Winner Winner Second Place Chicken Dinner


 
Michael Richards

Michael Richards

TVWBB Emerald Member
So I was feeling really really good about today's cook until I looked at Cliff's chicken enchiladas😢😂😏😁. So I smoked a whole chicken on the kettle to make a Thanksgiving style feast. Used my 2018 Turkey Rub, which is one of the best creations I have come up with. This makes the best gravy I have ever made or had in my life! IMG_20210103_161122.jpgIMG_20210103_161128.jpg
Chicken stock in a drip pan below for the gravy to come. Small piece of Pecan wood in each basket with RO Chefs Select.
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A little sleet, freezer rain, and snow, perfect bbq weather. IMG_20210103_161134.jpg
Temps keep climbing so I used the bottom vent to slow air flow and got it locked in at 350. Once I made that adjustment it do not move the whole time! IMG_20210103_161159.jpg
And the first check and flipped.
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Also started some brown sugar carrots on the kettle. IMG_20210103_170800.jpgIMG_20210103_170100.jpg
And it's doneIMG_20210103_183218.jpgIMG_20210103_183156.jpg
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Oh anyone who saw my best ever ribs cook, my youngest was by my side all day today. She did almost everything to make the sides. Here she is making the roux for the gravy. IMG_20210103_183244.jpg
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And plated before gravy. IMG_20210103_183136.jpg
The wings and legs where out of this world and somehow I got all of them!!! IMG_20210103_183127.jpg
And gravy added. IMG_20210103_183121.jpg
So this cook was so good. The chicken turned out perfect. Wife said the best bird I have cooked outside yet. My niece who is a super picky eater keep asking for more chicken. After the chicken was gone my daughter asked why I didn't make a larger bird. So those comments were pretty good praise to me! Thanks for looking, now go look at Cliff's Winner Winner First Place Chicken Enchiladas Dinner.
 
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TCampbell said:
Well done, Michael!!! It all looks amazing. What's in your rub, if you're willing to say 🙂?
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TCampbell I would love to share. So when I started cooked Thanksgiving dinner my wife shared she hates the meal because it is so bland. So I started to try to find a way to add flavor and followed a recipe for a kicken cajun rub and it was really good. I lost that recipe and then the next 2 years trying other recipes and neither got close so I finally just started to try to create my own and keep track of everything I did and keep making changes until in 2018 we thought it was perfect and have keep with it since.

So here is my 2018 Turkey Rub:
4 Tablespoons Crushed Garlic
4 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons Onion Powder
2 Tablespoons Red Peepers Flakes
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1/2 Tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

OVOO to rub the bird

Mix it all up, I always start at the end and work up, adding the garlic last as that turns in from a rub to almost a paste. I alway do a simple overnight wet salt brine on my birds and after a good dry, I cut the skin so I can get to the meat. Next I rub the bird with OVOO, not too much just enough to cover, you don't want tons of oil getting in your future gravy. Then add the rub and get it under the skin on the meat, all over the skin and in the inter cavity. Place stock or broth underneath to catch all that falls and drips off the bird. Once the bird is pulled, run the drippings through a fine mess screen, you want the flavor, but not all the chucks of rub. Skim the top oil off the dripping and add to a simple roux or how ever you like to thicken gravy and let it go. I also add a little half and half The gravy is rich and decadent with this heat that hits you in the back of the mouth. Oh and you can add more Cayenne and red pepper flakes if you like heat, this brings a little but not too much, or you can turn it down if you want also.
I halved this recipe for today's chicken and doubled it for this year 19 lb Turkey so I think it is set for a 10 to 15 lb bird.
Thanks for asking!
 
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Looks like a tasty cook!

You say your wife wants non bland poultry. Have you tried roadside chicken yet? You can use the marinade on pieceschicken, whole chicken, spatched chicken.
It’s flavor punch crowd pleaser. Here’s a post to wet your whistle:

tvwbb.com

Roadside Chicken and grilled corn salad

Its been freaking hot here and its supposed to be freaking hot for the next couple weeks. So eating light at night has been the theme. I see that roadside chicken is popular here. I have had the recipe for several years, found on a food blog, but have never made it. Let me tell you it wont be...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com

pa this marinade is also good on pork and beef.
 
CaseT said:
Looks like a tasty cook!

You say your wife wants non bland poultry. Have you tried roadside chicken yet? You can use the marinade on pieceschicken, whole chicken, spatched chicken.
It’s flavor punch crowd pleaser. Here’s a post to wet your whistle:

tvwbb.com

Roadside Chicken and grilled corn salad

Its been freaking hot here and its supposed to be freaking hot for the next couple weeks. So eating light at night has been the theme. I see that roadside chicken is popular here. I have had the recipe for several years, found on a food blog, but have never made it. Let me tell you it wont be...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com

pa this marinade is also good on pork and beef.
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Oh yeah, RSC was one of the first recipes I learned from this site. Cooked it four times in the past year. First time I did it on the top rack of the WSM 14 no water pan and loved the way I could add Marinade and the fire and smoke would roll, then I moved it right over the fire. Next, I cooked in on the kettle indirect/direct, not as good. Then I tried it with the vortex on the kettle still not as good. Went back to in the WSM no water pan and decided yep that's the way to cook it!
 
Love it, looks very good.
I would however never use that jarred pre cut garlic stuff though, read up on it and you won't want it either.
I used to here and there until someone showed me what I didn't know.
Fresh always makes me happier anyways.
I have been waiting to cook a spatch chicken, maybe use your ideas on it when it comes time.
thanks!
 
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BFletcher said:
Beautiful cooks! And with praise like that you must keep it up.
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Yeah, I feel like I am really getting to the point where I know both how my family likes their Q cooked and how to actually achieve those results. Being about to find the sweet spot where those two meet is making BBQing even more enjoyable.
 
Michael Richards said:
So I was feeling really really good about today's cook until I looked at Cliff's chicken enchiladas
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Funny, I got the same feeling when I looked at your masterpiece Michael. Man, did you nail this cook. If we were having a competition, and we're not, I'd pick yours first any day of the week. So much detail and things to love besides the delicious chicken. That gravy looks off the chart and I absolutely love the carrot side dish. You do a great job and your enthusiasm is infectious. Keep up the good work!!
 
Cliff Bartlett said:
Funny, I got the same feeling when I looked at your masterpiece Michael. Man, did you nail this cook. If we were having a competition, and we're not, I'd pick yours first any day of the week. So much detail and things to love besides the delicious chicken. That gravy looks off the chart and I absolutely love the carrot side dish. You do a great job and your enthusiasm is infectious. Keep up the good work!!
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Thanks so much Cliff for those kind words. No we are not competition, rather I continue to learn so much from you and the other masters here!
 
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