Smoking chicken
 

I've done this a few times this summer and it's become one of my favorite things to smoke. It's cheap, easy, healthier than pork/beef, and the leftovers go a long way. I just get a couple of whole chickens around 3 or 4 lbs. (at Sams or Costco they're about 8 or 9 dollars for two).

I brine the chickens overnight in a salt water mixture. I usually add some molasses or brown sugar and a little garlic. Take the chickens out the next morning and empty the brine. Let them sit for a few minutes and then apply the rub (I use Famous Daves Country Style Chicken). I try to get under the skin and inside the cavity.

Throw the chickens on the smoker for about four hours at 220. I use hickory laced with cherry or apple, but mesquite would also work pretty well. After they're done, sit them for about a half hour or so to let it cool down and then shred by hand. The chicken works very well for a number of different meals. You can make sandwiches, topped with bbq sauce and cole slaw. You can make burritos, nachos, quesadillas, pizza, or right on top of rice. You'll have a ton leftover so you can be creative.

I think I'll try a small turkey in the fall.

I generally rub them with Morton Tenderquick and let them sit overnight before smoking. I will have to give your method a shot. What kind of salt do you use? What ratio of salt/water do you use with your brine?

We love smoked chicken quesadillas with the fresh flour tortillas from Costco and mango salsa.

For the non-smoker.....how much attention needs to be given to smoking apparatus? If it is smoking for 2-5 hours, do you need to be checking on it all the time? It sounds delicious, but what if you don't have 5 hours to go back and forth to the backyard?

I would really like to get a smoker and I know there was a great discussion on smokers here a while ago. But it sounds really time consuming. Maybe I am missing the boat, though? It is more "set it and forget it" or are you checking it out every 15 minutes?

I use Tenderquick at a 1 cup salt to 4 cup water ratio. I like the idea of the water really opening up the chicken to allow the smoke to further penetrate, but I'm not sure it works any better than a direct rub.

Smoked chicken quesadillas are great. Unfortunately Costco out here doesn't carry the raw tortillas. I do like the idea of pairing it with mango salsa. Do you use a rub?

Take the lazy mans approach and get an electric smoker. It's just a heating element sitting on some lava rock. It is permanently set to 220 so you generally gauge your cooking time based on that. It burns through the wood pretty fast so you have to replace it every couple of hours though it may not be necessary. I believe Lebowski has noted that the smoke won't penetrate after an hour.

This is the one I have.

http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-810-.../dp/B0009WG6RA

Set it, and Forget it!

The direct rub method seems to work just fine and is easy to do (takes less space in the fridge), but maybe the brine method allows for more even penetration.

I don't use a rub. We end up throwing away the skin anyway so I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference. Do you think it makes a difference?

I second the recommendation for an electric smoker. I used to have a Brinkman like YOhio's and it was quite consistent. I bought this one:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Outd...436872&sr=1-32

a while back but I don't like it. It tend to dry out the meat. My brother bought this one at Cabelas and he loves it:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...oker&noImage=0

It has a thermostat and the door seals in the moisture. Set the temp and forget it.

My grandparents had a Set it and Forget It that they bought off the infomercial.

Their big mistake was putting it on their countertop but underneath cabinets. They learned the hard way one Sunday afternoon.

They tossed in some sort of turkey or chicken and then went to Church, similar to crock pot cooking. They figured they could set it and forget it while awy for 3 hours. When they returned home, part of their kitchen was damaged.

That oven generates so much heat that it wound up melting the overhead light strip on the cabinet. Also, the wood started to char on the bottom....who knows how much longer until it simply burst into flames.

I am surprised that some tort attorney somewhere did not argue that by encouraging the mantra of "set it and forget it," the manufacturer could have reasonably forseen these types of accidents.

an electric smoker really is "set it and forget it."

Mine didn't come with lava rocks, nor do I use them. I wonder if I should.