Courtesy of Martin Jakobsen
One of my absolutely favorite things to do is to take a marinade preparation and turn it into a smoking masterpiece. Peaches and Basil come together to elevate the average bird to something really special. You can follow the recipe using a grill, or you can use an entire bird and place it on a vertical non-stick chicken roaster. Norpro sells these for less than $8
Norpro Non Stick Coated Vertical Poultry Turkey Chicken Roaster 8 Pounds 269
A quick google search will yield several sources for you to acquire one of these beauties. The wonderful thing about this product is it allows the smoke to get at the meat from all angles and the dripping collection tray at the bottom. It allows for a placement for a can of beer for beer can chicken cooking methods and placement of key herbs that will make your chicken just to die for.
Alright, getting back to the Bird. When you are going to smoke the whole bird, double the recipe. This way you can coat your entire bird and have enough for the reserve basting amount called for in the recipe. It is crazy how much that basting liquid really adds that extra umph (technical term) to the final product.
If you find that your bird is getting a little dry on the smoker/grill – I would suggest you brine the bird first for a couple of hours. Here is my basic brine for any bird:
- 1 Gallon Water
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Salt
Place the above ingredients in a food save container and Stir to combine until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Place the chicken in the brine and weight it down with a heavy plate with a large can over the top to ensure the bird stays submerged for the full time.
When you get done, the bird will have taken in the requisite amount of moisture. Then I would proceed with the Marinating instructions below and then – smoke it baby! When you peal that chicken apart and you see that amazing smoke ring on that moist bird – my friend, your life will have changed for the better. Never again will you have a dry bland bird.
[gmc_recipe 7136]
