown’s angel food cake today and it fell flat again.
I am not sure what I am doing wrong. It seems that the top (which would be the bottom once flipped) is cooking properly but the bottom is not. It comes out thick and dense – not light and fluffy at all.
My thoughts of where I am going wrong are: I am a novice at creating peaks from egg whites, so maybe I am not doing that right? Handsome’s hand mixer has one speed – furious. There is no general mixing with it so maybe it’s too aggressive with the egg whites? And the stove did require a new element this year and does run hotter then the temperature settings, so maybe that’s it. Either way. No freakin clue what’s wrong. Grr.
Oh man, I wouldn’t even attempt smoking a chicken.. although the stiff drink sounds good.
I suspect the problem with the angel food cake is your mixer. Peaks are formed by whipping the eggs into a foam, but if the mixer is to violent it will beat the air bubbles right out of the egg. You need a mixer with a low speed.
Haha he totally looks like a Todd too. I’ve always imagined Todds as being tanned and compact 🙂
It is not even close to being done in 3 and ½ hours… try about 5-6 hours
Sorry to hear that. Cook times will vary depending on heat and the size of the bird.
Tried this one for my first use of my smoker. It turned out really well. Nice and crispy skin, and very moist and tender on the inside. For a smoker recipie it was pretty quick and easy.
Awesome Richard, What smoker did you use?
We Just got a smoker!! and your recipe sounds great, I know you need to use the brine, but can you use less salt.. I dont like using salt,(hate saltly food) and to me that sounds like so much
Hi Norma,
So the salt, yeah, I don’t like using a lot either, but for a brine, it’s the key ingredient. It soaks into the chicken and keeps everything juicy during the process. I minimize the salt used in my rub or mop and in all my sides after that. My dad is on meds and I always watch how much salt we sprinkle on things, so I understand not wanting to use too much of it. If its a smaller amount of meat, use a bit less and see how things go. Keep in mind, all smokers run different on temp and time, so be sure to check your temp with a good thermometer before pulling anything out of there too soon. I love my smoker and use it weekly and hope you guys end up loving yours too!