parrotheada1a
Resident Pitmaster
Rather than derail Johnny's thread, I'll tell you folks about a birthday party I cooked for last weekend. I sure didn't expect the way it turned out either. One of the guys I work with invited me to his place for his daughter's 1st Bday. The munchkin is insanely cute, and my better half and I were just pleased that we were asked to be there. Anyhow, a few weeks ago my buddy kinda hinted around that he would like me to cook up something for the festivities. I asked if chicken was alright, since he planned on doing the requisite burgers & dogs. He said that would be great, as long as I didn't make a burn your boots off recipe.
I went to the grocery store on Friday, and found whole birds for .89 a pound. Fantastic for what I'm doing I thought, and I got 4 that were 6-7 pounds each. I usually cook chickens on my WSM after I've cut them in half. Takes less time, and I use less consumables to boot. Another benefit is that you can move stuff around when you need to so each half cooks evenly. Gave 'em a nice seasoning rub and into the smoker they went. I used a twist on one of Paul Kirk's rub recipe's. I have a couple of his cookbooks, and this guy seriously knows his stuff. The chicken spent a leisurely 3.5 hrs on the smoker, using just a smallish piece of applewood. Like using FX for guitar, sometimes less is more.
While I had that working, I made a fruity & sweet 'Q sauce to lather on later. This stuff turned out great. After the bird came off the smoker at 165F, I let it rest a bit and then put it in the fridge for the next day. Fast forward about 12 hrs later....At the party, I got to work finishing up the birds. All they needed was a saucing and a reheat. A bit later, one of the people there said that they looked undercooked. I had to point out the pink ring was a sign of smoke cooking. I also pointed out that the birds were not overcooked either.
By the time guests started to head out, I'd recieved kudos from a number of them. Later on, my buddy's better half takes me aside and gives me a list of people that want me to do some 'Q at their party... and they would pay me to do it too. She told me that everyone seriously enjoyed the stuff I cooked, and it was much appreciated. She also shoved some coin into my pocket and said that I shouldn't count it. Okay... fine by me. I was thinking that it was nice of them as I hadn't expected anything. Damn nice I would find out.... turned out to be 50 bucks!
I went to the grocery store on Friday, and found whole birds for .89 a pound. Fantastic for what I'm doing I thought, and I got 4 that were 6-7 pounds each. I usually cook chickens on my WSM after I've cut them in half. Takes less time, and I use less consumables to boot. Another benefit is that you can move stuff around when you need to so each half cooks evenly. Gave 'em a nice seasoning rub and into the smoker they went. I used a twist on one of Paul Kirk's rub recipe's. I have a couple of his cookbooks, and this guy seriously knows his stuff. The chicken spent a leisurely 3.5 hrs on the smoker, using just a smallish piece of applewood. Like using FX for guitar, sometimes less is more.
While I had that working, I made a fruity & sweet 'Q sauce to lather on later. This stuff turned out great. After the bird came off the smoker at 165F, I let it rest a bit and then put it in the fridge for the next day. Fast forward about 12 hrs later....At the party, I got to work finishing up the birds. All they needed was a saucing and a reheat. A bit later, one of the people there said that they looked undercooked. I had to point out the pink ring was a sign of smoke cooking. I also pointed out that the birds were not overcooked either.
By the time guests started to head out, I'd recieved kudos from a number of them. Later on, my buddy's better half takes me aside and gives me a list of people that want me to do some 'Q at their party... and they would pay me to do it too. She told me that everyone seriously enjoyed the stuff I cooked, and it was much appreciated. She also shoved some coin into my pocket and said that I shouldn't count it. Okay... fine by me. I was thinking that it was nice of them as I hadn't expected anything. Damn nice I would find out.... turned out to be 50 bucks!