Cook #5 - Brined Chicken


 
Charles Howse

Charles Howse

TVWBB Wizard
Last night I split 2 chickens in the 4# range, brined them overnight in a mixture of 1/3 cup Morton Kosher Salt and 1/4 cup Brown Sugar and water in a 1 gallon Ziplock bag.

This morning, took them out of the fridge, rinsed well, patted dry, back in the fridge on a roasting pan to air dry the skin for another 3 hours or so.

Lit 1 full chimney of Kingsford and poured it into the circle. Bottom vents wide open.
BTW, I took this opportunity to put the top cook grate over the charcoal ring and burn off the residue from the last cook.
I watched as the residue started to bubble and smoke, then lightly scrubbed the rack with a wad of crumpled foil.
This worked so good on the one side, that I flipped the grate and did the other side, too.

Removed chicken from the fridge, painted with a light coat of EVOO, sprinkled with Blues Hog Rub, assembled unit, placed chicken on cook grate, skin side down, no water pan.

Added 1 large piece of Oklahoma Cherry wood split lengthwise into 3 pieces.
Cooking at 300* with no problems. Slight air leak around door. Lots of smoke.

Smells Great! Got that good, "Chicken grease drippin' on the coals" smell.

Turned chicken skin side up after 15 minutes.
Basted with Tennessee Red after 45 minutes.

This took a little longer than I was figuring, (2 1/2 hours) but turned out very well.
The skin had the flavor that I remember from the state fair when I was a boy.
(Yes, that *was* a long time ago!)
The skin wasn't perfect as far as 'crispy for eating' goes, but I don't see much left.

The best thing about this cook was that I had sense enough to leave the meat on the fire till it was done.
I made sure the leg bone turned all the way around when I twisted it.
 
Mmmmm... sounds good. Why didn't you do a .sml file attachment? Oh, wait, that smell-file capability doesn't come out until the 2006 version of Microsoft, does it? Darn.
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At 300, that 2 1/2 hours doesn't sound out of the norm. Takes me 2 hours (or a hair over) to do a full load of leg quarters at 300, so 2.5 for full halves sounds okay. Try going skin side down again about 3/4 of the way through the cook. Someone here suggested that to me on one of my Turbo Chicken posts, and it helped the skin texture for me, hitting it with the hard heat toward the end.

"Oklahoma" Cherry, eh?
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Could you tell a difference in color between the previous chicken that you did with hickory, and this one done with cherry?

Keri C, smokin' on Tulsa Time
 
Charles, it is interesting that you mention the the chicken drippings cooking in the coals and the smell...Many in NC slow cook their pork direct over the coals for the fat in the fire taste and smell.
 
.sml extension...don't we wish.

I cook at much higher temps and don't baste because I like the skin so much (I sometimes flip skin down near the end anyway). But your chicken sounds geat Charles. It seems like you've enjoyed the no-temps approach.
 
I nearly tried a no pan cook last Saturday, I did two chickens halved marinaded in a Mojo (I think that was Charles inspired [who was inspired by the Mad Profesor, apparently]) It was very good, but the skin could have been improved.
Maybe next time I'll not use the water pan, and move the chicken to the bottom grate, skin side down to crisp it up.

morgan
 
Thanks for the replies, everyone. Let's see if I can address all the replies in 1 msg.
I took 1 half bird to work to share with my friends, it got raves, and was gone before I knew it.

Keri-
I actually flipped the halves every 15 minutes after 1 hour, trying to help them get done and improve the skin.
I've got the crud, so I couldn't taste anything subtle in the way of smoke flavor, more of the 'fat in the fire' taste than anything to me.
This chicken wasn't real dark, but had a really nice color to it.

Kev-
The baste was just because I could, but I'm interested in higher temps...how high?...do you just add more charcoal?
I used a thermometer in the lid, right about 300* all the way.

Margan-
The Mojo tastes great, eh?
Yep, GW would have smacked me because I deviated from the "program".
Do you think the bottom grate is far enough above the coals to prevent flare-ups?
 
Yes, more coals. I like 400+. I also separate the skin--gently--as much as possible, and put rub or a rub/herb combo under the skin to keep it separate.
 
Good point, Kevin - I've seen in Cooks Illustrated several times where they separate (but not remove) the skin from the meat just as you mention, indicating that that helps in getting the underskin fat to the point of sizzling and thus improving the skin texture.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
Margan-
The Mojo tastes great, eh?
Yep, GW would have smacked me because I deviated from the "program".
Do you think the bottom grate is far enough above the coals to prevent flare-ups? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was surprised at how good it tasted

I would only move them to the bottom for a few minutes at the end
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Keri C:
Good point, Kevin - I've seen in Cooks Illustrated several times where they separate (but not remove) the skin from the meat just as you mention, indicating that that helps in getting the underskin fat to the point of sizzling and thus improving the skin texture. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
For oven roasted chicken I pour boiling water over the chicken (in the sink) and the skin really bubbles up and gets nice and crispy. Works in the BBQ too, but not as well.
 
Yep--and it works fairly well. You have to be gentle as it's easy to tear the breast skin, especially if you're working on a whole bird. I use a spoon, bowl down, to assist me.

I might be wrong (the early 80s are such a blur), but I think I first saw this procedure described in a recipe for some sort of Asian-esque chicken in a Cook's Magazine issue. This was several years before it died (it had ads then) and was later resurrected as Cook's Illustrated. I'm not sure if Chris Kimball had anything to do with the earlier mag, but you're right--CI has frequently included it in their turkey and chicken recipes.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You have to be gentle as it's easy to tear the breast skin, especially if you're working on a whole bird. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Did you see Iron Chef America where Ming Sai (or whatever his name is) used a small air compressor to seperate the skin from a whole duck?
He was making Peking Duck, which they say usually takes several days to prepare, and after he seperated the skin, he hung it in front of a fan to dry.
 
I've never seen Iron Chef--aren't they being timed or something? I've always used a bicycle pump but a compressor would sure be faster!

Btw, if you start in the morning you can do a duck for dinner the same day. If you use a fan for the hanging/drying stage you could even eat early.
 
Yes, they have an hour. Sort of like a bbq competition for gourmets in fast forward.
Here is the Food Network link. Every weeknight @ 10:00 Central time, and Sunday @ 8:00 for Iron Chef America.

You GOTTA watch at least once! Seriously! The "Chairman's" outfits are worth the 'price of admission' alone. :-)
 
I recently became a fan of the Iron Chef.

I haven't quite figured out the Chairman ... yes, the outfits are odd, but it's his facial expressions that weird me out.

You gotta love the voice overs!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dennis T.:
You gotta love the voice overs! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah! It's like a low budget Kung Fu movie...their mouth will move for a while, and THEN the translation starts!
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My favorites are when they use live ingredients .. eels, lobster, etc..

Have you watched the American Iron Chef ... I saw Battle Buffalo ... I'm thinking I'll be able to relate to the dishes they produce in the American version ... some of those Japanese dishes are down right nasty looking!

Maybe one day they'll have a barbeque version ...

"Let's see who's cuisine reigns supreme!"
 
Yes, I've watched several episodes of I. C. America.
Must have missed Battle Buffalo, last one I saw was Crab (live).

If they have a bbq battle, I hope Flay is involved. I think we sat at the same table he used when he went to Beale St., in Memphis and did a show about 'Blues City Cafe'.
BTW, the ribs there are good, but not great.
IMHO, the last ribs I made were better. ;-)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">BTW, the ribs there are good, but not great. IMHO, the last ribs I made were better. ;-) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
And here, ladies and gentlemen, you see the result of the WSM-induced rapid conversion of a mild-mannered even-tempered neighborly boy-next-door into a full-blown Commando-style Barbecue Snob Deluxe.

Welcome to our world!
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