hwat to use in a chicken brine

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raistlin

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 2, 2013
16
10
Cambria New York
i am brining my 1st whole chicken.  I used 1 cup kosher, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 table spoon of pepper.  I also am brining salmon in brown sugar, kosher, and pepper.  I plan on using apple chips to smoke these tomorrow.  If I smoke these at the same time will the fish and chicken flavors mix and come out tasting terrible?  I also have not figured out what seasoning to use on the salmon yet.  Very new to this
 
  Sounds like good brine mixes. They will each have their own flavors plus whatever rub you use. I really can't help you one the salmon seasoning though. Try the search feature above. Pretty sure you will get some great ideas! Keep us posted!

  Mike
 
Hi raistin..   No worries,  your flavors won't mingle together in the smoker.  Your safe doing them together.  But they won't finish at the same time so hopefully you have two probes for IT's.

I do alot of salmon... varying it up depending on what I"m in the mood for at the time.  Some good options for salmon is dill, lemon pepper, cajun seasoning or my personal favorite.. bourbon and brown sugar.   You just have to experiment to see what you like most.
 
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I tend to experiment often to see what pellet or chip flavors I like and what produces the best taste.  Lol, like a mad scientist, I write down what I smoked and with what flavor profile so I can see what worked and what doesn't.   Once you get to taste the difference, it actually isn't complicated to figure out what pairs well together. 

Fish is alot more delicate than any of the other meats so it took a failure or two for me to decide which ones I liked best.   My choices for salmon also depend on what seasoning I am using.   Here's some options but remember, you'll need to figure out what tastes appeals to you as you go along.

Bourbon/ brown sugar glazed salmon- I use the bourbon barrel pellets,  or pecan,  or the pitmasters blend (which is hickory, maple and cherry)

Dill rub-  the dill is it's own taste so you don't want to overpower, just compliment it so I found I liked pecan or oak best for it.

Lemon pepper-  Apple pellets were my absolute fav.. but any of the fruit pellets I've tried so far seemed to pair well. 

If I'm doing anything with some kick to it, like cajun seasonings or blackening rubs, I like a bolder smoke taste too.. I tend to lean towards hickory, mesquite, oak or I've been known to mix my own combos of pellets just to see what tastes good.

With that said, I'm guessing your going to be using the chips instead of pellets since this is your first smoke right?   If that's accurate,  go with apple.  You can never go wrong with anything smoked in apple.  lol 

Hope that helps..
 
I have same thing..  so I can tell you from my past mistakes that you want any fish on the top rack and to the left side of the smoker away from the heating element area.   It's going to be done long before the chicken is so hopefully you have two thermometers... but if not, my suggestion would be to place it in the salmon first since we know it will finish first and you don't want to overcook it. 

I'd put the chicken over to the left as well and soon as the salmon is out,  place your therm probe in it to finish.  

As tempting as it is,  don't open the door to check on it. (Took me forever to break that habit lol)   Go by your temps.  Every time you open the door you lose that precious smoke and heat. 
 
Ok.  Now I have some direction thanks.  Do you add chips during the whole cooking time.  I heard that you only add during the 1st half of the cooking time
 
In reality, any food only takes so much smoke so many folks will say only the first half.    I go against the norm and keep TBS rolling the entire time it's in the smoker.  Overkill..yes, pointless..yes satisfying to my mind so I do it anyway..yes
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