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OT - Because it’s never to early to be thinking about 4th of July BBQ

desotodawg

desotodawg

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Sep 16, 2010
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If I am smoking a chicken I spatchcock it then brine it for 2 - 8 hours before hand. Brine is just 1/2 cup kosher salt enough water to cover it, orange juice, onions, peppercorn, minced garlic, and rosemary. I heat some of the water to dissolve the salt and activate the spices. THen add ice to cool it and pour over the chicken. Once brining is complete, then rinse, pat dry, put some butter under the skin, favorite rub, smoke at 260 till done. I prefer pecan or pecan/fruit blend for smoking. Use foil on wing tips to keep from burning. Spatchcocking allows for more even cooking and smoke surface area. usually take 1.5 - 2 hours to get to temp.

Edit to add: If you have never tried butterflying chicken legs for grilling I recommend it. Lets you get the skin on one side so it gets good and crispy, and more surface area for seasoning and cooks faster.
 
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dorndawg

dorndawg

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Love a good smoked chicken leg quarter. I did some legs just the other day on the Weber kettle. Hit them with a simple rub, ran them around 275-300, used a small amount of pecan chunks. Chicken is done at 165 but to me you want to get it up to 175-180, especially dark meat. Once they got up to 165, I put a little bbq sauce on them and let them go for 20 mins more or so on the indirect heat side.

Some folks like to move them over to the hot side to let the skin sear. I don't think this does any harm as long as you don't scorch your sauce (which is easy to do), but to me smoked chicken skin is always gonna be kinda weird no matter what you do so I never bother.

The temperature probe is about the most useful bbq tool I have, really can't recommend enough getting one. Something like this is all you need:

 
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dorndawg

dorndawg

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Sep 10, 2012
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desotodawg said:
If I am smoking a chicken I spatchcock it then brine it for 2 - 8 hours before hand. Brine is just 1/2 cup kosher salt enough water to cover it, orange juice, onions, peppercorn, minced garlic, and rosemary. I heat some of the water to dissolve the salt and activate the spices. THen add ice to cool it and pour over the chicken. Once brining is complete, then rinse, pat dry, put some butter under the skin, favorite rub, smoke at 260 till done. I prefer pecan or pecan/fruit blend for smoking. Use foil on wing tips to keep from burning. Spatchcocking allows for more even cooking and smoke surface area. usually take 1.5 - 2 hours to get to temp.

Edit to add: If you have never tried butterflying chicken legs for grilling I recommend it. Lets you get the skin on one side so it gets good and crispy, and more surface area for seasoning and cooks faster.
Click to expand...
Spatchcoking a chicken looks like too much work to me, especially when I despise touching raw chicken any more than I have to.
 
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desotodawg

desotodawg

New member
Sep 16, 2010
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dorndawg said:
Love a good smoked chicken leg quarter. I did some legs just the other day on the Weber kettle. Hit them with a simple rub, ran them around 275-300, used a small amount of pecan chunks. Chicken is done at 165 but to me you want to get it up to 175-180, especially dark meat. Once they got up to 165, I put a little bbq sauce on them and let them go for 20 mins more or so on the indirect heat side.

Some folks like to move them over to the hot side to let the skin sear. I don't think this does any harm as long as you don't scorch your sauce (which is easy to do), but to me smoked chicken skin is always gonna be kinda weird no matter what you do so I never bother.

The temperature probe is about the most useful bbq tool I have, really can't recommend enough getting one. Something like this is all you need:

Click to expand...
I would love to get a Meater wireless thermometer .. but just can't justify the price.
 
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The Peeper

The Peeper

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Feb 26, 2008
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dorndawg said:
The temperature probe is about the most useful bbq tool I have, really can't recommend enough getting one. Something like this is all you need:

Click to expand...
I went at least 35 years of cooking outside on grills, dutch ovens, cast iron skillets, etc and never once used a temp probe. Now that I started using them, I feel weird without one. Feels like on the rare occasion when I leave my watch or phone at home Im constantly look for them when I don't have them. Same when I don't have a temp probe now
 
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The Peeper

The Peeper

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dorndawg said:
Spatchcoking a chicken looks like too much work to me, especially when I despise touching raw chicken any more than I have to.
Click to expand...
Really easy after you've done it a couple times. Two cuts w/ a good sharp pair of kitchen shears down both sides of the spine, flip it and push down and break the breast bone and you're done. It's the only way to do turkey for me to get the breast and legs done at the same time
 
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dorndawg

dorndawg

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The Peeper said:
I went at least 35 years of cooking outside on grills, dutch ovens, cast iron skillets, etc and never once used a temp probe. Now that I started using them, I feel weird without one. Feels like on the rare occasion when I leave my watch or phone at home Im constantly look for them when I don't have them. Same when I don't have a temp probe now
Click to expand...
Same, pretty much. It really does reduce the number of times I make low-quality Q, steaks, etc
 
desotodawg

desotodawg

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Sep 16, 2010
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For ribs ( beef back/short or pork ), I "follow" the 3-2-1 ( usually more 2-1.5-.5 ), and use pomegranite juice instead of cider/orange juice when wrapping. Leave out the brown sugar too. Pomegranite makes a sweet tangy flavor on the ribs.

Short rib i will cook lower temp and longer. And wrap it like a brisket.
 
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BulldogBlitz

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Dec 11, 2008
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dorndawg said:
Spatchcoking a chicken looks like too much work to me, especially when I despise touching raw chicken any more than I have to.
Click to expand...
It's how we do chicken to impress guests that refuse pork. Not that difficult at all.
 
PapaDawg

PapaDawg

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Nov 19, 2014
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I brine a whole chicken for 24 hours. 1 cup of Kosher salt and a half cup of brown sugar in about a gallon of water. Smoke it at 250 until internal temp is 165 usually takes 1.75 - 2.0 hours.
 
DesotoCountyDawg

DesotoCountyDawg

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Nov 16, 2005
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desotodawg said:
For ribs ( beef back/short or pork ), I "follow" the 3-2-1 ( usually more 2-1.5-.5 ), and use pomegranite juice instead of cider/orange juice when wrapping. Leave out the brown sugar too. Pomegranite makes a sweet tangy flavor on the ribs.

Short rib i will cook lower temp and longer. And wrap it like a brisket.
Click to expand...
I just season the ribs and put them on the smoker. I tried 3-2-1 and really didn’t see the big deal but to each his own.

I bought an Oklahoma Joe Drum Smoker and have enjoyed using it. I can use it as a smoker or a charcoal grill which is nice.
 
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Dawgbite

Dawgbite

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An instant read thermometer is the single best tool for cooking meat. It’s the one tool that you get what you pay for. A $10-$20 thermometer will settle on temp in 5 seconds, a $75-$100 thermometer will settle at temp in a second or less. That doesn’t sound like a big difference but when your hand is over a 350* grill it’s a worthwhile investment. Don’t skimp, buy a good thermometer. Buy a ThermoWorks Thermapen One and you’ll probably never buy another one.
 
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Dawgbite

Dawgbite

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My favorite recipe for grilled chicken breast. Buy the biggest boneless skinless breast you can find. Cut a slit down the middle of the breast about 3/4 through. The cut at about a 45 inside the slit forming a pocket in each breast. Soften cream cheese and mix with diced jalapeños and you favorite seasoning. Stuff the pockets with the cream cheese mixture. Season outside of breast and wrap with bacon to keep the pocket closed. Cook to 165 and slice across the slit. You can leave the bacon off and toothpick the slits closed. I’ve also used capricola instead of bacon. The cream cheese adds enough moisture to camouflage the normally dry breast.
 
HotMop

HotMop

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May 8, 2006
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PapaDawg said:
I brine a whole chicken for 24 hours. 1 cup of Kosher salt and a half cup of brown sugar in about a gallon of water. Smoke it at 250 until internal temp is 165 usually takes 1.75 - 2.0 hours.
Click to expand...
This is close to what I do except I use apple cider vinegar and add a bit of cayenne pepper.
 
HotMop

HotMop

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DesotoCountyDawg said:
I just season the ribs and put them on the smoker. I tried 3-2-1 and really didn’t see the big deal but to each his own.

I bought an Oklahoma Joe Drum Smoker and have enjoyed using it. I can use it as a smoker or a charcoal grill which is nice.
Click to expand...
3-2-1 gets that fall of the bone that some people like, I prefer the chew better myself. 3-2-1 has a more pulled pork feel to me.
 
PBRME

PBRME

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Feb 12, 2004
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If it’s whole/spatchcock, my favorite way is in a barrel. Charcoal with oak and cherry/apple wood chunks. Temp around 325-350 to make sure the skin renders.Breast to 160 and let it rest. Temp will carry to 165 during rest for those concerned.

Of course there’s a lot more details, but that’s the basics.
 
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biodawg

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Mar 3, 2008
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Seinfeld said:
Who has a go to recipe/method for smoked chicken? It’s not something I’ve spent a lot of time on over the years because if I’m doing chicken, it’s almost always gonna be grilled chicken quarters. I’m thinking about going the smoked route this year, though
Click to expand...
Sent you a PM, Seinfeld.
 
A

Anon1665155225

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Oct 7, 2022
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DesotoCountyDawg said:
I just season the ribs and put them on the smoker. I tried 3-2-1 and really didn’t see the big deal but to each his own.

I bought an Oklahoma Joe Drum Smoker and have enjoyed using it. I can use it as a smoker or a charcoal grill which is nice.
Click to expand...
Got an Oklahoma Joe smoker as well. Love it. All my neighbors have a Traeger. Nice. But with a bunch of kids running around, my wallet won’t handle one of those.

I “cheat”, as some would call it, also called the Texas method. Put the rub on the ribs, sear each side for 3-5 minutes depending on temp, take em off, spray with apple cider vinegar, double wrap in foil, and throw back on the grill for an hour. Works for me.
 
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mcfly.sixpack

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Mar 21, 2009
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Seinfeld said:
Who has a go to recipe/method for smoked chicken? It’s not something I’ve spent a lot of time on over the years because if I’m doing chicken, it’s almost always gonna be grilled chicken quarters. I’m thinking about going the smoked route this year, though
Click to expand...
The most important thing is to brine it, and I would suggest any other wood than mesquite.
 
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