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Help with MCS of a different kind

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    Help with MCS of a different kind

    MCS - More Chicken Suggestions help. Smoking larger pieces of meat during my day stint (mon-fri) where I set up is not a possibility given I only operate from about 9am to around 3pm. I do smoke ribs for take home customers on occasions. I have smoked chicken pieces and they were a hit. The problem I have is the different cuts and sizes and weight’s cooking time. Monitoring 20 or 30 different pieces to pull at the right time is challenging. I am thinking of cooking the pieces for a period to take on smoke and then finishing the cook by deep frying. Is this workable or does anyone have any suggestions or methods I could use. It would be a bonus if the pieces could be fried with a coating of some sort. I am thinking of trying out Meathead’s version of Big Bob Gibson’s white BBQ sauce on the finished chicken pieces. I am creating a curiosity among my customers for smoked food and trying to introduce some variety to my usual menu that is made up of hamburgers wor’s rolls cheese grillers….
    Any suggestions for smoked meats that can be done in the time constraints I have (serving time between 12 and 2pm).

    #2
    Fried smoked chicken is really good and would solve your problem.

    Comment


      #3
      Fun question!

      Could you help with some time details?
      When do you start your cooking, in order to be ready to sell at noon?
      Do you put on a 2nd batch while you are serving?
      How much do you wan to cook at a time, and how big is your cooker? What type of cooker? Pictures of your setup would be great.

      Comment


      • Spinaker
        Spinaker commented
        Editing a comment
        Man, I wish I was in LA. Then I could join your crew for a day or two. That would be a great time! (With your nod, of course)

      • PaulstheRibList
        PaulstheRibList commented
        Editing a comment
        Spinaker, dude!!!!!!

      #4
      Chicken wings are always a great option and can cook to similar finish times. I love doing leg quarters as well...

      not or sure if you are looking for different protein option but whole pork loin can be done in a few hours or less depending on your temp. Can be sliced and served stand alone or makes an awesome sandwich.

      Like Paul I think we need some more info to make suggestions.

      Comment


      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        Nate Leg quarters are what I have served in the past but work out a little to expensive for my customers (in an industrial area). they have asked for smaller pieces. I have smoked pulled pork butt over the weekend and served on a roll with coleslaw that has been a big hit.

      #5
      Having reread my post I see that I wasn’t that clear (my cooking is better than my writing). When I refer to the different cuts and sizes that was about the chicken pieces a mix of breast thighs legs etc. PaulstheRibList and Nate I have enough time to smoke the chicken pieces to be ready for noon. My oven is home built and has a very large capacity so no need for 2 cooks even if my volume increases. I estimate being able to do over 150 pieces of chicken in a cook. I have found chicken pieces take longer to cook than a whole bird? The plan is to precook the chicken and hold in my bain-marie and then a quick’ish deep fry when ordered. My set up is small and consists of 2 x 8L (2.1 gallon) deep fryers a 48 inch flat top 2 stove burners and my smoker. The smoker gets used mainly as a normal oven during the week and for smoking on weekends. Time is a problem as after all that needs doing before set up I am usually ready to start the day at around 9am.

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      • EdF
        EdF commented
        Editing a comment
        Have you considered SV-ing the chicken after a moderate length pre-smoke, cooling and then on the day you want to go, deep fry? You can do a lot of that process ahead of time (in fact you have to), but it will take the pressure off on the serving day. Should scale pretty well. And you can SV the different pieces at different temps and times, so they're perfect.

      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        EdF SV-ing is on my wish list of things I will be getting, but at this stage its a little further down the list than other must haves.

      #6
      Love the additional info holehogg

      I'm wondering if you mis-typed when you said individual pieces take longer to cook than a whole bird?

      I only cook chicken cut into pieces, if I can help it.

      1.) You get more surface area to get that fantastic Maillard reaction on
      2.) You can portion exactly as you desire. I've been really partial to smoking large chicken legs lately. They are easy to prep, they are not huge, so if it's an add-on item at a catering event, I don't feel as bad when someone takes three bites out of a huge breast and throws the rest away.
      3.) I know how long my cook times are. In my smoker at 275 or so, legs are about 90 minutes to get to 180-190, which is where I like to take dark meat. I'm doing 325 legs tomorrow morning at 6 am, then ribs, beans and mac for 300 people! I've had fun doing boneless, skinless chicken breast, and cooking those in a pan. The pan speeds up the cook and gives me a bit more tolerance to keep the bird moist. That pan/braising speeds up the cook a bit, so it's still in that 90 minutes or so timeframe to get to 165.
      4.) I don't have to spend time butchering down whole birds. Our chicken supplier is great, and prices are good. Legs are $1 a pound for large. Thighs are a bit cheaper sometimes, but I feel like I have to pull the skin back and put rub underneath, and that takes time. Also I want thighs with the ribcage removed, and that usually means there is a skin flap that needs to be trimmed.

      Great thing for you is, it's easy to experiment with some different rhythms and find what you like.

      If I were you, I'd to whole racks of one chicken piece each, and find your times for getting that done. Rack of legs and a rack of wings. Or legs and thighs. Or legs and boneless breasts.

      I'll leave it to you, the expert on that deep fry finish. I have not smoked then fried birds yet.

      Have fun!

      Comment


      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        PaulstheRibList great response and suggestions. The advice to place the different piece types on the different racks is good advice and embarrassed to acknowledge I did not even think to do that. I start my cook at 275 with a small amount of water and when the water boils off the oven slowly rises and is usually at around 320 by the time the pieces are ready. Mac is something I just must do.

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