Little Brown Egg II: Success!

If you're curious about the construction of my little brown egg, please refer to the previous post concerning its construction.

My poor little prototype smoker sat for months, neglected and cold out in the rain (because it's ceramic, I didn't have to worry about rust). I knew I had to get back to it eventually, but so much other stuff got in the way. While scanning Food Blog Central, I came across a blogger who'd recently completed his own smoker. Recalling my orphaned creation on the deck, I immediately ran out to my back porch and exclaimed,"My Son! Forgive me for my neglect!"

Being an especially merciful creature, my smoker instantly forgave me. We began to plan.

"What should I make in you, little brown egg?"

"I think a chicken would be best. It's simple, cheap and only takes a few hours. That way even if you mess it up, you won't have too much invested."

That was a good idea. Knowing the long, dry environment it'd be under, I butterflied the chicken and gave it a short brine (see recipe below). The bird only spent an hour in the brine. Next time, I'll bump it up to 4 and maybe play with the seasonings.

Basic Brine with Seasoning

2 quarts Water
1/2 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 4 minutes or until you really start to smell the spices come alive. THOUROUGHLY CHILL for several hours, preferably overnight in the fridge.

Place prepared bird in the brine for at least 1, but not more than 6 or so hours. After brining, rinse with cold water and pat dry.

I soaked 4-5 handfuls of hickory chips while brining the bird, so everything was ready to go at about the same time. I put two handfuls of soaked chips in the pie plate and the chicken on the grate, closed up my creation and prepared for my first ever home-smoked meal.

To my delight, the smoker heated up very quickly (I did mention to have a fire extinguisher handy, didn't I?). Once at my indicated 250 degrees, I reduced the power to the hot plate to maintain the temperature. To make matters better, the smoker maintained temperature beautifully. There was little wind, but if there had been, I think that it would have done really well. I might add a gasket between the pots in the future to prevent any leakage out the sides.

I checked the smoker frequently to make sure I wouldn't burn down the building. At one hour I lifted the lid and added more chips. I also brushed a coating of oil on the bird just to help it turn brown. I stuck a probe thermometer in the bird so I wouldn't have to waste precious heat checking the bird for doneness. After all that, it was just a waiting game.

This was my reward. I lifted the lid when the thermometer reached 180 degrees and squealed with joy! (Click here for an animated image of the cooking bird, at 0, 1 and 3 hrs.) The skin looked deliciously brown, with the meat just fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy. Resisting the urge to tear into the chicken caveman style, I wrapped it in foil and let it sit for 15 minutes to rest. It made the whole condo smell like hickory smoked chicken. Glade should stop making those crappy "rose petal" scents and start pumping out the "hickory BBQ chicken" plug-ins pronto.

I pulled all the succulent chicken from the bone and chopped it into fine pieces. I left the skin in, but frankly it didn't add much and I ended up pulling it out, piece by piece. Oh! The flavor! At once assertively smoky and juicy. Jenny and I spent the better part of 10 minutes just oohing and aahing over the aroma and flavor. We had a winner!

The great thing about smoking foods is that, like grilling, there is no extra fat involved. I brushed on oil for color, but that can easily be omitted. Likewise the skin can be removed before chopping. The skin provided valuable basting fat during cooking, so it should be left on until after cooking. So even though my chicken looks like a million bucks, it won't cost you a million calories.

I deliberately didn't put any thick BBQ sauce during cooking for 2 reasons. First, I didn't want to cover up the smokiness. Second, I didn't want to add a ton of points. I prefer vinegar-based sauces in general anyway. They're significantly lighter in flavor than tomato based sauces and considerably lighter in calories (I will say, however, that the chicken did taste excellent with just a little bit of KC Masterpiece Hickory Honey BBQ sauce).

In the future I plan on perfecting my chicken more, with longer brining and more seasoning. If my smoker and my skills prove worthy, I plan on exploring the whole gamut of smoked foods. Pulled pork and brisket are on the list, but smoked fish, turkey, sausages and cheeses are all floating around my brain. Man, I'm going to need a lot more wood...

Update 8/4/05 - The first picture in this post was entered in "Does My Blog Look Good in This? #8", an online food photography contest!