My dad tried smoking once, burned a hole in our wooden deck.
haha need a heat shield. The Smokey Mountain has one on it.
Nice choice on the smoker. Great one to start out with.
Chicken can be a tough meat to smoke well. My chicken has been mediocre as well the 3 or 4 times I’ve done it. A few tips; Try using a brine beforehand next time. A brine is basically just water, salt, sugar and any other flavorings you want to add (fruit juice or spices). Let the thawed chicken soak in the brine (and refrigerated) for about 3-4 hours before smoking it. Also, try pulling the skin back and rubbing the dry rub underneath it as well as on top. You can also put chopped veggies (onions, garlic, etc) under the skin as well to help infuse more flavor. Some people also use injectors on a lot of different meats. I’ve never tried it, but plan to this summer. Also, you can try brushing the skin with apple juice, butter, olive oil or whatever your prefer while cooking to help it keep some moisture.
A general tip about controlling the smoke. I’ve found that having lots of smoke going throughout the process can be a bit overwhelming to the flavor or some meats. I like to start off with lots of wood, but taper it off towards the end and finish with mostly just heat and no smoke. This is especially true for meats that cook for a really long time. Also, the wood shouldn’t actually catch on fire. You want it to just smolder so try to elevate it above your heat source.
For the ribs, prepping them early will help so it’s good that you already have them. Make sure to remove the membrane that runs along the back of the bones. It’s a thin, opaque film that you have to peel off very carefully. After that, hit them with some dry rub, then a layer of mustard and then some more dry rub. After they’re seasoned and ready to smoke, wrap them in saran wrap and throw them back in the fridge overnight. When it comes to cooking, low and slow is the key. 225 for about 4-5 hours. Some people like to pull them off half way through and wrap them in foil for a couple hours. Then remove the foil and finish for an hour or so. That’s up to you really, since it’s more of personal preference really.
Good luck and post some pics of the results!
Will do BWT. How about barbeque sauce…? Also why do they do the foil? I saw that on SmokingMeatForum
I have here a before photo only of the full chicken. mmmm…raw chicken. Forgot to get an after pic.
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/sakimano/20130307_135832_zps419fe745.jpg
He took the task a little too literal huh?
You will never get crispy skin on chicken using the low and slow method. Discarding the skin and enjoying the meat is one solution (especially if you get your rub UNDER the skin. Another option is to smoke till done then quarter up and toss on the grill for a couple minutes to crisp up the skin. But, you risk drying things out this way. A final option is to use a torch (yup) to crisp up the skin. Actually another option would be to half cook the chicken in the smoker (meat really doesn’t “absorb” the smoke after the first 50% of smoking time anyways) and then transfer it to the oven at like 350-400 to finish. But again, you risk drying out the meat.
When I smoke chicken, I like to marinate in mojo criollo, smoke till done, then pull the chicken for some of the tastiest sandwiches ever. I discard the skin.
yeah, mine turned into pulled chicken for sandwiches
The skin was plenty crispy…just not good crispy lol. it’s literally like trying to bite through a 5 micrometre thin layer of carbon fiber. Not happening.
made that mistake at a good local bbq place, the outer layer was impenetrable