spatchcocking a chicken

cbs

Plan to do this over the weekend. Only question I have is what temp do y'all pull it at? Then do you let it sit? Gracias.

Crab leg

cbs,
I do them(I always do 2, one to eat, and one for chix salad) on a raised grid around 375 direct for about an hour to 75 minutes. Skin side up for first 45 minutes, then flip over till done and skin the way I like it. I have taken the bird well above 165* for any number of reasons, including just losing track of time, and still had very nice results with very juicy birds. This is a very forgiving way to cook chicken in my opinion. Good luck with your cook.
Seth

Adrian B.

cbs,
I always run mine on a raised grid at 350-375 for an hour to an hour & fifteen minutes, skin side up. It gets crispy without flipping. I let it sit for about 10 minutes before I start cutting it up. Have fun with it!

Unknown

If you were to buy 3 bags of wood chips for flavoring, which type of wood would you get? Why?

Adrian B.

Don,
I always have Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel chips on hand, as well as hickory. I don't use the hickory on spatchcocked chicken. Pecan chips are pretty mild and go well with a lot of foods.

fishlessman

Don,
i use a mixture of hickory and cherry for most cooks, pecan for poultry or a small amt of cherry. i trim the grape vines before they bud and use those quite abit throughout the year with lamb. i dont use chips, i use chunks

mollyshark

fishlessman,[p]Be careful with wood chips and poultry. Poultry picks up smoke and flavorings VERY fast and with much more intensity than beef, pork, and such. Stay mild, if at all. Sometimes I wave a log at the egg with a spatchcock. It's kinda like a good martini. Pick up the bottle of vermouth, pass the bottle over the gin/vodka, put the bottle down. Perfect.[p]mShark

Borders

Don, since mesquite and hickory are everywhere, and must haves, I'll give you 3 alternatives:[p]I LOVE peach. I've only found chips, but this stuff is great.[p]Sugar maple[p]pecan-similar to oak and hickory[p]Speaking of oak, don't forget this wood. The greatest smokehouse in the Tampa Bay Area uses only red oak.[p]Smoke on, Scott[p]

fishlessman

mollyshark,
i have a lifetimes worth of pecan pellets from my old smoker, just use a little with the tinfoil canoe wraps, lots of time i dont use anything but a nice clean lump like wicked good. its almost time to go sit in the sun with a guinness, but maybe ill start with one of those martinis

Unknown

Borders,
what is the name and location of Tampa's gretest smokehouse. Have not found any great bbq in tampa area

Nature Boy

Don, I gotta go with 4. [p]Oak is a really wood. Red oak is my favorite around here. A nice form in which to purchase oak is chopped up Jack Daniels whiskey barrels.[p]Hickory is a classic for pork and has a great peppery smell when it burns. Magical, and a must have in any chip collection.[p]Then for the milder fruit woods, I always like to have apple and cherry on hand. Apple is sweet and mild, and cherry (while less mild) has a great flavor and can really do some wild stuff with coloring your meal.[p]Just me anyways.....Oh...one more thing.... it doesn't matter what you use if you use too much or put your meat on before the fire is burning clean. It'll all taste like an ashtray.[p]Happy smokin!
Chris[p]

Borders

robroo,
Tampa Bay's greatest smokehouse is hands down Ted Peters in Pasadena in St Pete. All they do is fish. If you go, get the Mahi. I repeat, get the Mahi. Ted Peters rules.[p]As for Tampa proper, have you tried Jimbos on Kennedy? I dont rank them w/Ted Peters, but they do meat pretty well. Ask for the outside cut, pork dinner. It's not on the menu, but they'll serve it up if you ask for it.
Scott

thirdeye

Don,[p]My gotta have list is a minimum of 5, starting with the lightest & what I use them for.
1. Alder - Salmon, salmon, salmon, trout, wake-up smoke for twice smoked ham & all cheeses. (I really like smoked salmon)
2. Apple - General all around light smoking. Good mixing wood, like with alder for salmon.
3. Cherry - Pork chops & backstraps, finishing wood for salmon
4. Pecan - General all around medium smoking (to me, it is not as heavy as hickory)
5. Oak - General all around for heavy smoking on red meat, heavy game, pork butts, & pizza[p]It has been argued that out of 100 people, only a handful can distinguish the exact type of wood from the smell or by tasting the finished product, and everyone has a threshold for smoke flavor. I generally try to match lighter woods to lighter (and thinner) meats, and heavier woods to larger cuts of darker meats. I really like blending two woods, (I start salmon with alder & apple and finish with cherry for the color). [p]~thirdeye~

Borders

thirdeye, that's good stuff. I love to hear people's thoughts about woods and smoking. [p]What are your observations about cherry and it adding color to meats? Do you either know why, or have an opinion?[p]Have you posted a salmon recipe? I usually copy them, but cant remember if I have yours.
Scott

thirdeye

<p />Borders,[p]Your question about "why" cherry imparts color may have something to do with the oils and other characteristics particular to it, but that is a question I've never thought about, until now. I do however, notice a difference in color of both salmon and pork when cherry is used. I have done plenty of salmon with this recipe on the Egg, especially in the winter months, but I am more comfortable doing it in my Big Chief as it is easier to control the low temperatures over the cooking time. (plus I can do 15# to 20# in one load) The three fillets were Egged, the salmon with the green and black peppercorns was done in the Big Chief. Here is my favorite salmon recipe. [p]FISH DRY CURE[p]This makes enough Dry Cure for about 10 pounds of fish: [p]1 cup kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon pulverized bay leaf[p]On a cutting board, sprinkle a little of the salt onto the chopped garlic, and mash to a paste with the point of a knife. In a small bowl, combine the garlic mixture with the remaining salt, the sugar, ginger, pepper and bay leaf. Mix this very well. Store in the freezer.[p]Sprinkle about 1/8” or more of dry cure into the bottom of a glass baking dish (don’t use metal). Place the fillets, skin side up, on top of the dry cure. Cover with plastic wrap OR sprinkle rub onto a piece of plastic wrap, place fillets on top and seal with the seam on top. Refrigerate about 8 hours. The moisture and oils in the fish will liquefy the dry cure and make a syrup which will cure the fish. After curing, rinse the fish very well under cold running water, rubbing gently to remove the syrup. Blot dry with paper towels and put on a racks to air dry until tacky, at least 2 hours OR put back into the refrigerator for about 6 hours. (Salmon should be seasoned before drying with black pepper, ground garlic or Montreal Steak Seasoning or whatever you like. [p]For smoking, brush or spray a light coat of olive oil or Pam on the skin side of the fish and on your smoker rack(s). Place fish in smoker with the skin side on the rack and smoke at 170 – 200 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, using equal parts of alder wood and apple wood chips. Use a water pan below the fish. Check once or so to make sure the skin is not sticking to the racks. (spray skin side with oil if it starts to stick) Switch to cherry wood and maple wood for 1 or 2 hours. This will give the salmon a nice red color. Smoke until fish flakes easily (about 150° internal). These times are for thick fillets 3 to 4 lbs., adjust for thinner fillets or for trout. [p] Serve hot or chilled. This will keep in the fridge for 4 or 5 days, but it very seldom lasts that long.[p][p]~thirdeye~

Borders

thirdeye, thank you. What an awesome final product you have there.