Cured Smoked Chicken w/Q-View

[yotzee]

Nice looking bird!  Those breast slices look perfect!!

 

[foamheart]

Nice color on the bird.

Thanks..... Those pecan shells and I suppose the low and slow make a huge difference.

 

[v8trdude]

That bird looks awesome. The color you got on that skin, is picture perfect.

 

[foamheart]

 
Sorry, Foam, I am late to this. I am getting to agree with you on the slow smoke for the chicken but I still like a bit of crisping on the grill. However, you have added a cured bird to my to do list. Thanks.

Disco

Thanks man, Pops cured turkeys just brought back a childhood memory and I needed to see if it was real.... it was.

 

[foamheart]

 
Hey Foam!!------I gotta tell you, Man!!!-------That Bird is Freakin' Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure Pops is Proud of you, because I certainly am!!----It looks soooo Perfect !!!----------------

Great Job!! 

Bear

Thank a lot Bear. It did came out really good, probably would have been better had I listened to Pop's and used his heart friendly cure, next time!

 
Points for the most beautiful bird I've ever seen! I'm one of those hot and fast people for poultry, and depending on the wood species and amount, it can affect the color. I've actually had to "cheat" at the end of smokes by dumping in a bunch of wood chunks to intentionally generate a few minutes of billowy smoke to get more color on the skin. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it works.   

However, for a cured bird, it looks like low and slow might be the better way to go. Since the curing process is also brines the bird and denatures the proteins, it's gonna hold onto the moisture and avoid that mushy, pasty texture that in my experience is one of the dangers of low and slow for poultry.

Thanks for sharing your process and proving that there are many different methods that work!

Thanks, ya know you may be right, I am going to have to make a bird low and slow again just to see. And thanks for the compliment. It was all Pops doing, I just cured for 2 days and smoked.

 

[disco]

 
Thanks man, Pops cured turkeys just brought back a childhood memory and I needed to see if it was real.... it was.

I thought you were like me and had never grown up, ergo, we are still in our childhood!

 

[foamheart]

 
Nice looking bird!  Those breast slices look perfect!!

Thanks, appreciate it. Pecan to me is not only the tastiest but the color is really pretty. Apple or cherry adds a hint of red to the color which really shines, a bit more and it'll turn to Mahogany.  

 

[foamheart]

That bird looks awesome. The color you got on that skin, is picture perfect.

Thanks, its just hard to mess up a chicken they take color really well.

 

[foamheart]

 
I thought you were like me and had never grown up, ergo, we are still in our childhood!

Ya know, there are probably many more who would agree with you than would not.......LOL And I am not even a Toy's R Us kid cause that was just back in the 80's ROFLMAO

 

[disco]

 
Ya know, there are probably many more who would agree with you than would not.......LOL And I am not even a Toy's R Us kid cause that was just back in the 80's ROFLMAO

We still have toys they're just called MES and Bradley and A-MAZE-N.

 

[padronman]

I'm with you foam.......low and slow.  My wife and I take the skin off anyway (trying to cut calories when we can).  Have you tried my method of making a compound butter with the rub to go under the skin?  Makes the meat xtra tasty after that skin comes off.  Also makes it super moist!!!

So what does curing the meat do to it VS just brining?

Scott

 

[foamheart]

 
I'm with you foam.......low and slow.  My wife and I take the skin off anyway (trying to cut calories when we can).  Have you tried my method of making a compound butter with the rub to go under the skin?  Makes the meat xtra tasty after that skin comes off.  Also makes it super moist!!!

So what does curing the meat do to it VS just brining?

Scott

The fowl takes on a redish hue, becomes more dense and has a taste and aroma modifier a little like ham. Its basically the taste most folks get when buying a store bought smoked turkey. Most here are cured prior to smoking although they market as smoked turkeys.

As to compound butters yes I have tried them, basically my injection is a compound butter. I have been injecting fowl since my Pop let me do one. See he always injected to my knowledge. I can remember only one holiday turkey that he cured before smoking.

As to skin, someday I am sure I'll die, but I will have enjoyed myself when it gets here.

Sometime try, if you haven't, substituting for the skin a light coating of mayo, its healthy and tastee.