Tag: Chicken
Smoked Bone In Chicken Breasts
Smoked Bone In Chicken Breast
For how nice and juicy this chicken is, you’d think that there was a lot of work that went into preparing it. Honestly, no. This is possibly one of the lowest maintenanced things to make in a smoker. The brine is basic. If you have smaller chicken breasts under 1lb, brine them for 3 hours. If they are larger, over 1lb, they will need to brine for 4 hours. Pat them dry. Let them rest at room temp for an hour. Smoke them in a preheated 250 degree smoker until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let them rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 split chicken breasts
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
- applewood chips
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together.
- Brine the chicken breasts in a gallon sized storage bag for 4 hours.
- Pat dry and let rest at room temp for an hour.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees according to the manufacturer’s directions. Smoke the chicken breasts for 2 hours. Using a probe thermometer, monitor the internal temperature until it reaches 160 degrees.
Tips For Smoking Bone In Chicken Breasts
- If using smaller chicken breasts under 1lb, brine them for 3 hours. If they are larger, over 1lb, they will need to brine for 4 hours.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and let rest at room temp for an hour. This will allow the smoke to stick to the chicken better.
- Hickory, applewood, cherrywood, oak, and alder are all great woods for smoking chicken.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees.
- Using a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature, smoke until the chicken reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.
- Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Smoked Chicken Legs
Smoked Chicken Legs
So I bought an electric smoker. I wanted some smoked chicken. The best deal I can find on chicken are 10lb. bags of whole chicken legs for $5.99. That’s $0.59lb for chicken. Can’t really beat that, plus dark meat is more moist and ideal for smoking. You can obviously use any part of the chicken, but smoking and brining times will vary. A basic brine consists of water, salt, and sugar. I added a head of garlic, black peppercorns, olive oil, and dark soy sauce. The olive oil allows the skin to stay crispy instead of leathery. That dark soy sauce will give the chicken a dark, golden color when being smoked. Dissolve all of the ingredients together and let get to room temp. Depending on the size of the legs, they will need to brine for 3-4 hours. The chicken legs I bought were ginormous. Over 1lb a piece. They needed a full 4 hours. Once they are finished, pat them dry with paper towel. This will allow the smoked to stick better to the chicken.Preheat your electric smoker according to the manufacturer’s instructions to 225 degrees. Chicken is versatile in the smoker when it comes to choosing the wood you use. I used equal amounts of apple and cherry woods during the smoking process. Smaller sized legs around 3/4lb will take about 3 hours of smoking. Larger ones, 1lb. plus, will take 4 hours. The internal temperature needs to read 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. Having a digital probe thermometer comes in handy for smoking. Mine can withstand 700 degrees. Leave it in the chicken the entire time to monitor the temp. This also helps maintaining the temp by minimalizing how many times the door to the smoker getting opened.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 8 whole chicken legs
Brine
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 head garlic minced
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
Wood Chips
- applewood chips
- cherrywood chips
Instructions
- Mix all of the brine ingredients together.
- Put the whole chicken legs in gallon sized storage bags. Split the brine between the two bags. Brine the chicken for 4 hours.
- Place the whole legs on your smokers racks. Pat the legs dry with paper towel.
- Preheat your smoker 225 degrees according to the manufacturer’s directions. Smoke the chicken legs for up to 4 hours. The internal temp needs to read 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
Tips for smoking chicken
- Brine chicken legs for 3 hours for ones that are 3/4lb; 4 hours for ones 1lb. plus. Brining adds moisture and saltiness to the chicken.
- Pat the legs dry with paper towel before smoking. This allows the smoke to stick to the legs better.
- Smoke the chicken at 225 degrees.
- Use a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. The legs have to read 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. Smaller legs will take 3 hours to smoke; larger legs will take 4 hours.
Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas
Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas
This recipe is a basic Moroccan chicken tagine with chickpeas. The tagine cover has a well in the top. Filling it with cold water allows all of the condensation to return to the bottom of the pot. Cooking in a tagine requires very little liquid while trapping in all of the heat. The thighs are so tender that the bone pulls right out. Serve the chicken and chickpeas with couscous.
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
Chicken Seasonings
- 6 bone in chicken thighs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 16 oz chickpeas
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs.
- Heat up the olive oil in a large tagine over medium heat. Add in the thighs, skin side down. Brown the chicken for 5 minutes a side. Remove from the tagine and set aside.
- In the same tagine, cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the seasonings, stock, and chickpeas. Place the chicken thighs on top.
- Place the cover of the tagine on. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes
