Chicken halves

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 17:08

Brined with a wet rub of 10% salt , and sugar .25%cure #1, and 15 ml lemon juice and 15 ml water each . Four days turned and overhauled twice each day in a large food grade plastic bag. Dried for 24 hours after lashing to the racks.

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 20:04

Ross,
These 1/2 chickens look good sofar. Are you going to hot smoke them or cold smoke them and finish off in the oven?
Good Luck,
Jan.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 20:48

I have them in my smoker thermometer say the box is at about 230°F and they reached 180°F a little while ago so I shut the gas off and I am still smoking them.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 23:00

What time do we eat!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 00:53

They are ready! pulled a wing off for Nancy's approval. She was very pleased . Said the lemon and sugar and smoke came through well balanced.

I removed all of the small bones and the spine because they will punch holes in a plastic bag, but they also help to hold the front half to the back half thus the rack for lashing the meat in place and shape.

Post by **Butterbean** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 02:12

Those look wonderful.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 02:38

To tell the truth I am surprized at how good. In part it was an experiment to see if I could start out with the salt, sugar and lemon percentages that I wanted and have it come out well. Nancy said that when she tasted the sample she was objective and critical and could not find fault with it. I held the total salt including cure#1 to 1% and about that much sugar. The liquid left when I hung the meat after four dayswas about a half cup. Smoke was pear for 7 hours and smoker temp was about 220°F.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 04:42

Ross, I believe you are a crafty ol' fox!

I can just imagine how flavorful those things really are. Nice going ol' pal!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 00:18

They came up extremely well Ross, congrats mate !!

The black spots, Pepper ?

Must get some done soon to take travelling, the lemon is a nice touch and you have got me motivated to get them done

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 01:14

It was a twist on a recipe by Chuckwagon that uses 7up as a base for the brine. I had sugar and lemon juice so why not?

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 13:20

Those birds look beautiful Ross, nice job! RAY