Delicious smoked meat can be made at home, and today we will tell you how to smoke chicken in a hot smoked smokehouse. Why chicken? Smoked chicken meat can become an independent dish, it can be served on the table along with a side dish, or it can be used as one of the ingredients in the preparation of other dishes, such as salads.
Usually meat is smoked in two ways: hot smoking and cold smoking. In both cases, the smoking process is due to the smoke from smoldering wood. In the case of cold smoking, the chicken is smoked at a temperature of 30-35 degrees, so it must be heat-treated in advance. In the case of hot smoking, the meat does not need to be thermally processed in advance, it is enough just to marinate it correctly. During hot smoking, chicken meat is in a container with a temperature of about 150 degrees, this is quite enough to fry even a whole chicken.
If you already have a hot smoked smokehouse, buy chicken and let's get started!
Hot smoked chicken
Ingredients:- chicken - 1 pc.;
- salt - 100 g;
- water - 3 l;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- spice for chicken ready mix) - 2 tbsp.
Servings of Hot Smoked Chicken: 6
Cooking:
1. Prepare the chicken, for this wash it, remove all excess fat(tail area), the skin does not need to be removed, this can be done after the smoking process.
2. Heat water in a saucepan, pour all the spices into it, boil for 5 minutes. Leave the resulting brine to cool completely. When the liquid is room temperature put the chicken in it. The chicken will be in this brine for 20 hours, do not forget to put it in a cold place.
3. Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse under running water. Before smoking, the chicken should be hung outdoors for 3-4 hours so that it dries well. Protect the meat from insects, for example, wrapped in cheesecloth. If there is no time for this, you can use a napkin and wipe the chicken well from the remaining water.
4. Better chicken before direct smoking, cut lengthwise into two parts, the cut line should run along the back and along the breast.
5. Tie the halves of the chicken with twine, for which we will hang the meat in the smokehouse.
6. It is better to smoke chicken meat on sawdust from alder or bird cherry. Don't forget to put a pan for fat in the smoker, because chicken is quite fatty meat.
7. The chicken is smoked for 1.5-2 hours, depending on the temperature of your smokehouse.
8. Remove the chicken, if the meat comes off the bone easily and the crust is golden brown, then the meat is ready to eat.
Tasty and fragrant smoked meat is ready, according to the same recipe, you can smoke not a whole chicken, but its individual parts. For example, you can buy a kilogram of wings, pickle them, tie them with twine and send them to the smokehouse, you get great snack for beer.
1. The skin of the chicken, if it turned out dark, it is better to remove it after smoking. She absorbed a lot of smoke, this is also not always good.
2. For smoking, take only fresh or chilled meat, thawed chicken loses its taste, and its aroma after smoking will not be so strong.
3. If there is no time for us to marinate the chicken for a long time, you can speed up the process. For this, take an ordinary clean syringe, draw brine into it, chop the whole carcass with this brine. The chicken should be allowed to lie down for 1-2 hours, after which you can safely send it to the smokehouse.
4. Never use so-called "liquid smoke". There is nothing from natural smoke in it, there are a lot of chemicals that are dangerous to health. Choose a natural smoking option.
5. Experiment with marinade options. You can grease the chicken with chopped garlic before smoking, wipe it again with aromatic herbs and seasonings.
Well, we told you how to smoke chicken in a hot-smoked smokehouse, now it's up to you to buy meat, marinate, smoke and enjoy soft and fragrant chicken.
Chicken is a favorite type of meat for many people due to its light and great taste. Smoked chicken- a favorite way of cooking this bird for many children and adults. Making smoked chicken at home is not as difficult as it seems.
Smoked meat and poultry began in ancient times. True, the product was treated with wood smoke for disinfection from dangerous bacteria. IN modern conditions smoking is intended to impart a special taste and aroma to dishes. Smoked chicken can be seen on the shelves of many stores. However, there is a tastier smoked chicken than what is sold in stores. This is a bird smoked at home. But first things first.
Preparing chicken for smoking
Before you start smoking, the chicken is marinated. Quantity modern recipes pickling is in the tens. Each of them has its own characteristics, but it can be considered verified classic version. For him it is taken fresh chicken. The carcass is cut along the breast so that the meat is better smoked. The larger the bird, the more marinade will be required.
Brine for smoking chicken
The meat is washed tap water and placed in a container. Pour water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. After that, the water is turned off for a few minutes to cool down.
As soon as the water cools, salt is added here, Bay leaf, black pepper, ground coriander, finely chopped garlic to taste. All seasonings are added in an arbitrary amount, but if you feel that you have gone too far, you can soak the chicken in plain water.
Next, the marinade is stirred so that all the salt dissolves. After that, it is poured onto the chicken carcass so that it covers it completely. The container is covered with a lid. After that, leave it in a cold place for several hours.
The next method of preparing the marinade does not involve the use of liquid. The chicken is simply rubbed with salt and seasonings, wrapped in foil and put in the refrigerator for a day. After that, wash it under running water and wipe dry. In this case, you can use a towel or napkins. After rubbing, the bird is hung out in the air for infusion. If you skip this point, the chicken meat will turn out tough and tasteless.
Preparing the smokehouse for smoking
The smokehouse must be washed if you have smoked fish or meat before. Sand should be poured into the pan or foil should be laid so that in the future it can be easily cleaned. At the bottom, you can put chips or sawdust. If you decide to use sawdust for smoking, it is better to take alder.
If these are chips, you should put beech or oak, but it is advisable to soak the oak in advance and then dry it.
Smoking process
Hot smoked chicken
It all starts with lighting a fire. Someone does not really like a very open fire, and the smokehouse has to be washed at the end of all manipulations, because it turns black.
The chicken is placed belly down, after which it is covered with a lid and put on fire. After that, a water seal is poured and smoking begins. The optimum temperature for smoking is 110-120 C. The process takes about an hour. Older smoker models work in such a way that sometimes the carbon deposits formed on the lid drip onto the food and give them unappetizing black spots. If you have such equipment available, you can remove the lid during smoking and quickly wash it with water, then wipe it dry.
After smoking, the chicken should be left to cool. As you know, cooled smoked meats are tastier. Once the chicken has cooled, you will need to run your hand over it. This will get rid of excess spices.
Smoked chicken according to the specified recipe is soft and very fragrant. In some ways, it resembles grilled chicken, but at the same time it has a distinct smoked flavor and aroma.
If you have an electric smokehouse, then there will be no problems with smoking. You only need to turn on the device and load the ingredients. Marinate chicken for smoking in an electric smokehouse in the same way as for conventional smoking. The procedure is similar, but this case it is fully automated and does not require constant monitoring.
Cold smoked chicken
Anyone can smoke chicken at home. All it takes is free time and patience. Marinated chicken is smoked by cold smoking for a little longer than hot. The chicken should be in the smoke for at least 3 days. The temperature must be kept at 40 degrees. The carcass of the bird is turned over once a day and the degree of its readiness is checked. To do this, pierce the meat with a knife. If no blood comes out, then the chicken is ready. Not everyone succeeds in smoking chicken in a smokehouse the first time. To alleviate the fate of beginners, there is a special cooking technology.
There is a so-called method of semi-hot smoking of chicken, when hot smoke is mixed with cold air. This is achieved simply. You open the smokehouse lid. The smoking temperature should not be more than 80 degrees, otherwise your chicken will not be smoked, but simply cooked. Marinade for smoking chicken can be prepared the same as described above.
Smoking chicken in a smokehouse is possible not only at home, but also in nature. In the latter case, the smokehouse can be built from improvised means. For example, you can take a brick hearth for firewood and an ordinary steel bucket.
People who have never had to smoke chicken on their own before are trying various temperature conditions and experiment. But this can be fraught with spoilage of food and mood due to a failed dish. Hot smoked chicken in the smokehouse should be 12 hours, after which it is insisted on fresh air a couple more hours. Cold smoking chicken involves a longer preparation period. Accordingly, the shelf life of the chicken is also longer. You can extend the shelf life of poultry so that the product does not lose its taste, using a conventional refrigerator.
Storing smoked chicken
Smoked chicken is often taken on the road by passengers on long-distance trains. Why? Because it can be safely eaten the next morning. And yet, what is the shelf life of home-smoked chicken and how best to save it?
Freezing in the refrigerator is considered the surest and safest way. Housewives in various forums often discuss this issue. Someone does not recommend doing this, hinting that the chicken will not be elastic enough. Others advise freezing so that smoked products do not lose their properties and do not deteriorate.
Of course, any food tastes better freshly prepared. But if you cannot immediately eat the entire supply of smoked meats, then it is better to use the freezer than to let a tasty and healthy product go to waste.
For example, if you cooked on the eve of the holiday smoked breast or a leg, you can put them in the freezer, and then defrost them by the right time. You can cook some kind of salad or hodgepodge soup with meat, and on the same day. But if you want to freeze ready-made salads from smoked brisket then know that you can't do that.
How to properly store smoked chicken in the freezer:
The chicken is cut into portions;
Wrapped up in cling film each piece;
Put in plastic bags;
Sent for storage in the freezer for a period of no more than 2 weeks. If the bird was frozen in the quick and deep freezing mode, then it can be stored for up to a month. Defrost preferably in the refrigerator. Someone enjoys microwave oven, but this solution is not the best. Smoked chicken can become tasteless.
It is better to let the chicken thaw gradually without sudden temperature changes. This applies to any meat, as well as fish and minced meat.
What if there is no refrigerator nearby? It is necessary to look for premises where they support optimum temperature and ventilation. Under these parameters, an unheated attic of a private house is suitable. It is necessary to stretch the wire and hang on it pieces of smoked chicken placed in linen bags. Here they can be stored for 5 to 6 months. However, they do not lose their taste. If you have not prepared so many smoked meats, you can get by with a box made of plastic or wood. Packed chicken pieces are stacked in boxes in one row.
Instead of an attic, you can place smoked meat products in a dry basement or cold pantry. But the room will need to be prepared in advance. Get rid of all rodents and insects if you have any. Wash the floor and walls properly and ventilate the room. Handle Shelves hot water with the addition of soda and dry the room for several days.
Dampness in the premises is unacceptable, because it leads to the appearance of a grayish coating and even mold on the surface of smoked products. If you make a mistake and the smoked chicken has acquired a sour smell and is covered with mucus, do not try to save it. It is better to throw away - health is more expensive.
If you are going to cook smoked chicken at home, it is better to think over the storage space in advance. In addition, you need to smoke just as much chicken meat, How much you can really save without any loss in the future.
Do you want to keep such carcasses for a long time poultry like duck, chicken, goose or turkey? Try to smoke them for the winter at home by cold smoking. This method is simple and affordable, and smoked poultry cooked according to it is fragrant, juicy and tasty.
For the preparation of our preparation, carcasses of poultry (turkey, chicken, duck, or goose) of fresh slaughter are needed.
At the first stage of cooking, bird carcasses must be plucked from feathers, small feathers can be removed with tweezers. Then, the cleaned carcasses need to be gutted (remove the insides) and cut them lengthwise into two equal parts.
Next, it is necessary to put our half carcasses between two meat cutting boards and beat the meat well with the back of the ax so that the bones and joints of the bird are flattened, and cerebral fluid flows out of the spinal cord. This manipulation is necessary so that the brine penetrates into the meat better and in the future, it is better smoked.
In order to make the smoked meat more tender, half-carcasses of poultry must be hung in a cool (t not more than 10 ° C) ventilated room for 48–96 hours.
- boiled warm water - 700 ml;
- table vinegar (30%) - 3 tbsp. lodges;
- table salt - ½ tbsp. lodges;
- minced garlic - 2 cloves;
- bay leaf - 2-3 pieces;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. lodges;
- ginger (chopped) - ½ tsp;
- cinnamon - ½ teaspoon;
- juniper berries (dried) - 5 pcs.;
- black peppercorns - 2-3 pcs.
Brine for smoking poultry is designed for 1 medium-sized carcass.
Make it simple. Mix all the ingredients of the brine in boiled water and lower the bird into it so that the carcasses are completely covered.
During the time spent in brine, the meat must be turned over several times.
Chicken carcasses are usually too lean. In order to make them a little fatter, after salting in the meat, it is necessary to make several cuts into which to put the chopped lard and garlic.
Fatty poultry (goose, duck, turkey) can only be stuffed with garlic for flavor.
Before starting smoking, it is necessary that the bird carcasses dry out. To do this, they are briefly hung in a cool room.
In the process of cold smoking, you need to water our homemade smoked meats with brine several times.
Fatter poultry should be smoked longer so that excess fat is rendered. The readiness of meat is very easy to determine; in ready-made carcasses, the film will easily separate from the meat.
Smoked poultry meat should be stored in a cool place wrapped in wax paper. This will keep the flavor better.
Such a cold-smoked bird can be served as an independent dish, or, on the basis of such smoked meats, you can cook a very tasty roast or salad.
See also the video: Salting and Hot Smoking of GEESE. My recipe. Part 1
Hot Smoked Geese! Part 2.
Many people love chicken meat, and smoking it is one of the unusual and quite popular cooking methods. Smoked chicken can be eaten on its own or as an appetizer, as well as used in soups or salads.
If you still think that smoking chicken at home is not possible, then this is a big mistake. Guided simple advice set out in this article, you will learn how to smoke chicken in a hot smoked smokehouse.
Preliminary preparation of the chicken involves marinating it.
Without first using the marinade, you run the risk of overdried meat. In addition, the marinade will make the taste of the final dish more piquant and refined. The marinade can be prepared at your own discretion, or using the following ready-made recipes.
According to classic recipe, when choosing products for marinade, it is better to give preference to:
- olive oil - 300 g;
- lemon juice - 200 g;
- mixtures of dry spices - 4 tbsp. spoons;
- chopped parsley - 4 tbsp. spoons;
- garlic - 6 cloves;
- salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Softer and juicier chicken meat will turn out if you give preference to a kefir-based marinade recipe, for the preparation of which you should use kefir (150 g), sugar (1 teaspoon), olive oil(50 g), dry spices for chicken meat (2 tablespoons), garlic (2 cloves), salt and black ground pepper taste.
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, and rub the chicken with the resulting composition. The meat should be marinated for at least 8 hours to ensure proper marinade soaking. Only after that you can proceed directly to smoking.
Before smoking chicken, you should also take care of preliminary preparation smokehouse, which involves the preparation of firewood. In this case, it is recommended to give preference to hardwoods, represented by oak, alder, linden, maple and various fruit trees.
Each of these trees will fill chicken meat with a special taste and aroma. To a greater extent, this applies to fruit trees: apple, pear, peach.
In addition to firewood for hot smoking chicken meat, you should also use sawdust or tree shavings of your choice. The main thing is to avoid the use of conifers and birch, in view of high content they contain various resins that will not be reflected in the best way on palatability final product.
Making a fire will be simplified if damp and large firewood is used for these purposes. In addition, chicken meat will have time to smoke well before a strong fire flares up.
The fate of modern cooks is greatly facilitated, because today it is possible to use special equipment for smoking meat. We are talking about an electric smoking shed, which eliminates the need to prepare firewood, as well as regularly measuring the temperature to maintain it at a certain level.
Hot smoking of chicken meat involves placing it in a smokehouse heated to a temperature of 100-150 degrees and not lower. The smokehouse should be covered with sawdust, firewood should be laid out, and after installing the drip tray, hang the chicken and close the lid.
At maximum heat, the smokehouse should be heated for about 10 minutes, after which it is recommended to switch to a moderate mode. Smoking chicken with this method usually takes from 1 to 1.5 hours, after which the smokehouse must be opened. It is recommended to do this only in the open air, because the enclosed space will quickly fill up. big amount smoke.
The duration of smoking depends on many factors, represented by the marinade used and the duration of pickling, maintaining the required temperature in the smokehouse and the quality indicators of the chicken meat used.
The readiness of the product will be indicated by the acquisition of a brownish hue by the chicken, as well as the separation of the meat from the bones.
- chicken meat that has been stored in a freezer is not suitable for smoking;
- application liquid smoke, whose manufacturers promise quick smoking, is not recommended due to the high content of carcinogens, toxic chemicals that contribute to the accelerated growth and division of cancer cells;
- when choosing meat, it is better to focus on large breeds and young birds.
As you can see, hot smoking chicken at home is not difficult and does not take much time and effort. And as a result, all family members will be able to enjoy incredibly delicious meat whose quality leaves no doubt.
Chicken can be smoked in several ways: hot, cold and with the help of "liquid smoke". Smoking chicken with the addition of "liquid smoke" is a simplified version that requires less attention and time in cooking, but the benefit of using a chemical concentrate that gives taste and smell is minimal.
Cold-cooked meat takes time - sometimes several days, but hot-smoked chicken can be made at home, while there will be no carcinogens in the meat, and the taste and aroma will not yield to the results of other cooking methods.
Preparation for smoking
For home smoked you need to choose fresh chicken, and it is better if it is chilled than frozen. good quality the chicken should have white-pink skin without spots, scratches, fractures, all feathers should be removed. When pressing on high-quality meat, deep dents cannot appear - the resulting hole on a fresh carcass will drag on quickly. Also at good product no foreign unpleasant odors.
A replacement for a smokehouse at home can be made up of a pan in which the whole chicken will fit. Its bottom should be thick so that when cooking sawdust and meat do not burn. After smoking, it can be difficult to get rid of the smell of smoke and soot, so it is better to take a pan that will not be used for cooking other types of food.
Sawdust is used ready-made from wood of any species. If sawdust is harvested independently, then they should not be coniferous, otherwise finished product there will be a smell of resin, which will spoil all the flavor and add bitterness to the meat.
Smoking chicken will require an aluminum mold under chicken carcass or foil large enough to cover the bottom of the pot and make the sides. You will also need a small cotton towel.
Ingredients
To cook chicken you need to take:
- Chicken, weighing 1-1.5 kg, before cooking, you need to wash it, dry it and cut off excess fat;
- 5-6 tablespoons of table salt;
- 2 liters of water;
If you need to spice up the meat, then it is better to prepare a marinade, for which you will need:
- Water - 1.5-2 liters;
- spices: red or black pepper, cinnamon or others, to your taste, or you can use ready-made spices for barbecue;
- garlic - 3-4 cloves;
- vinegar 9% - 1 teaspoon, or lemon juice, lime;
- sugar - 1 teaspoon;
- salt 3-4 tablespoons;
- Bay leaf.
All ingredients, except garlic, are poured into water and boiled for 5 minutes. The marinade must be cooled to 20-30 degrees, and the chicken should be dipped into it for 10-12 hours, after which it can be removed from the brine, rinsed with clean water and left for 1.5-2 hours to get rid of excess moisture. The aged chicken is rubbed with garlic - now the meat can be smoked.
If the meat does not require pickling, then the chicken is cut, washed and salted. You can divide it into 2 parts and slightly beat off. Then water with dissolved salt should be poured over the chicken, placed in a saucepan or other container. The container must be put in a cold place for 8 hours so that the meat has time to salt. You can speed up the process if you make an injection with salt water into the carcass every 4-5 cm. After that, rub the chicken with spices and garlic, although you can do without them.
Smoking process
Sawdust is poured into a pan selected for hot smoking with a layer of about 2 cm. An aluminum mold is placed on top of the sawdust, you can replace it with foil folded several times, the edges will need to be raised so that the chicken fat does not get on the sawdust. The chicken or its parts, which are ready, wiped with a dry towel, are placed on foil, and the pan is tightly closed with a lid wrapped in a towel, which must first be soaked in cold water.
We put sawdust on the bottom of the pan, put a foil container and a grill under the chicken on top
Meat in an impromptu smokehouse is put on the stove. The fire should be strong for half an hour, then the temperature is reduced, and the pan is kept on low heat for another 30 minutes. After that, the stove can be turned off, but the chicken must be allowed to cool without opening the lid.
After 20 minutes, the meat is completely ready, but if in doubt, you can pierce the carcass in the thickest place - clear juice is a guarantee of readiness. Chicken is eaten hot and cold, but the skin must be removed from it and not eaten, since it absorbs all the burning from sawdust during the cooking process.
Smoked chicken can become an independent dish, or you can add it to salads and hodgepodges. Suitable as a side dish, for example, sour apples, fried in the fat left after smoking. Peeled and chopped apples can be added to the chicken during smoking, 10 minutes before the end of the process.
