Chicken Smoking

Incredibly Moist Smoked Chicken without a Smoker

September 1, 2015 Mike Johnson 0 Comments Baking

Here We Go!

Ingredients

500g Cold water

55g Liquid smoke, divided

25g Salt

100g Black Strap Molasses

25g Liquid aminos, or soy sauce

1 ea Chicken, whole, we used a 4-pound bird

Directions

Step 1: Make the Brine

500g Cold water

5g Liquid smoke

25g Salt

Pour water into a large container, then add 5 g liquid smoke and salt. Stir until fully dissolved.

If working ahead, store brine in the fridge until you need it.

Step 2: Make Glaze

100g Black Strap Molasses

50g Liquid smoke

25g Liquid aminos, or soy sauce

Stir together the molasses, 50 g liquid smoke, and liquid aminos (or soy sauce) until well-combined.

Step 3: Remove Wishbone

Remove the wishbone from the chicken.

Step 4: Cut the Chicken in Half

Grease a baking tray.

Lay chicken halves flat on your work surface. Remove the keel bone—the breastbone that runs along the center of the chicken’s cavity—by slicing lengthwise along the breast on either side of it, then removing with a knife or cooking shears.

Using your shears or knife, remove the spine of your chicken. Now you have two halves.

Lay chicken halves flat on the baking tray, skin side up.

Step 5: Brine

Transfer brine to a syringe. You want to inject about 100 g of brine into each breast section, and75 g into each thigh section, distributing as evenly as possible.

Step 6: Glaze

Grab a brush, and paint both halves of your chicken with an even layer of glaze. You want a good coating on there, so don’t be shy. Just clean up any messy pools that might form, as those can prevent the skin from drying out and achieving that incredible crispiness we’re after.

Transfer chicken to the fridge for 24–48 hours.

Step 7: Preheat oven to 195 °F / 91 °C

Step 8: Bake, reglaze three times

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove chicken from oven, reglaze both halves, then return to the oven.

Repeat process twice more.

Step 9: Cook

Once you’ve completed the glazing process, allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, until a thermometer inserted into the breast reads 145 °F / 63 °C.

Remove chicken from the oven.

NOTE: The objective here is to make sure the dark meat cooks through, but the breast meat stays nice and juicy. Cutting the chicken in half before baking helps the legs cook slightly faster, so that once the breast has reached 145 °F / 63 °C, the thigh should be at 153 °F / 67 °C.