Another first time smoke - chicken and sausage

smcswain · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject: Another first time smoke - chicken and sausage

Last weekend I did my first brisket. This weekend I wanted to do something a little quicker, so I was going to try some bone-in chicken breasts and sausages.

I have about 2 lbs of sweet italian sausage, a package of venison sausage that came highly recommended from my butcher, and 5 large bone-in chicken breasts.

I'm guessing the sausages will be relatively straightforward, right? Not a lot of prep work there. As for the chicken, I'm looking for a relatively simple brine and rub kinda recipe... nothing fancy. I've never brined anything before, though. I read the "Brining 101" thing linked off the chicken recipe forum. Anybody got a nice, simple recipe for a brine and rub they'd wanna share? I checked the recipe forums and didn't really find what I was looking for (not that I looked at every thread, though).

Thanks!

Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

1 cup sugar
1 cup salt
garlic, onion and basil to taste [ really heavy for me! a few tBSP]
a load of ice = about another gallon [ 7 pound bag]

I brine overnight and straight to smoker - no rinse
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smcswain · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

Thanks. Do I brine that long even for just individual chicken breasts? I thought maybe a few hours at most.

Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

A few hours will do it - I have done overnight on whole birds - many say this is too long, but I havent had an issue - you can scale down on the salt / sugar and go longer, or leave as is and go 4 hours or so - you will notice either way!
ONCE I did a huge batch overnight, going with way too much salt, and had a little ham like texture - it was actually kinda good!!...lol Embarassed

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smcswain · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

Sounds great! Thanks!

smcswain · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

I ended adding 1/2 cup table salt (we didn't have Kosher Crying or Very sad

), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and several sprigs of parsley in a little less than a gallon of water, then adding a big scoop of ice to bring the temp down faster and hopefully bring it up to a gallon even.

I just put the chicken breasts in 30 minutes ago, and I'm planning on taking them out after about 2-3 hours total.

Then, in an effort to get some crispy skin, I'm going to pat them dry and leave them in the fridge another few hours before applying rub and throwing on the smoker for an hour, then put them skin-side down directly over the coals for a few minutes to crisp up.

I'll post pics. Very Happy

smcswain · Posted: Jul 30 2011 Post subject:

I ended adding 1/2 cup table salt (we didn't have Kosher Crying or Very sad

), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and several sprigs of parsley in a little less than a gallon of water, then adding a big scoop of ice to bring the temp down faster and hopefully bring it up to a gallon even.

I just put the chicken breasts in 30 minutes ago, and I'm planning on taking them out after about 2-3 hours total.

Then, in an effort to get some crispy skin, I'm going to pat them dry and leave them in the fridge another few hours before applying rub and throwing on the smoker for an hour, then put them skin-side down directly over the coals for a few minutes to crisp up.

I'll post pics. Very Happy

chilehead70301 · Posted: Jul 31 2011 Post subject:

I doubt you will get crispy skin on a smoker. It depends in the temp.
I usually smoke them then place on a gas grill at high heat or under broiler in your oven. I smoked some chicken wings last weekend and when i pulled them off the smoker, they went into the broiler until the skin was crispy. They were very good.
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smcswain · Posted: Jul 31 2011 Post subject:

Well, I'd say things went pretty well. I ran the smoker between 300-345 the whole time. Put the chicken on the bottom grate, then put the sausages on the top grate about 20 minutes after the chicken. The sausages took about half an hour to get to 160. After I took them off, I basted the chicken with BBQ sauce and waited for them to get to 160. I probably would've been golden if I'd taken them off then... the skin looked pretty good. But I got greedy and took the middle part out of the WSM, put the grate directly over the coals, and flipped the chicken skin side down. Problem is I had to run inside to grab a plate, and by the time I got back out (like 30 seconds later), flames were already charring the skin. Not a big deal because I actually like a little char on things, and the end result still ended up pretty good. Even the charred skin tasted good. The chicken was awesome... really juicy with great flavor. The sausages were excellent, too, although I'd love to get that skin a little snappier, too.

Pretty happy with the results for such a quick smoking session... AND we've got leftovers for dinner tomorrow.

Which brings me to my other question... anybody know the best way to reheat a chicken breast without losing all that juicyness I worked so hard to get?

k.a.m. · Posted: Jul 31 2011 Post subject:

smcswain, awesome job on the yard bird and sausage everything looks delicious. Very Happy

The plate up looks fantastic. Nicely done my man. Very Happy

If you have a food saver vacuum those up and seal them then reheat them in boiling water. Or wrap them in foil and warm them up in the oven.
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