Lets talk yard bird n brine

thedood · Aug 26, 2016

A little background. New guy here. My smoker is an okj highland with the usual mods.

I plan on smoking two yard birds this weekend. The first will be pulled for sammies and the second pulled for chicken salad. I plan on brining both birds. First some info on the brines and recipes I will be using then a couple of questions.

Brine 1:
1 quart water boiled with ingredients and then topped with 3 quarts fresh water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup Turbinado sugar
1 cup pickle juice (Nathans sweet horseradish pickles)
a couple of tbsp of home made poultry seasoning
1/4 cup fresh dill
Fresh ground black peppercorns

Rub 1:
1/4 cup of olive oil
couple of tbsp home made poultry seasoning
fresh dill
Fresh ground black peppercorns
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce?
Mixed well and brushed under skin of bird, the skin will be brushed with plain olive oil

Chicken smoked to 165 then the skin will removed and grilled until crispy

Salad:
Shredded yard bird
Chopped Nathans sweet horseradish pickles to taste
hard boiled eggs
celery
Miracle whip
1 small Chopped Onion
Grilled chicken skin crushed up?

Brine 2:
1 quart water boiled with ingredients and then topped with 3 quarts fresh water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

Rub 2:
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 tbsp 14 spice rub

Questions:
1) I am going to be gone all day saturday but want to brine the bird overnight saturday night. My plan is to mix everything in a quart of water tonight then refrigerate overnight and when I get home tomorrow night mix with 3 quarts ice water and place the bird in the pot . Any reason I should not do this?

2) What about the Worcestershire on the first bird with that seasoning combo?
3) What about the first brine and rub? Sound good or am I over doing it?

Thanks for viewing and replying. Happy smoking!!

SirPorkaLot · Aug 26, 2016

thedood said:
A little background. New guy here. My smoker is an okj highland with the usual mods.

I plan on smoking two yard birds this weekend. The first will be pulled for sammies and the second pulled for chicken salad. I plan on brining both birds. First some info on the brines and recipes I will be using then a couple of questions.

Brine 1:
1 quart water boiled with ingredients and then topped with 3 quarts fresh water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup Turbinado sugar
1 cup pickle juice (Nathans sweet horseradish pickles)
a couple of tbsp of home made poultry seasoning
1/4 cup fresh dill
Fresh ground black peppercorns

Rub 1:
1/4 cup of olive oil
couple of tbsp home made poultry seasoning
fresh dill
Fresh ground black peppercorns
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce?
Mixed well and brushed under skin of bird, the skin will be brushed with plain olive oil

Chicken smoked to 165 then the skin will removed and grilled until crispy

Salad:
Shredded yard bird
Chopped Nathans sweet horseradish pickles to taste
hard boiled eggs
celery
Miracle whip
1 small Chopped Onion
Grilled chicken skin crushed up?

Brine 2:
1 quart water boiled with ingredients and then topped with 3 quarts fresh water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

Rub 2:
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 tbsp 14 spice rub

Questions:
1) I am going to be gone all day saturday but want to brine the bird overnight saturday night. My plan is to mix everything in a quart of water tonight then refrigerate overnight and when I get home tomorrow night mix with 3 quarts ice water and place the bird in the pot . Any reason I should not do this?

2) What about the Worcestershire on the first bird with that seasoning combo?
3) What about the first brine and rub? Sound good or am I over doing it?

Thanks for viewing and replying. Happy smoking!!

Alrighty then, lets start with salt content in Brine #1 & Brine # 2:
Is there a reason you are using twice as much salt in #2 as you are #1?

How long (total) are you planning on the chicken being in the brine? If less than 8 hours, then I would go with 1 cup salt per gallon of water, if you plan to brine for more than 8 hours I would go with 1/2 cup to a gallon.

That's a lot of Worcestershire in Brine # 2!, especially when combined with 1 cup of salt. I would reconsider that amount.

The smoke/grilled skin of the chicken will capture a lot of smoke, if you crush that up to put in salad you may find the smoke flavor overwhelming in a salad.

As far as the brine & rub in # 1, I would suggest you scale back a bit on the rub, the brine will pull in quite a bit of flavor, and that amount rub may or may may not be a bit too much.

Personally I gave up wet brining in favor of Dry Brining (its just easier), but if you are trying to infused the flavors from pickle juice and Worcestershire into the meat of the chicken, a wet brine is a good way to go.

Cant wait to see the results

thedood · Aug 26, 2016

@SirPorkaLot Thanks for the reply.

The birds will be brining 14 hours or so. The reason I chose the different amounts of salt an attempt at compensating for the salt content of the pickle juice. I had not considered the salt content of the w. sauce on brine 2.

I had not thought of the smoke content of the skin and was just considering what the crunch from the skin would give the salad as far as texture and character.

On brine 2 what if I cut the salt back to 1/4 cup and leave the Worcestershire sauce where it is?

I also wondered about rub content on 1. I think I will look at cutting it in half.

I appreciate the opinion and reply. Thank you.

SirPorkaLot · Aug 26, 2016

I would stick with a minimum of 1/2 cup of salt to gallon for any wet brine. Salt is the active ingredient and is what makes the brine "work".

thedood · Aug 26, 2016

I will heed the advice and cut back some on the Worcestershire. Thanks!!

Lets talk yard bird n brine

thedood

Found some matches.

SirPorkaLot

somebody shut me the fark up.

thedood

Found some matches.

SirPorkaLot

somebody shut me the fark up.

thedood

Found some matches.

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