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Brining chickens


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We brine turkeys for special days but chickens? Rarely.

 

today, Saturday I will make beer can chicken for a couple and I want it to impress. I decided to brine it before applying a dry rub. So, setting 10am as grill time, I must drain the brine and dry out the chickens around 8, then apply the rub inside and out even under the skin.

 

brining a 5# chicken in a four qt pot I should have a weight to keep the bird under water, or a bigger pot.  ))

 

I know that too many cooks spoil the broth, but I am asking for opinions about what to do or not do.

 

 

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I put the chicken in a trash bag, pour on the brine solution, force all of the air out of the bag that I can, use a zip tie to seal the bag shut, place it in an appropriately sized ice chest and put a bag of ice on top and close the lid. In the morning start up the smoker, remove the chicken from the brine and dry off with paper towels and sit the chicken on a beer can chicken set up and put in the smoker, close it up and walk away for about 6-7 hours. I’m doing one right now.

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23 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

I put the chicken in a trash bag, pour on the brine solution, force all of the air out of the bag that I can, use a zip tie to seal the bag shut, place it in an appropriately sized ice chest and put a bag of ice on top and close the lid. In the morning start up the smoker, remove the chicken from the brine and dry off with paper towels and sit the chicken on a beer can chicken set up and put in the smoker, close it up and walk away for about 6-7 hours. I’m doing one right now.

Great coincidence. They loved the chicken. Lady asked if I’d ever tried smoking [meat]. I said no but I knew a bunch that did.

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Im not criticizing the plastic bag suggestion, I like it.  Just be aware that not all plastic bags are safe food contact surfaces.  One of my jobs as a USDA inspector was verifying that anything that came in contact with food products was certified for that use by the manufacturer.  The food processor would get a citation if they used an uncertified container.  

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1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Great coincidence. They loved the chicken. Lady asked if I’d ever tried smoking [meat]. I said no but I knew a bunch that did.

 

Another thing you might try with the beer can, injector marinade.  It works just as well with chicken as it does turkey.

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1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Great coincidence. They loved the chicken. Lady asked if I’d ever tried smoking [meat]. I said no but I knew a bunch that did.

 

Glad to hear it went well. 

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Every time I see the title of this thread, I think it says

 

brinGing chicken

 

 

And I just sit there thinking who is bringing chicken and where is he taking it?

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9 hours ago, Ozark Huckleberry said:

Brining AND a rub?

 

My only thought would be to watch out for getting the chicken too salty. 

I did this once to a turkey.  Ended up too salty. 

 

Go moderate with brine salt content, rinse the bird well before rubbing, and go easy with the rub. Should work fine.

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