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Smoking Joe's BBQ In Process - With Pics (1 Viewer)

Joe Bryant

Joe Bryant

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Staff member
Several folks have asked for more on the smoked chicken I talked about.

It's a very easy way to make smoked chicken BBQ. And I think it tastes great. I've had a lot of BBQ and I'd put it up there on the list. Partly because it's a lot easier to make your own great BBQ when you can control everything than it is to eat in a BBQ joint.

Here's how I do it.

The Prep. Here is the secret to great chicken or turkey: Brining. Many of you already do this. If you don't, you have to start. It's that big a deal. All it really amounts to is soaking the meat for 4-12 hours in a salt water solution. I'm sure the science guys can explain why it works but it's something about osmotic balance and salt ions but the net result is the meat is WAY more juicy and flavorful. I'd be willing to bet the best chicken or turkey you've ever eaten had been brined. Trust me. This works.

Basic rule of thumb is 1 CUP (yes cup) of regular table salt per 1 gallon of water. You can add other spices and sugars if you like. But the salt is the main thing.

Here is how I make mine when I'm going to be smoking 6 chickens. Obviously cut this down or make more based upon how much meat you're brining and what container you're using.

I use a Coleman 48 qt cooler.

Fill it with:

2 1/2 Gallons water

2 1/2 cups table salt

2 cans cheap lemon lime soft drink

3 lemons cut in half and squeezed

1 tbl garlic powder

1/2 tbl black pepper

1 jug (16 oz) cheap pancake syrup

Stir all this together and mix well. You have to really stir it up because that's a lot of salt. Some people like Alton Brown advocate heating the brine but that's another step. I skip it and mix mine directly in the cooler and it works great.

Wash chickens well under water and then place in cooler into brine.

Then pour a bag of ice over the top and close cooler lid.

I let this sit usually for 12 hours. I don't freak out if it's 14 hours or so but any more than that and it can be too salty.

An hour before you're ready to put the chicken on the grill, remove from brine. Set out and let start coming up to room temperature. You don't want to throw ice cold meat on a hot grill.

With me so far?

J

 
The Smoker.

I have a big offset steel smoker (Oklahoma Joes) that I like a lot. I use it for smoking pork shoulder.

But for smoking chickens, I learned on the most reliable piece of BBQ equipment ever created and I've just never strayed from it - the Weber Kettle Grill.

But we're not grilling. Grilling is high heat directly below what you're cooking.

What we're doing with this is smoking. That is lower heat, with the heat source off to the side of what you're cooking. Cook books will call it Indirect Heat. Fancy term for saying the chicken is in the center of the grill in an aluminum pan sort of shielded from the heat and the heat source is on the sides of the grill.

Weber makes little holders to hold the briquets off to the side http://www.amazon.com/Weber-9600Char-Baske...3475&sr=8-1

They work fine. I made a cheap divider out of metal tht is basicall just two flat pieces of steel with a bar in between. Looks like I--I Coals go on the outide of the I. Bottom line is you want the coals to the sides, not directly under the chicken.

Charcoal. There is lots of talk about hardwood charcoals and natural lump charcoal. I always have just used regular Kingsford charcoal. ( never use the matchlight stuff that is soaked in lighter fluid. Never. ) I have never found that much difference between the more expensive lump charcoal and the regular stuff. A recent test in Cooks Illustrated magazine found the same thing.

To start the charcoal, a fantastic invention is the chimney starter. It's a must have. I highly recommend this one http://www.amazon.com/Weber-87886-Chimney-...3475&sr=8-1 and Ive tried a lot.

You crumple up 3 sheets of newspaper in the bottom and fill the top with briquets. Then light the paper and the chimney effect does the rest. 45 minutes later, you have perfect coals.

So pull the chicken out of the brine. And fire up the chimeys of charcoal. You'll need one chimney for each grill.

More in a bit.

J

 
Getting the chicken ready to go on the smoker.

Use one of those heavy duty aluminum pans like you'd cook a turkey in.

Rinse off when the chicken is out of the brine. Coat lightly with vegetable oil. sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

Put 3 chicken in each pan. Breast side down.

I also will do a big box of chicken legs for the kids. They are brined right along side the chickens.

Pic below of the 3 kettle grills.

Pic of the 3 chickens when first put on

Pic of bunch of legs first put on.

3_kettles_ready.jpg

bunchoflegs_start.jpg

3chickens_start1.jpg

 
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :thumbup:

Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?

 
JB knows his BBQ.

Re: brining, if you have less time (6 hours say), up the salt. If you're going to brine for like a whole 24 hours, reduce the salt.

 
Is this not alot of work/prep for 45 minutes of eating?

I like throwing the chicken on a Weber and seasoning it.

Man.....the South is a different place.

 
Sack-Religious said:
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :goodposting: Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?
Click to expand...
If you own a grill then you own a smoker, the secret is to simply find a way to make the heat indirect.Best method is to take a fiol pan much like what he used for the chicked and place about a half inch of water in it and then place wood chunks or chips in the water. Place the water directly on the heatsource. Fight the erge to lift the lid to check on the meat, keep it closed, there is little chance of flare ups because the flames cant reach the meat with the pan in the way.
 
Sack-Religious said:
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :goodposting:

Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?
Click to expand...
Brining is essential if you want to create really good poultry and (some) pork dishes, regardless of cooking method.Our thanksgiving turkeys are always brined, even if we deep fry them or cook them in an oven. Brining pork chops makes them about 5x better on the grill.

Don't brine red meat though!

Brining bags are a cool toy :bye:

Whatever you do, DO NOT brine in a reactive metal container, like a aluminum pot or something. The cooler method or a brining bag are the way to go here.

 
When the briquets are ready to go (meaning they have turned from black to ash gray), you spread them out on each side of the grill. Put a chunk of hickory wood on top of the briquets. Some people like to soak it in water. I don't. Just put it on dry and it'll be fine. Chunk of wood is about the size of a 12 oz. coke can.

Once the chicken is on. You pretty much just :goodposting:

Every 30 minutes, you need to do 2 things.

Add 2 more charcoal briquets to each side of the grill (4 per grill) and put a new chunk of hickory wood on top of the briquets if the old one has burned up.

Adding new briquets to the hot briquets is sort of the "minion method" we've talked about earlier. The new briquets will light themselves from the hot briquets over the next 30 minutes or so. You keep replenishing the briquets every 30 minutes and you can go for a while.

Pic attached of

minion method

2 hours on the legs

2 hours on the chickens

3chickens_2hours.jpg

minion_closeup.jpg

bunchoflegs_2_hours.jpg

 
Sack-Religious said:
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :thumbdown: Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?
Click to expand...
Hi Sack,Snit's on it above. I recommend brining chicken and turkey pretty much regardless of how you're going to cook it. It really does make a difference.J
 
Agree about brining although I've only done it with TDay Turkey. It's great when the best Turkey you've ever had was the one you prepared.

 
After 2 hours, do this:

Remove the pans with chicken from the grill and drain off the juices. Sometimes there's a lot. Somtimes not as much. But you don't want the chickens submerged at all. I usually just carefully tilt the pan and pour into a container. Do NOT tilt too far over. So if you've been doing a lot of :unsure: up to this point, get someone to help. Dumping 3 half cooked chickens on the ground is not good eats.

J

 
Dr. J said:
Agree about brining although I've only done it with TDay Turkey. It's great when the best Turkey you've ever had was the one you prepared.
Click to expand...
A good benefit of brining your t-giving bird is that it helps keep the thing from becoming too dry from overcooking.You can go 5-10 degrees overboard and it will still be moist because of the brine.
 
Oh yeah, sorry - 2nd thing to do at 2 hours is to flip the chickens over.

Now you want them breast side up.

J

 
Continue with the same drill of adding charcoal and hickory chunks every 30 minutes.

At 3 hours, they should look pretty much like the pics attached.

About another hour or so to go.

J

3chickens_3hours.jpg

bunchoflegs_3hours.jpg

 
Question...I just bought a gas grill about 2 weeks ago; can it be turned into a smoker as well? If so...how?

Also, I have used a brine bath for turkey and chicken when I bake it but would it work the same if I put some breasts, thighs, legs, etc. in a brine bath and then just cooked them on the grill like you normally grill them or does it only work when you are smoking them?

TIA

For those of you that like corn on the cob with your BBQ...try buying the corn still in the husk, soaking it in a brine of water with equal parts of salt and sugar for about 24 hours and cook it on the grill then take the husks off after its cooked....good stuff!

 
Joe Bryant said:
Continue with the same drill of adding charcoal and hickory chunks every 30 minutes.At 3 hours, they should look pretty much like the pics attached.About another hour or so to go.J
Click to expand...
"At 3 hours"...meaning 2 hours, then 1 hour flipped to breast up? Or, 2 hours, then 3 hours breast side up?
 
Joe Bryant said:
After 2 hours, do this:Remove the pans with chicken from the grill and drain off the juices. Sometimes there's a lot. Somtimes not as much. But you don't want the chickens submerged at all. I usually just carefully tilt the pan and pour into a container. Do NOT tilt too far over. So if you've been doing a lot of :lmao: up to this point, get someone to help. Dumping 3 half cooked chickens on the ground is not good eats.J
Click to expand...
This all looks great! One idea, if you like; I prefer smoking my chickens/turkeys vertically but this can work either way:Get a rack sized to fit in/over the pans so the birds stay out of the juices. Depending on how much room you've got in the smoker (and what depth pan you can fit) you may still need to drain the pan mid-stream, but that way you won't have to worry about the bottom half sitting in their grease and it also allows the smoke to circulate around the whole bird.
 
snitwitch said:
Dr. J said:
Agree about brining although I've only done it with TDay Turkey. It's great when the best Turkey you've ever had was the one you prepared.
Click to expand...
A good benefit of brining your t-giving bird is that it helps keep the thing from becoming too dry from overcooking.You can go 5-10 degrees overboard and it will still be moist because of the brine.
Click to expand...
Yup, and if you want to even up the cooking a bit you can inject some extra brine into the breasts prior to smoking.
 
glumpy said:
Joe Bryant said:
After 2 hours, do this:Remove the pans with chicken from the grill and drain off the juices. Sometimes there's a lot. Somtimes not as much. But you don't want the chickens submerged at all. I usually just carefully tilt the pan and pour into a container. Do NOT tilt too far over. So if you've been doing a lot of :rolleyes: up to this point, get someone to help. Dumping 3 half cooked chickens on the ground is not good eats.J
Click to expand...
This all looks great! One idea, if you like; I prefer smoking my chickens/turkeys vertically but this can work either way:Get a rack sized to fit in/over the pans so the birds stay out of the juices. Depending on how much room you've got in the smoker (and what depth pan you can fit) you may still need to drain the pan mid-stream, but that way you won't have to worry about the bottom half sitting in their grease and it also allows the smoke to circulate around the whole bird.
Click to expand...
Beer Can Chicken down? :banned:
 
DynOmite said:
Joe Bryant said:
Continue with the same drill of adding charcoal and hickory chunks every 30 minutes.At 3 hours, they should look pretty much like the pics attached.About another hour or so to go.J
Click to expand...
"At 3 hours"...meaning 2 hours, then 1 hour flipped to breast up? Or, 2 hours, then 3 hours breast side up?
Click to expand...
Hi dyno,Yes, "3 hours" means 2 hours breast side down. Flipped. Then 1 hour breast side up. 3 hours total at that time.J
 
E-Z Glider said:
How do you plan to serve the whole chickens once they're cooked?
Click to expand...
Hi EZ,It's so tender at the end that it's pretty much falling off the bone.When they're done (usually about 4 or 4.5 hours) I'll pull off the grill and let rest for about an hour or so.Then I'll just pull pieces of meat off and pile it up. Looks a lot like pulled pork BBQ.Some people make sandwiches out of it. Some eat it without a bun but add sauce.Some eat it just plain by itself (my preference)When you're eating BBQ out, always go for the "pulled" version if you can. Lots of places chop the meat really fine or put it through a grinder. They do that so they can use more of the meat. When it goes through a grinder, you can throw in all the gristle and whatever. When it's pulled, you can cull out the bad pieces and leave just prime. (Of course you want some crispy skin and a little fat thrown in. This isn't health food although smoked chicken is pretty darn healthy I guess. Pork shoulder not as much)J
 
snitwitch said:
Sack-Religious said:
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :loco:

Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?
Click to expand...
Brining is essential if you want to create really good poultry and (some) pork dishes, regardless of cooking method.Our thanksgiving turkeys are always brined, even if we deep fry them or cook them in an oven. Brining pork chops makes them about 5x better on the grill.

Don't brine red meat though!

Brining bags are a cool toy :)

Whatever you do, DO NOT brine in a reactive metal container, like a aluminum pot or something. The cooler method or a brining bag are the way to go here.
Click to expand...
When brining, is there a rule of thumb regarding the amount of water/salt per pound of meat?
 
Joe Bryant said:
I'll just pull pieces of meat off and pile it up. Looks a lot like pulled pork BBQ.
Click to expand...
Sounds excellent. Im going to have to give this a try. I dont bbq chicken very often because my wife doesnt like to eat meat off the bone. :softball:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Al Czervik said:
snitwitch said:
Sack-Religious said:
I like the old Joe Bryant Friday fishing trips, but this is really good stuff, too! :thumbup:

Do you recommend brining all whole BBQ chickens? Even for those of us without smokers?
Click to expand...
Brining is essential if you want to create really good poultry and (some) pork dishes, regardless of cooking method.Our thanksgiving turkeys are always brined, even if we deep fry them or cook them in an oven. Brining pork chops makes them about 5x better on the grill.

Don't brine red meat though!

Brining bags are a cool toy :)

Whatever you do, DO NOT brine in a reactive metal container, like a aluminum pot or something. The cooler method or a brining bag are the way to go here.
Click to expand...
When brining, is there a rule of thumb regarding the amount of water/salt per pound of meat?
Click to expand...
Place the meat in the container and cover with plain water. Remove the meat and measure the remaining water to determine the amount of flavor brine you'll need to make.When determing the ratio of salt to water, per galon of water

Table Salt 1 cup

Morton Kosher Salt 1-1/2 cups

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt 2 cups

 
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