Steve Hicks

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steve hicks

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 25, 2016
12
10
I am in the UK { Suffolk] and i have bought a bradley smoker.

Looking for some thing easy to start with chicken breast??

Need help
 
Steve, welcome to the SMF Family!!!

Chicken breast would be a good start...low time consumption with quick rewards for your efforts. You shouldn't cook by time and smoke chamber temp as it is very difficult to estimate when it will be done...there are too many variables involved. Do you have a meat thermometer? If so, problem solved. Minimum smoke chamber temp of 225*F/107.2*C is generally recognized as a safe temp to pasteurize the surface of meats for low & slow cooking...you can run hotter if desired, and poultry does not benefit from low & slow cooking, unless it's a tough, large, old roasting hen in the 7+lb/. Cook to internal temp of 165*F/73.9*C...(per USDA recommendations).

If you want to go easy on the smoke flavor for your first time around, you can smoke at higher chamber temps. This will reduce the smoke flavor by not allowing as much time in the smoker to cook the meat. 275-300*F/135-148.9*C won't hurt your chicken meat, in fact, with skin on, you better your chances of having a crisp skin at higher smoke chamber temps (if you like crisp skin, that is), and, be sure the skin is dry before smoking. Bite-through skin can be achieved through various methods and treatments, such as butter-basting, etc.

Season with your preferred blend of spices/herbs. Just about anything can be tossed on chicken meat and taste good, but we like blends with garlic, onion, parsley, black pepper, salt...simple and to the point, as chicken is a mild flavor, so it doesn't take much to bring out a deeper flavor profile. The smoke you add will change the overall flavor profile of the bird and the seasoning, so a simpler seasoning may be to your liking.

Shout back if you have any questions. Also, look up the UK Smokers Group...they know your availability of meats and other resources for your new adventure. Last glance there were 238 members, so you'll get tons of help for info in your specific area.

Enjoy your new smoker, the forum and help from other members, and, your (soon to be) smoking addiction!!!

Eric
 
Hi Steve!

welcome1.gif


to SMF!

Glad to have you aboard!

Al
 
Hi Steve, welcome to the Forum. I have already seen your post on the UK forum, which I normally point UK Memebers to.

Will answer your question on there?
 
 
Shout back if you have any questions. Also, look up the UK Smokers Group...they know your availability of meats and other resources for your new adventure. Last glance there were 238 members, so you'll get tons of help for info in your specific area.



Eric
Thanks Eric for pointing this new UK member in our direction.
Any time, brother. I know things can be a lot different on that side of the pond.

Eric
 
Had a few good replys,i am working my way round the site and learning
to post(cookings easer)
Thanks again to everyone for a fantastic wellcome
 
Our chickens are smaller 1.5kg for smoking nice and young melt in the mouth!!
 
Our chickens are smaller 1.5kg for smoking nice and young melt in the mouth!!
Yes, those are the really tender birds, around 4lbs here. You may or may not have them available...roasting hens...I've seen these range from 6-8+lbs. Those are what we call tough old birds...and they actually do benefit from low & slow cooking. I tried hot & fast a couple times, even on a rotisserie...don't think I'll do it again. If you can imagine trying to cut and chew on shoe leather, well, that's a close depiction. Trying to cut up a whole roasting hen cooked that way was a bit spooky...freshly straightened edge on a carving knife didn't even matter. You just know as soon as you start cutting that it will be an experience not soon forgotten, in a bad way...
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Eric
 
I've cooked a few of those roasting hens... Stewed chicken, or dumplins, Great!  Tried to do a kettle whole chicken with a 7 lb.  Cooked to a perfect 170 in the thigh and rested.  The color was incredible, and thought it was going to be amazing!  You couldn't cut it of the bone much less bite it.  It was fully cooked, just super tough!

Mike
 
 
I am in the UK { Suffolk] and i have bought a bradley smoker.

Looking for some thing easy to start with chicken breast??

Need help
Hi Steve and welcome to the forum 
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. It is great that you have already found the UK part of the forum. For more UK specific questions it is best to post there but for general questions please feel free to post in there or the main forum. As you have already seen, even if you post in the UK group it is seen by everyone and you will get out US colleagues responding to you there too.

Chicken and duck are both good meats to start and also so are sausages - but make sure they are good quality premium sausages from your local artisan butcher. You can then progress onto whole chickens and also joints of beef, pork and lamb. When you come to doing low and slow you need to be mindful that the Bradley wood biscuits can work out quite expensive for long smokes so concentrate on using them for the first 3 or 4 hours of the smoke. This is when they will have the greatest impact on the flavour.

Post some photos too - we like photos 
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