How to smoke delicious chicken at home

Since ancient times, mankind has used the process of smoking products as a way to keep them edible for quite a long time, because refrigerators had not yet been invented at that time. People guessed to expose the meat to such a treatment with wood smoke, as a result of which an antioxidant effect was provided that suppressed the spread and reproduction of harmful bacteria and microbes. In addition, this method gave the meat an original aroma and taste.

poultry meat

Chicken is considered the most delicious and affordable for smoking, which is combined with many ingredients as components of salads, first and second courses. About how to smoke chicken at home, so that it turns out tender and refined, we will try to tell in this material.

two ways

There are two cooking methods: hot and cold. What is their difference? In the cold method, the whole chicken or parts of it are treated with smoke from a smoldering fire. That is, the temperature at which the process itself takes place fluctuates around thirty degrees. It takes quite a long period of time, up to several days. How to smoke chicken in a hot way? Here the temperature at which the processing process takes place is much higher - up to one hundred and fifty degrees. It only takes a few hours (sometimes even less). The meat is more tender and soft than with the cold smoking method.

Inventory preparation

1. So how do you smoke chicken? First, you need to get a smoker. It can be purchased at a specialized store, but you can also make it yourself. Some use a large metal bucket, a barrel, the body of an old refrigerator - our craftsmen will adapt everything! The main thing is that the structure itself is tightly closed, so that the welding seams are sufficiently tight, and smoke does not leak through them. By the way, in Russia earlier, an ordinary Russian oven was successfully used for smoking.
2. Secondly, you will need: a cutting board, a knife and an ax for cutting meat, a deep bowl. Well, actually, the chicken itself!

Food preparation

Before smoking a chicken in a smokehouse, it must be freed from feathers and entrails, then rinsed under running water, cut off the head and lower parts of the legs. All this can be avoided by buying an already prepared carcass in the store. Next, cut the chicken in half lengthwise and beat it well between two cutting boards with an ax butt or a culinary hammer. This must be done in order for the joints and large bones to become soft. However, do not crush the bones.

We prepare the brine: a glass of salt per liter of water, spices - to taste, a little garlic, sugar, vinegar - whoever is used to anything (here, carry out the free flight of your own culinary imagination). We spread the chicken in a bowl, fill it with brine and put it away for the night (some marinate for a day or more).

After the expiration of the period, we hang the carcass on a hook, stuff it with garlic, lard into deep cuts in the meat. Now you can proceed to the process itself called "how to smoke a chicken." By the way, it is also possible to process not only a whole carcass, but also parts: drumstick, breast, wings, thighs.

How to smoke hot smoked chicken

Let's consider the first option. In just an hour, you should get fragrant and juicy meat. Before sending the bird to the smokehouse, it is necessary to rub it with salt, spices, and dry it slightly. Some cooks advise putting the carcass, sprinkled with spices, in a plastic bag for a couple of hours so that it is thoroughly saturated with them. Then we lay (hang) the chicken in the smokehouse, install a tray on which excess fat drains, pour sawdust (cherry, alder, oak). We smoke on intense fire from forty minutes to an hour. After cooking, the skin will need to be removed from the chicken. The skin of a bird, when smoked, absorbs fumes and soot from wood.

Let's move on to the second option. Before smoking chicken in a smokehouse (this recipe also applies to hot smoking), you need to prepare the following ingredients. We will need: a glass of table salt, water, bay leaf, black peppercorns, a set of spices (for barbecue or grilling - optional).

First we prepare the brine. Dip salt, bay leaf, pepper in water brought to a boil. We expect cooling to room temperature.

We wash the chicken carcass inside and out, cut off excess fat in the tail area. We dip in the prepared brine for the night (or for a day, as an option, to marinate very well).

Rinse the bird again under cold running water, cut it into two halves lengthwise. We tie the halves with twine, for which they will be hung in a smokehouse. Pour sawdust into the smoking device (alder, cherry, oak are the most recommended), close it tightly with a lid. We put the device on maximum fire for ten minutes. Then reduce the fire to medium. We continue the smoking process for up to an hour and a half. Open the lid and take out the food. According to this recipe, smoked poultry comes out just excellent!

How to smoke cold smoked chicken

To prepare this dish, you should choose young broiler meat (not older than six months). We will need: chicken carcass, two hundred grams of bran, salt, juice of one lemon, ground black pepper. It is also worth warning that this type of smoking will take quite a long time!

We gut, wash, prepare the carcass. It is also necessary to cut it into two halves and grate with spices and lemon juice. The halves must be put under oppression for a day in a cool place.

Before smoking, roll the chicken in a mixture of bran and pepper. We smoke at a temperature of no more than thirty degrees in a cold way (in this case, open fire is not used, sawdust should barely smolder and smoke). We use briquettes: maple, oak, cherry. The cold smoking process itself lasts up to ten days.

To understand how to properly smoke a chicken, you need to follow the helpful tips of the smoking masters. Here is some of them.