Fruit Juices On Chicken

[Guest]

I have read several postings where you have talked about using apple juice to spray the chicken while smoking. I tried it and it was great. I was wondering, is apple juice better than other juices? I was thinking about pinapple juice and was wondering if anyone had already done this and how was the results? I have 4 birds ready to go this monring and apple juice ready but if there have been good results with pinapple I was going to give it a try. Thanks everyone for helping a "rookie" smoker. I have learned alot from all of you that post.

 

[Mark Silver]

Johnny, I've used apple, pineapple and orange juice at various times on chicken and all are great. Welcome to the board and good luck!

 

[Susan Z]

If you've ever had sweet and sour chicken, you know that pineapple and chicken are a lovely pair. I've read that you need to be cautious with pineapple juice and chicken, tho, in terms of not putting it on too early (I guess that means don't marinate yer chicken in pineapple juice for a long time), cuz its enzymes will break down the chicken flesh too much. Or something like that.

 

[K Kruger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">its enzymes will break down the chicken </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That can be a problem with fresh juice/fruit. Heating the juice or fruit first will de-activate the enzymes. Btw, protein-altering enzymes are also found in kiwi, gingerroot, papaya, figs and guava.