Misc. questions


 
T

Tim O

TVWBB Fan
Good morning,
I have been thinking about several things regarding smoking on my WSM. Instead of posting several posts in different categories (and flood the forum), I figured I'd post them here and see what kind of feedback I can get. Forgive me if some of these questions may sound dumb, just starting out here!

1. I am doing my second chicken today - the skin on my first one came out a bit rubbery, any ways to prevent then? I assume crisping the skin at the end over the coals, right?

2. Why no mustard on chickens before applying the rub? I assume its because the skin on a bird has some texture where the rub can stick to, whereas the ribs are just the meat flesh?

3. Thoughts on Bone Suckin' Good rubs and sauces? I used both on my first ribs and I was pleased with the sweet (but not too sweet) flavor of the sauce and how thin it was. I also think the rub was perfect. However, both were pretty expensive. Are products by BSG well-used in BBQ?

4. I plan on having several friends over in a month or so I can cook them up some food. There will probably be 8 people there so I am planning on doing two whole chickens, couple racks of ribs, and some appetizers (like hot wings or something). Here is how I plan on scheduling this (feedback appreciated on this arrangment!):
- Ribs on first and on the top rack, since they take anywhere from 3-4 hours
- I was also going through a pile of wings on the bottom grate and serve them up when I go to flip my ribs. How long do wings usually take? Any suggestions on a hot but sort-of sweet sauce for these guys? Do you apply the sauce afterwards like most do on ribs?
- After the wings came out, I was going to place the two chickens on the bottom rack to cook for the final 1hr 1/2 with the ribs.
Does this seem like it could work? Or would you change the order?

5. Finally, any other small or appetizer items I could throw out there with the wings? I read a cool recipe for baked beans but not sure I want a whole pan of em taking up a grate on my smoker when I can just bake em.

Thanks guys and sorry for the long post, enjoy the weekend and enjoy the smoke (for all of you who are goin' today!)
 
Let's see what I can offer:

1. I cook chicken closer to 300 degrees on my WSM. That lets the fat under the skin crisp up the skin. At lower temps, the fat doesn't get hot enough and just melts. You can also finish your chicken on the grill for a few minutes, but risk tearing that pretty skin and glaze if you used one.

2. I've used mustard on chicken before and have not had a problem. I can go either way on it. Mustard is optional to many folks, regardless of the meat being used. It's a personal thing IMHO.

3. I love Bone Suckin' Sauce (white label and lid, right?), but haven't tried the rubs. I usually make my own sauces and rubs so I know what goes into them. Paul Kirk has a great little book on sauces and rubs I highly recommend.

4. I've had chicken take longer than an hour and half before, so I would nail that time down first. Rather than whole chicken, why not go with drumsticks and wings only? They are easier as finger food for a party and cook quickly. The problem with wings is more of a factor of space than time. Wings take up a lot of space on a rack. I don't pile them on since I want them to smoke and let air flow freely around them. I think five lbs of wings just about fills the grates of my 18.5 WSM. I would smoke them first, pull them off and then do your ribs and chickens. The wings would reheat easily enough in the oven when it came time to serve.As far as sauce for your wings go, it's up to you. They take well to traditional wing sauce (Red Hot and butter), sweet BBQ sauces and even honey based ones.
 
Haven't tied this but have been thinking about it:

What if you didn't add water to the pan when doing chickens and you had them on the lower rack where it is hotter to crisp up the skin..........

Italian Dressing is a nice little marinade for chicken.
 
"but not sure I want a whole pan of em taking up a grate on my smoker when I can just bake em. "

Trust me... Yes, you do! MAJOR world of difference.
 
Marc said:
"but not sure I want a whole pan of em taking up a grate on my smoker when I can just bake em. "

Trust me... Yes, you do! MAJOR world of difference.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the ideas, guys. Maybe I'll try out the beans after all...any preference in wood for the ribs, chicken, and beans? I was gunna go apple and hickory...
 
1- Like Scott said, higher heat should help the skin.

2- I don't generally use mustard on anything that isn't frozen, and that's just to get rub to stick.

3- Can't help you with the BSG sauces.

4- ABTs are a great appetizer. I'm doing a couple dozen mini sweet peppers later today for a party. Take a look through the appetizer section in the recipes board for tons of ideas.

5- Wings are something I usually cook over high heat and they come out like fried, so you might want to try some other ideas. Sausages?
 
One of my local joints does a sweet-hot wingsauce. They start with franks and melted butter, but then add a lot of sugar. I don't know the measurements, but once you whisk in the frank's hot sauce, start adding sugar and tasting. I've made it before using sugar that has old vanilla beans tossed in the bag, and it's out of this world. Another option is to just mix hot sauce and bbq sauce together.
 
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