Finally....First weekend of Smoke!

[KY Smoke]

Well boys....took delivery of my #3 on 6/18, but because of work and a lot of other things, wasn't actually able to fire it up until this past weekend.  Started with a roaster chicken and a couple of bone-in chicken breasts (extra for smoked chicken salad) that were brined in Divot's recipe.  Brine was something new for me with chicken, but was a huge success.  Very tender and juicy.  However, I made the mistake of using store bought (lack of time) Montreal Poultry Seasoning.  Have never used that product, but added way too much extra salt and spices that you don't need, since you are not going to get a crispy skin with this smoker on poultry...as others have noted.  Will monkey with the brine recipe for our taste (sorry Divot), and limit the seasoning (rub) applied to the skin of poultry, since you're not getting a whole lot out of it anyway.

But the meat from the roaster chicken was a big hit for dinner on Saturday night. Then made smoked chicken salad from the white meat from the two breasts and what white meat was left from the roaster.  We prefer not to use dark meat in our chicken salad, and always pull the white meat , instead of cutting into chunks.  Then add some finely chopped celery, roasted pecan pieces, mayo to lube, and a little bit of salt and pepper.  With using the smoked chicken, this by far was the best chicken salad we've ever made!  My wife took what was left to work on Monday and the entire office wants me to make a batch for each of them.  Oh boy....what did I do?? 

But thanks for everyone's advice from all of the informational posts.  Would definitely have been lost without it.  Hopefully the smokes to come will get even better!  8)

 

[old sarge]

Sounds like a rousing success. Wait till you do a butt and some ribs. You are in for a true treat.

 

[jcboxlot]

+1

I did chicken my 1st cook.  haha, rarely to chicken anymore.  Its a pork machine!  Chicken goes on the charcoal when nice weather. 

 

[drains]

That chicken salad recipe sounds delicious. Your off and running now. I agree with the others about the ribs and brisket and butts. That's where these smokers excel. Try a pork butt or two and get that thang greasy! Enjoy!

 

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like a success, Jeff!!  Congrats on the inaugural smoke!

Go ahead and monkey with the brine - no worries!  Let me just give you a piece of advice, though.  If you brine anything, you need to thoroughly rinse it with cold water before putting on any rub.  And, you need to be conscious of the salt in the rub.  Brining, even with my poultry brine you used, does not make the meat salty (in itself).  Over-salting usually comes from either not rinsing thoroughly, or adding a high-salt content rub.  Salt in the brine creates a chemical reaction that modifies the protein molecules at the surface of the meat, so you need to really rinse the salt off of the surface before finishing your prep.

Now smoke a butt!!

 

[mizzoufan]

While I agree that it is a pork machine, I love it for chicken/turkey as well.  I'm not looking for the same thing as when I grill chicken, I'm looking for pulled/chopped/chunked so the skin doesn't bother me in the least.  That meat is an awesome meal starter when frozen.  100 different mexican dishes, chicken & dumplins, salads...the list is nearly endless.  When I get low I pull out all the whole chickens, breasts, thighs or whatever that the #2 will hold and load it up.

 

[Limey]

Jeff, glad you had such a great first smoke in the #3. You might want to try adding a few raisins into that chicken salad-they taste delicious. Also on the over salty issue, in addition to DM's point about carefully rinsing brined meats, I always make my own rubs and put no salt in them, then add additional salt if needed.

 

[KY Smoke]

Thanks for the advice guys.  I think you all hit on my "saltiness" issue.  Two things....was in such a hurry to get the chicken into the smoker (work delayed me from starting brine process by 3 hours), that I forgot to rinse the meat.  So that is most likely my main issue.  Secondly, I'm still not a fan of the Montreal Poultry Seasoning.  If time would have allowed, I would have tried some of the salt free poultry rubs that I've seen in the archive.  Next time for sure.

Regardless, the meat was still awesome.  Chicken salad even better!  I've heard the raisin idea before and everyone tries to get us to put grapes in it too. We've done both and we still like the finish product as is.  The smoked chicken made it even better though.  Personal preference I guess.

No worries on getting some pork in the thing.........the wife will be out of town this weekend.  So going to get a couple of butts in there and give it a whirl!  Will use my rub on these, as I know the flavor profile.  Take a look.  In general, typical Pork rub with a few modifications.  Welcome to any suggestions that might make it better though.

2 T - Onion Powder
2 T - Chili Powder
2 T - Garlic Powder
2 T - Smoked Paprika
2 T - Cumin
1 T - Black Pepper
1 T - Kosher Salt
1/2 t - Ground Clove
1/2 t - Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 C - Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 C - Turbinado Sugar

Thanks again guys!  Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July Weekend!

 

[DivotMaker]

Let us know how the butts turn out, Jeff!  You can brine them, too!

Brine for Boston Butts

 

[KY Smoke]

Thanks Tony!  May just try the brine this weekend too, just to try something different than the "old norm"!  Will definitely take some pics this time and post.  8)

 

[DivotMaker]

If you try it, Jeff, let me know what you think - good or bad!

 

[KY Smoke]

Will do Tony.  Brining Tomorrow night and the smoking Saturday.  Will keep you posted. 

Hey, do have one question for you though Tony.  Where are you finding 18" rolls of heavy duty plastic wrap these days?  Haven't bought any in over a year and just ran out this week.  Looked at Sam's and GFS and neither had any heavy duty rolls.  Had to settle for a 12" roll I found at Wally World.  Will be about useless on big cuts.  Let me know.  Thanks.

 

[DivotMaker]

Jeff, I buy mine at Sam's.  They're in the restaurant supply section.  I buy foil there, too.  Much better quality than the Reynold's HD rolls from WallyWorld.  Next time you're at Sam's, you might ask about it.  At mine, it's in a different isle than the utensils and plastic containers.

 

[KY Smoke]

Does the plastic wrap box from Sam's that you have state "Heavy duty" on it?  I looked at all of the wrap boxes last night and none of them state Heavy Duty anymore.  I'll have to ask someone at my Sam's if they carry that type anymore.  Maybe they were just out of it yesterday.  Thanks though Tony.

 

[DivotMaker]

Jeff, here's what I buy from Sam's:

Foil and Plastic Wrap

The plastic doesn't say "heavy duty," but it's much heavier than the grocery store stuff.

 

[KY Smoke]

Thanks for the pics of the box. I got the roll that I just finished from Sam's and it said heavy duty, but was a year or two old.  As long as that box is commercial strength/grade, that will work.  Thanks again.

 

[DivotMaker]

No problem, Jeff.  Works fine.