Smoke-Roasted Chicken

AllenOK

New member
Smoke-Roasted Chicken
Yields: 2 servings

This one sounds complex, but once your get the hang of it, is actually easy. The brine helps by adding moisture and flavor to the chicken. The way it works is the salt seeks an equilibrium. There is more salt in the brine than in the chicken, so the salt moves into the chicken, and carries water, and any flavors present in the water, with it.

In this recipe, the chicken isn't really "smoked", but rather cooked over direct heat. However, since I've got the heat down rather low, the chicken takes awhile to cook, and is exposed to the heat for a short time. The result is a terrific, smoky, char-grilled, herby chicken.

4 pieces of chicken, preferably bone-in and skin-on
2 c water, in all
1 T salt
Pepper, to taste
Minced garlic, to taste
thyme, to taste
sage, to taste
rosemary, to taste
1 T sugar, optional

Pour 1 c of the water into a small saucepan and place over high heat. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary, and sugar (if desired) to the water. Bring the brine up to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar, and to infuse the flavors of the herbs into the water. Remove from the heat, and add cold water, or better yet, ice cubes, to equal 2 c of liquid. You want to chill the brine down so you don’t poach the chicken as it brines. You might even want to prepare the brine a day ahead, and store it in the refrigerator until a few hours before you cook the chicken. Once the brine is cold, place the brine in a non-reactive container (either stainless steel, glass, or plastic; the saltwater is highly corrosive) and place the chicken into the brine. Allow to soak for 3 hours or so.
Preheat a gas grill or start a charcoal grill. I prefer to keep the grill covered and at about 300°F on a thermometer mounted onto the lid of the grill. If you don’t have a thermometer on the grill, prepare a medium fire, so that you can hold your hand over the grill for about 3 - 5 seconds. If you have an adjustable heighth setting for the grill, keep the coals as far from the grill as possible.
When the grill is hot, remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry, trying to leave any herbs on the chicken. Place on the grill, and close the grill. Cook for five minutes, then flip the chicken over. Continue cooking in this manner until the chicken is done, 20 - 25 minutes. Check the chicken with a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, but not touching bone. You want a temperature of 160°F.
Remove the chicken from the grill, and carry inside. Let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes, so carry-over cooking will finish bringing the chicken up to 165°F, the minimum recommended temperature for chicken. Serve with your favorite veggies and starch.
NOTES: I prefer grilling chicken with the bone in, as it holds together better. I also prefer to skin on, as it helps keep the meat moist. If you don’t want the skin, pull it off after you grill it. Really large bone-in breasts make take as long as 30 minutes to cook.
You can also do this with pork chops. Just omit the sage from the brine (sage will make the pork taste like sausage). Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once.
 
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