Smoked Chicken Walkthrough - Anniversary Issue

July 12, 2006 | Issue 24

Hello and welcome to the July edition of the Smoking Meat newsletter.. it just so happens that this month is also our 24th issue. It's our 2nd anniversary and we are so happy that you are able to celebrate with us.

I try to stay with what is concerning folks the most in any given month and I have had so many emails asking about smoking chicken that I feel a real need to cover it in detail.

I will be including a lot of my own special tips for making sure it is tender, juicy and full of flavor so stick around and let's talk about one of my favorite meats.

Last month we discussed an all time favorite.. smoked meatloaf. I covered the whole process from start to finish with pictures and all so if you missed it you might want to check it out soon.

By the way.. thanks for all of the feedback! I got tons of email from folks who tried the meatloaf and most of them alluded to never cooking meatloaf in the oven again;-)

Here is the lineup for this edition.. enjoy!

• Smoked Chicken Walkthrough and Tips
• New WYNTK website
• Barbecue Competition Calendar
• Featured Products
• Joke of the Month

Smoked Chicken - Quick and Easy Walkthrough + Tips

Smoked chicken is such a great summertime meal especially after it starts getting really hot and you really don't want to be outside all day cooking brisket or pork shoulder. With chicken you can do the preparation, brining , etc. and then wait for it to cool off in the evening before smoking it or you could very easily do it earlier in the morning for a nice lunch before things heat up too bad.

For those of you in the north who do not see hot weather, I don't even want to talk about it.

I like to go with a good plump chicken around 4 to 4.5 pounds. I try to find one that is "minimally processed" and does not have a saltwater solution injected into it.

Important: If the chicken is already injected with a solution of salt water it will say so and may be too salty if you brine it.

Remove the chicken from the package and rinse it really well under cool water and set it aside.

At this point you have to decide if you are going to brine it or just season it and smoke it. It will be good either way but the brining just adds a little juiciness to it that you want have otherwise.

If you decide to brine then you will want to mix a cup of kosher salt to a gallon of water in a non reactive pan or plastic bucket. You can also add other flavorings if you wish like worcestershire sauce, beer, wine, juice, Tabasco, etc.

If you decide to use regular salt instead of Kosher salt.. I don't recommend it but if you do just use half as much.

I have a turkey brine that also works well for chicken on the brining meat page.

Make enough brine to cover the chicken(s) and soak them in the fridge for 4 hours stirring occasionally.

If you decide to just season them then I recommend the "Lemon Pepper with Seasoning Salt" found at your local grocer and a good quality Cajun seasoning like the Breaux's Bayou Shakedown.

Give the chicken a good dusting with the lemon pepper and Cajun seasoning.. try to get it up under the skin as much as possible otherwise the seasoning will do the meat no good at all.

Tip: Use Butter to help the seasoning to stick better. Rub butter all over the skin and under the skin on the meat as much as possible.

Set the chicken aside and go start the fire in the smoker.

I recommend lump charcoal if you can find it and apple wood for the smoke. Make sure you have plenty of airflow into the smoker and out of the smoker to prevent the creation of creosote on the meat.

Tip: you can smoke chicken a little hotter than you do other meats to crisp up the skin a little without damaging the meat. I normally shoot for around 250 to 275 degrees but it is perfectly acceptable to go as high as 300 degrees.

Once the chicken has been sitting out of the fridge for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature and the smoker is maintaining your target temperature, place the chicken on the grate and quickly close the door or lid to conserve heat.

Note: It is important to let meat come to room temperature a little bit before smoking since placing cold meat in the smoker can induce the formation of creosote.

Keep applying smoke to the chicken for the first 2 to 2.5 hours by refilling your chip box or placing more chunks or sticks of wood on the coals. If you are using a milder wood like pecan or apple you may want to smoke longer for a smokier flavor.

Be sure to mop the chicken with apple juice or melted butter every hour to help keep the skin from drying out.

After the chicken has been smoked for 2 to 2.5 hours continue to apply heat until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 167 degrees using a digital probe meat thermometer found at Amazon.com or other stores such as Wal-mart, Target, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, etc.

Total cook time for the chicken(s) should be around 3 to 4 hours depending on how hot you smoke it.

Remove the chicken from the smoker and place it on the cabinet to rest.. be sure to not puncture it until it has rested for at least 15 minutes or so. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

The New WYNTK Website - Acronym for What You Need To Know..

I have been working on a new website at wyntk.us which will contain lots of information on smoked meat as well as other interesting subjects as well. Most of the pages at smoking-meat.com have been written over the course of the last 2 years and while they are very good, I look at them and sometimes think that I could explain something a little better or perhaps just show a better way of doing things.

Most of my 200+ pages at smoking-meat.com rank very highly in the search engines and rather than mess things up by re-writing it there, I just decided to do some additional writing on my wyntk.us site and it is going very well.

Check it out soon and let me know what you think.. I have tried to add more pictures on the pages and I plan to shoot some small video clips to show certain aspects of smoking meat that will be available free of charge.

Below are some of the pages that I have written recently:

Smoking Times and Temperatures Table
Smoked Corn Tutorial
Smoked Chicken Quarters
3-2-1 Rib Method
GOSM Smoker Guide

August 2006 BBQ Competitions

08/04 - 08/05
Laurie, MO
State Championship
Laurie Hillbilly BBQ
Contact: Susann Huff, 724 N. Main/PO Box 1515, Laurie, MO 65037
Phone: 573-374-4871 or 573-216-9358 Fax: 573-374-5093
E-mail: laurievents@aol.com
KCBS Reps: Lynda Showalter, Phil Morrow, Rosemary Morrow

08/04 - 08/05
Nashville, TN
State Championship
Fiddlin', Brewin', Bar-B-Q'n
Contact: Amanda Taylor, 2802 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214
Phone: 615-458-2878 Fax: 615-458-2870
E-mail: ataylor@gaylordhotels.com
KCBS Reps: Ed Magnusson, Tony Stone

08/04 - 08/05
Waucoma, IA
State Championship
Lynch Livestock BBQ Cookoff
Contact: Christy Bouska, 331 3rd Street NW, Waucoma, IA 52171
Phone: 563-776-6861 Fax: 563-776-3097
E-mail: chris@lynchbbq.com
KCBS Reps: Mike Lake, Theresa Lake

08/04 - 08/05
Dillard, GA
State Championship
Dillard Bluegrass & BBQ Fest
Contact: Jane Tomlin, PO Box 53, Dillard, GA 30537
Phone: 706-746-2690 Fax: 706-746-2690
E-mail: bbqjane@alltel.net
Judge's Contact: Terrell Jones, 340 Noles Road, Franklin, GA 30217
E-mail: tleon27@hotmail.com
KCBS Reps: Stephen Smith, Kathy Brazier, Ron Harwell

Please go to www.kcbs.us for over 30 more competitions scheduled in the month of August. If you know of other competitions, KCBS sanctioned or otherwise, please drop me an email at least 2 months in advance and I will add it to the list.

Share This Newsletter

If you enjoy this newsletter as much as I enjoy writing it then consider sending it to all of your friends and be sure to let them know how they can go to http://www.smoking-meat.com/subscribe.html and sign up for themselves to get the newsletter every month.

Jeff's Naked Rib Rub and BBQ Sauce Recipes

If you are truly serious about barbecue and cooking outdoors for family and friends then you need my rub and sauce recipes. It is the two tools that you absolutely need in your barbecue toolbox and the are the second most important investment next to your smoker in my opinion and lots of folks agree.

Thank you Eric for the kind words.. I put my heart and soul into those recipes as well as this website and I feel fortunate to have so many fans..

If you would like to experience these recipes for yourself (and you should) simply click the link below to read more testimonies or click here to go ahead and order.

Note: This is an immediate download which means just as soon as you order you should receive a download link within minutes.

Note: Please email me right away if you do not receive an email within just a few minutes of ordering so I can jump into action and find out what is going on.

I have an outside company that handles this for me and I have to keep them on their toes.. my goal is 100% satisfaction and I won't be satisfied until you are. I promise.

Read Testimonies

Joke of the Month

Old Men Think Fast Too

An old farmer had taken great pride in his land over the years. One of his favorite spots was a pond he built that was just right for swimming and entertaining. It had benches and tables and a BBQ pit as well as a number of apple, peach and pear trees around it.

One sunny and warm afternoon he decided to visit the pond and harvest some fruit from his trees. So he grabbed a five gallon bucket and sauntered off in the direction of the pond.

As he neared the pond he suddenly heard splashing and laughter. He discovered a group of young women skinny dipping in the pond. He quickly made his presence known. The girls immediately went to the deep end of the pond. One of them hollered out that were not going to get out of the pond till he left.

The old guy replied, "I didn't come down here to make you get out of the pond! Nope I didn't! 'Specially cause yer all nekked and that wouldn't be right!"

Holding up the bucket he continued, "I jest came down here to feed the alligator!"

Submitted by srmonty at SmokingMeatForums.com

Thanks Larry and all of you who submit jokes into the jokes section of SmokingMeatForums.com .. we all get a great laugh out of them and it makes our days a little better.

Thank You for Supporting Smoking-Meat.com!

Until next time... thank you for being a part of the best smoking meat/barbecue site on the world wide web! At this time we are supported solely by sponsored ads and the few items that we offer for sale.

Every time you purchase one of our excellent products it helps pay for the hosting and domain to provide this service to you.

We have also added a "Donate " link to the site and if you have been helped at all by this newsletter or the website then please consider a small $1, $5 or $10 (or more) gift of appreciation to help keep this site going. We are forever grateful to all of you who constantly let us know how much the site means to you.

Have a Wonderful Day and Keep Smoking (meat that is)!!!

Jeff Phillips
Pitmaster/Webmaster
www.Smoking-Meat.com
www.SmokingMeatForums.com

Feel free to drop us a line about anything at all by using our contact us page or the speedy form below.

My good buddy Bruce keeps me supplied with his wonderful Cajun Put-it-on-everything Bayou Shakedown and I invite you to give it a try.. I think you are gonna love it as much as my family and I do.

Check out his stuff at CrazzyCajun.com

Note: This newsletter can be freely reprinted or used without permission as long as it stays intact, as is and is not changed in any way from the format in which it was set by the author and/or editors of this publication.

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