I've done gone an' smoked a chickin - and it was grand

[Henrik]

Hi all!

I smoked a chicken the other day. It turned out exceptional. Yet there was nothing special about this cook, except for one thing: butter! It's a love affair. All that fat means flavor.

Ingredients

1 chicken
70 grams of butter
1.5-2 tbsp pork/poultry rub


Cook time

1-1.5 hours


Serves

2-4 people (completely depending on appetite, and size of bird)



Instructions


Get your hands on a fine yard bird, I picked a corn fed one, hence the slightly yellow color.


Spatchcock it (cut off the spine), flip it over, and flatten it a bit. Rotate the chicken thighs so I lays flat. I use a tray to make things easier, like moving it around. Plus: I didn't have to clean the grates :-)



Now apply your favorite rub on the skin. I used about 0.5 tbsp.



Fire up your offset smoker (in this case an offset is preferred, due to all the convection heat). Have it running at 150° C / 300° F. I ran mine on 100% oak wood.



Now while the chicken is in the smoker, melt 70 grams of real butter (don't skimp, this is key), and add 1 tbsp of your rub and stir well. Keep the butter rub luke warm by placing the pan on the firebox.

Every 20 minutes, baste the skin with the butter rub. I do it 2-3 times, and at this temp the chicken is done in about 1 hour.

Now pull that chicken out and look at that glorious glistening fat shine in the sun! Oh man, this is good. Now pull off a chicken thigh, dunk it in some Alabama White Sauce, and enjoy!



All in all this was a simple cook, but that butter rub really was a HUGE hit. On the other hand, when has added fat been negative for flavor? Beats me.

Anyhow, I hope you try this for your next poultry cook, have a great weekend!

[RonB]

Looks great to me. Was the skin crispy? I ask because butter is ~ 15% water and that moisture might prevent the skin from getting super crispy. I do occasionally use ghee as a binder though.

[Henrik]

No, it turned out great, but I was cooking at higher temps and using convection heat (good air flow), so that sure helped.

[Donw]

So, if my mental calculator is working, approximately 5 tablespoons butter to 1 tablespoon rub. Sounds good, especially to butter loving people like me.

[Henrik]

You got it 👊

[smokenoob]

That looks great! I need to put a board under two legs of my pellet smoker to give it some offset

[Henrik]

See? Getting an offset doesn’t have to be expensive

[LA Pork Butt]

Did the butter crisp the skin?

[Henrik]

More like air flow and higher temp, but yes.

[Troutman]

OK here are my comments;

1) The hillbilly "I've done gone" in your title transcends your otherwise intellectual command of the English language Hank. Might I suggest the synonymic phase "It was dayammmmm gud" instead
2) Why is it that your prop cooker is always brand new? Where is the tried and true, greasy and well cured Rude Boy? We miss him !!!
3) Might I suggest another tweak to your recipe. Everything is better with butter but for the initial phase of the cooking, substitute I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (if you can get it) in lieu of the actual thing achieves nearly the same effect. It's mostly oil so it doesn't burn as bad. Then finish off with the real thing for the win !!
Other than that, that's some dayammmmmm gud lookin' yardbird my man !!!!

[smokin fool]

+2 with Troutman when we smoke turkeys we use a canola based cooking spray on the skin as per Malcom Reed's recipe's with excellent results.
Green apple, red apple probably but butter can get expensive around here while a can of good cooking spray is $2ish.

[Troutman]

bbqLuv different recipe but same technique.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/poultry-chicken-turkey-and-duck-recipes/964383-asado-de-pollo-ahumado

[Henrik]

Troutman - that dog gonned Rude Boy runned off on me. All I gots is this backyard size meat enhancer Don’t have any butter (real or not) in spray form whatsoever in this here country. Sounds great though, I like the idea.

[bbqLuv]

Keep it simple, I am with you, BBQ friend. I will try the butter+rub. Thanks for the posting.
You Done Good!

[Henrik]

Muchos gracias!!

[Spinaker]

Great looking cook brother!

[Henrik]

Thanks John!

[SmokeyNate]

That looks great! I'm going to have to try this in the KBQ!

[Henrik]

The KBQ? Gonna turn out awesome 👌

[Spinaker]

Do it!!! Run the temp dial cranked and let it rip, brother!

[ScottyC13]

Henrik

I did this recipe last weekend and it was a huge hit. Paired it with pork belly burnt ends, corn on the cob and a nice salad. Thanks for posting it!

[Henrik]

Thank YOU for trying it out! I agree, did 3 more chickens a few days ago the same way. Tasty!

[sjvmi87]

Tried this out last night and it was great! I used 6 TBS homemade ghee from grass-fed cow butter and mixed 2 TBS Dizzy Pig's Fajita-ish seasoning. This was one of the best yard birds that ever laid on my grill! Adding this to my "when we have friends over" file.

[Henrik]

Great to hear!