Lunatic Singe BBQ - Smoked Chicken Recipes

Smoked Pulled Chicken

Ingredients
5 lbs of chicken thighs
Gallon sized zip top bags
Brine recipe (listed below)
Mustard or olive oil as binder for rub
Chicken rub of your choice

Brine:
1/2 gallon water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 TBS Louisiana hot sauce

Add all of the brine ingredients to the water and stir until dissolved and mixed well.

Using gallon sized zip top bags, put 12 thighs in each bag and pour in enough brine to cover.

Seal the bags, pressing out the air, and let sit in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Place the bags in a container to prevent the risk of leakage.

Remove the bags from the fridge and discard the brine liquid.

Place the chicken thighs into a large pan or bowl and coat well with a binder of your choice.

Pour ¼ cup of the chicken rub of your choice into pan or bowl and stir well coating the chicken well.

Preheat smoker to 225-240°F using the wood of your choice.

Cook the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 175°F .

When the chicken is finished cooking, de-bone it (unless it's boneless), then pull the meat into pieces. Cover with your choice of seasonings or sauce and enjoy!

Chicken Thighs & Legs

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs or legs

2 bottles Jerk seasoning

2 Tbs honey

Black pepper

Small can of tropical fruit

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl Add chicken, cover bowl, and let marinade in refrigerator for at least 3 hours (overnight is better). Remove bowl from refrigerator.

Place chicken on a hot grill, over hot coals for @ 1-2 minutes each side. Once colored from charring remove from grill.

Cover chicken with leftover jerk marinade and place in a smoker at 300 degrees F for 1 hour.

Chicken is done at 180 degrees internal temp.

Addy's Fav Chicken Thighs ( cooked in oven)

Ingredients;
Chicken thighs
Bearded Butcher Original Rub
Garlic salt
Nashville Hot Chicken Rub
Umami seasoning
Honey
Butter or Parkay
Dried minced onion bits
White wine

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Wash & pat chicken thighs dry.

Place thighs in a foil pan. Add honey and all seasoning to both sides.

Place a pat of butter or Parkay and another squeeze of honey to the top of each thigh.

Add 1/4 cup white wine to the pan (can use choice of liquid).

Place pan into oven and cook for 1 hour (a bit longer as needed).

Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes before enjoying!

Smoked Mexican Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs kosher salt
1/2 Tbs pepper
1/2 Tbs ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 whole chicken (4-6 pounds)

Combine first 10 ingredients (lime juice through cinnamon) in a bowl and stir until it forms a paste.

Rub the paste over all sides of the whole chicken, separate the skin on the breasts and rub some of the paste between the skin and chicken breasts as well.

Place in a smoker preheated to 225F for 4-5 hours or until the internal temp is 170 degrees.

De-bone the chicken and pull the meat into pieces, and enjoy!

Note: Can also be baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until internal temp is 170 degrees.

Chicken Wings

Brine:

½ gallon Buttermilk

2 Tbs Salt

1-2 Tbs Black Pepper

Wing Dredge:

4 cups Flour

6 Tbs Paprika

2 Tbs Black Pepper

2 Tbs Salt

2 tsp Poultry Seasoning

2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

Brine Wings:

1. Wash and prep chicken wings.

2. Place wings in a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine brine ingredients and add to wings in bowl.

4. Mix thoroughly making sure to coat all wings.

5. Cover bowl and let marinate in refrigerator for at least three hours or overnight.

Wing Dredge:

6. In a large mixing bowl combine dredge ingredients; flour, paprika, salt, black pepper, poultry seasoning, and cayenne pepper.

Ready to Cook:

7. Remove wings from refrigerator.

8. Pour off buttermilk brine into a stock pot and reserve for later use.

9. Bring smoker temperature up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

11. Place wings in the smoker for 45 min. - an hour.

14. Remove wings from the smoker and place back into buttermilk brine.

15. Remove a few wings from brine and dredge in the flour mixture. Coat well.

10. Bring fryer up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit using canola or vegetable oil.

16. Carefully place dredged wings, one at a time into the hot oil.

17. Wings will fry for 2-3 minutes and are generally done when they float to the top and are golden brown. To check doneness, internal temperature should be 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Harry's Competition Chicken

Ingredients:
8 pieces chicken

4 TBs rub of choice

Brine:

1/4 cup kosher salt

4 cups cold water

1/2 cup golden brown sugar

*add these optional items if available:

Sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves - torn

Handful of black peppercorns

Instructions:

Mix all brine ingredients in a bowl and pour into a a 1 - 2 gallon Zip-lock bag. (Recipe can be scaled up for more chicken.)

Trim excess fat and skin from chicken and place in the bag with brine. Rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, drain off excess brine, and lay skin-side down.

Apply a medium-heavy coat of chicken rub of choice. Rest skin-side down for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Flip over and repeat with a medium coat of rub.

Preheat smoker to 275F. Place chicken in a foil pan and smoke or 45 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes to set the crust.

Remove from smoker and cover top of chicken with parchment paper before covering the pan with foil.

Place back in smoker for another 45 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes.

Vent the foil and allow to cool before saucing and serving.

Smoking a Whole Chicken

Ingredients:
2/3 cup kosher salt or more to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar

Old Bay Seasoning
Pickling Spice
1 cup warm water
2 whole fryers (3-4 pounds each)
Olive oil (for brushing)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mix the salt, brown sugar, Old Bay seasoning, pickling spice, and warm water in medium bowl until well dissolved to make the brine. Split the chickens in half and split them between two one-gallon zip lock bags. Pour all of the brine, splitting it between each bag. Place the bags in a sink and fill with cold water to within one inch of zip top. Press air from bag and seal. Place bags in a large bowl or dish to catch any leaks or drips. Brine the chicken for 6 - 12 hours turning bags a few times.

Remove chicken from bags and rinse under cold running water. Dry chicken with paper towels, place uncovered on a baking sheet in the refrigerator to air dry for a few hours before cooking. The air drying is one way to crisp the chicken skin avoid the rubbery skin that can result from cooking at low temperatures.

Remove from refrigerator and brush with olive oil before seasoning with salt and fresh cracked black pepper or the rub of your choice. Place in smoker at 275F - 300F for 2-3 hours. You can use a digital meat thermometer to verify when the chicken is done. The chicken is done when the breast reads 155F and the thigh reads 165F.

NOTE: Brine refers to soaking meat in a liquid solution made of water, salt, and sugar. Additional seasonings may be used if desired. Brining tenderizes and flavors meat before barbecuing. As the meat soaks the brine adds moisture, salt, and any seasonings placed in the brine to enhance the quality of the meat being brined. This is accomplished through the process of osmosis. It goes a long way to protect chicken from drying out due to over-cooking.

Tender Fried Chicken Gizzards

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds chicken gizzards
1 egg
1 cup milk plus 2 TBs

Buttermilk (for soaking gizzards)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
¾ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp onion powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground sage
oil for frying

Clean Gizzards:

Step 1: Slice in Half
Place a gizzard on the work surface so you can see the equatorial diagonal seam that runs around it. Position the blade of the fillet knife on the seam and slice the gizzard in half.

Step 2: Submerge in Water
Submerge the gizzard halves in a bowl of water. Run your fingers through the grooves on the inside and outside of the gizzard and dislodge the debris and grit.

Step 3: Trim Some More
Return the gizzard halves to the work surface and cut the lip of tissue that runs around the edges of the halves.

Step 4: Remove the Grinder Plate
Position one of the gizzard halves on its side and slice off the grinder plate, a 1/4-inch-thick piece of tissue that helps the chicken grind seeds.

You should see only dark red meat on the inside of the gizzard after you slice off the grinder plate. Repeat with the other gizzard half.

Step 5: Slice the Silver-skin
Insert the tip of the knife under the silvers-kin, the thin sheath of iridescent connective tissue covering the gizzard. Slice the silver-skin off both of the gizzard halves.

Step 6: Trim Rubbery Tissue
Trim off all the white, bumpy rubbery tissue. The gizzard should be a pure maroon mass of meat when you finish cleaning and trimming it. Rinse the gizzards under running water.

Tip:
Supermarket gizzards are usually already cleaned.

Pressure-Cook Gizzards:

Step 1: Place the cleaned gizzards in the pressure cooker, along with at least 1 1/2 cups of stock or water. Secure the lid on the pressure cooker and place it on the stove.

Step 2: Set the heat under the pressure cooker to high and let the cooker build pressure. Some pressure cookers have a metal jiggler that rocks back and forth in the pressure valve on the lid; when it jiggles two to three times a minute, the cooker has reached cooking pressure.

Adjust the heat as needed to maintain cooking pressure. If your cooker has a valve stem that rises as pressure builds, wait until it reaches 15 psi and adjust the heat to maintain it.

Step 3: Pressure cook gizzards for 25 minutes. After that time is up, take the pressure cooker off the stove and let the pressure dissipate naturally. The gizzards still cook during the cool-down period.

Step 4: DO NOT remove the cover from the cooker until the pressure dissipates - FOR SAFETY! Most pressure cookers unlock only when the pressure dissipates fully.

Step 5: Chicken should be cooked to a minimum of 165 F. Remove the gizzards from the pressure cooker and let them cool.

Step 6: Place the gizzards in a bowl of buttermilk to soak for a minimum of 2 hours before cooking further. Pat the gizzards dry with paper towels before frying them.

Tip:
Place the gizzards and buttermilk in a large, zip-lock bag, to ensure they soak with minimum mess.

Fry the Chicken Gizzards:

Set up your dredging station by mixing the flour and seasonings in a large dish, and beat one egg with two tablespoons of milk in a separate dish.

Drain and dry the gizzards from the buttermilk and lightly dredge in the flour mixture. Work in batches until all of the gizzards have been coated.

Place each of the floured gizzards in the beaten eggs and let any excess egg drain off prior to placing directly into the flour mixture for one more coating.

Fry chicken gizzards in batches in 350F degree oil until golden brown. This will take approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack or paper towels, then serve with your favorite hot sauce or preferred dipping sauce.