Split Chicken Advice

[PatioDaddio]

Here's my chicken brine recipe. It works really well and has garned its fair
share of competition calls.

Patio Daddio Big Bird Bath

Here is a simple brine recipe that works very well with turkey. I have a more
complicated recipe for Thanksgiving, but this gets the job done in short order.

Ingredients
1 1/2 gal Ice water (about 2/3 ice to 1/3 water)
1/2 gal Water
1 1/2 cups Kosher salt
2 cups Golden brown sugar
1/3 cup Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbsp Black peppercorns (whole)

Method
Sanitize a 5-gallon bucket with water and bleach, then rinse very well.

Make the ice water in the bucket and set aside.

Bring the 1/2 gallon of water to a rolling boil in a large stock pot.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Remove the brine from the heat let it sit in the pan, stirring occasionally, until all of
the salt and sugar are dissolved.

Add the seasoning mixture to the ice water in the bucket and mix well.

The brine must be very cold, so add more ice as needed

Brine your bird or pieces 4-6 hours and barbecue as you normally would.

-----
John

[PatioDaddio]

And here's a killer glaze that's off the beaten path. My family goes nuts for this.



John

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by landarc

Oh, here is another dip/sauce I serve on roasted chicken. It has an Asian/Chinese flavor to it, but, plays well with all types of spice profiles, as well as boiled chicken.

Ginger-Scallion Oil:
3 medium scallions, cut into 1/8" thick slices, white and light green parts only
4 medium to large cloves garlic, finely minced
2" long piece of ginger root, scraped and sliced about twice thickness of quarter
1 cup oil, I use canola or canola and peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or 1 finely sliced red chile de arbol or green serrano

1. Prepare all vegetables, keep separate.
2. In small sauce pan heat oil until hot, reduce heat to medium-low. Do not burn oil.
3. Add ginger slices and cook until soft. Remove and reserve.
4. Add green onions and garlic and cook in oil, should bubble vigorously at first.
5. If using peppers, add pepper slices and then press ginger in a garlic press into oil.
6. Add hot sauce at this point.
7. Remove from heat and spoon over chicken, the oil should he about half oil and half vegetables.

Everyone MUST try this at one point. IT IS INCREDIBLE!!!!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ghlight=ginger

[gtr]

A really easy way to get crowd pleasing chix is to marinate in Wishbone eye-talian dressing - for at least several hours and I've done it overnight - take out of marinade, let sit uncovered in fridge for a couple hours then cook. Sometimes I'll hit it with a little Montreal Chicken seasoning. You can baste with the WB towards the end - either use fresh dressing or boil off the marinade for 10-15 minutes to kill the nasties before letting it get near anything. I'm usually pretty uncaring about how hot I cook chix, but seems like this stuff will burn a little if you go too crazy with the heat. Anyway, it's very simple and folks love it.

[Ole Man Dan]

Originally Posted by volfan411

I used to to my chickens beer can style until I spatchcocked one and that is the only way to go. I have not brined one and mine always turn out moist and juicy. I use Oakridge BBQ Secret Weapon and the family loves them.

Good luck and experiment what is good to you may not be good to others.

Spatchcocked chicken or Butterflied chicken smokes faster and the uniform
thickness makes it easier to cook or smoke, easier to apply seasoning all over.

[Ole Man Dan]

Originally Posted by thirdeye

I brine all of my poultry, and generally inject a couple of ounces of the brine into the breasts as well. Recipes for brines are plentiful and although I've had wonderful success with salt to water ratios of 1 cup Mortons kosher:1 gallon, I prefer 3/4 cup Mortons kosher: 1 gallon, but also like weaker solutions as well.... I use white sugar (instead of brown sugar) when brining and injecting poultry. It dissolves nicely and eliminates any chances of staining the meat when injecting.

Even though I mentioned "cups" above..... My best brine tip is to get in the habit of weighing your salt, not using measuring tools. Salt varies from manufacturer to manufacturer in size and sometimes saltiness. So, a cup of Mortons is not the same as a cup of Diamond Crystal. And a cup of canning salt (my personal favorite for making brines) is way more salt than you get in a cup of kosher. Once you find out that you like a certain weight:water ratio, you will always be able to mix a brine with any kind of salt.

My best tip for split chickens is to split them at the pelvis, not on their axis. White meat and dark meat cook to different internal temperatures. White at 165*, dark is closer to 185*. It's really hard to cook traditional chicken halves because you have both kinds of meat on them. Here is they way I split and cook birds.





Butchering is easy, cut around each leg to the backbone, snap the pelvis (or use kitchen shears), then clean-up loose fat, etc.

I made a mistake and told my nephew about this method. To mess with his head I told him it was the preferred method on 'Broke Back Mountain'...
He laughed, but now refuses to try it. (No sense of humor)

I spatchcocked a Turkey at Christmas. Looked huge. Nephew didn't eat Turkey. (The Power of Suggestion)

[SmokyWoodturner]

Yardbirds look GREAT. those stuffed peppers are awesome lookin, too