All Fired Up! Smoke 'em if you've got 'em!

by Chef Brian Henry www.thespiceco.ca www.chefbrianhenry.com

Chef Brian Henry has been a Chef for 35 years. He is the owner of Angle Iron Kitchens and The Spice Co.

Kickin’ Recipes

Smoking is a flavorful way to dry and preserve foods that has been used since prehistoric times. The smoking process involves holding our foods for long periods of time at warm temperatures.

This can become problematic as it greatly increases the risk of food poisoning due to time and temperature abuse promoting the growth of bacteria, which is why the first rule of smoking is not to smoke any meat, poultry, or seafood that has not first been cured in brine.

Brine is simply a solution of salt, sugar and other curing ingredients dissolved in water. Foods will then be submerged in the brine for 10-12 hours. The brining process . forces water into the muscle tissues of the meat by the processes known as diffusion and osmosis. This additional moisture causes the muscle tissues to swell and hold more water. This excess water in the muscle tissues will make the meat more moist and tender. Any spices, herbs or other flavorings you add to the brine solution will get taken deep into the meat with the water.

The meat is then removed from the brine and rinsed off to remove the excess salt and allowed to dry, uncovered for a few hours in a refrigerator before smoking. This will allow for a sticky film to develop on the meats surface called pellicle. It is important that the pellicle is allowed to develop on the surface because it

acts like Velcro for the smoke to adhere to the surface of the food.

When you smoke foods it is best to keep the temperature as low as possible. I like to keep my smoker around 90° C / 190°F. If you see a white substance forming on the surface of the meat you have exceeded the temperature and over cooked the meat, at which point it will no longer take any more smoke.

SMOKED CHICKEN Place chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 8 hours for whole chickens. Drain the brine and discard. Quickly rinse the chicken with cold water and pat the chicken dry before cooking. One gallon of brine is enough for 6 pounds of whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces, and up to 10 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Fire up your smoker using mild woods like cherry or apple and allow the temperature to reach 90° C / 190°F. Place chicken on the smoker racks. Let chicken smoke/cook until it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 74°C /165°F for pieces or 82°C /180°F for whole bird. Remove chicken from the smoker and serve immediately.

BRINE RECIPE:

1 litre Water

100g Salt

30g Brown Sugar

2 Bay Leaves

5g Black Peppercorns

2g Coriander Seed

1gAllspice Berries

1g Dry Mustard

METHOD:

Prepare the brine by combining all ingredients and simmering until all the salt and sugar is dissolved. Let cool.