Honey & Bourbon Brine Chook

  • Hey Steiny....here it is. ...
    1/2 Cup warm water
    1/2 Cup Bourbon Whiskey
    1/3 Sea Salt Flakes
    1/4 Cup Honey
    1/2 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
    1/2 tea spoon grounded black pepper...

    Mix this up till salt and honey have dissolved.....
    Place chicken (cut out spine and neck, cut chicken in half, twist and break the leg from the thigh) in LARGE zip up bag....
    Pour in brine, fill bag with cold water, inch from the top, squeeze out air, zip up, put bag in a big bowl, put in fridge 6-12 hours....

    I'll post up more pics and notes on what ill do afterwards....

    Hope that helps Steinyboys

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  • I've got one in a bag and in the fridge today too. I make sure the water is really cold by adding some ice blocks to the mix when it goes in.

    Looking forward to seeing your results Felipe, the brine sounds good.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Yes, like wise Gumby...keep me in the loop.... you take yours out to air dry Gumby? To try and get the crispy skin?? Suppose im only doing this as I'll be running a low and slow smoke....I'll post pics tonight

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  • Yes, I take out, pat it dry and pop it back in the fridge to dry out for an hour or so but I think if it's brined you can forget crispy skin but the main game here is moist and tasty bird. Maybe if i left it to dry in the fidge overnight it might get crispy, but I don't know 'cos never tried that.

    I'll stick up a pic when chicken has become dinner.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Yeah agreed Gumb. Going to try a little trick tonight to see if i get the crisp to make an appearance.
    I'll make sure to post success or fail.
    All the best mate, great weather in Perth....crack a beer. .cheers

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  • Mine turned out OK and guess what, I had it uncovered in the fridge for 1.5 hours, rubbed it with coconut oil, and when it came out of the kamado.....crispy skin :) . And then I foiled it.....no crispy skin. :(

    Really moist though, check out the juice on the cutting board, and great flavour too.

    How did yours go Felipe ?

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Wow Gumb....you've had a win. ....I'm still cranking the fire as we speak. Allot of new techniques and using new tools today. ....so this could go south........quick.....but I'm taking progressive shots.....I'll keep you posted mate. ....enjoy the chook.. :)

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  • already have...it's 9.30 real time. :)

    I had the kamado locked on 180c most of the time so it was done in about 80 minutes. The spuds were really crispy too.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • ok.....so after draining the brine and washing down the chook under the tap, I set the chook up on a drying rack over a tray and placed it in the fridge for 5 hours....

    2 hours prior to placing the sacrificials on Mr. Webber i then turned the chicken over, breast down and placed it back in the fridge. Reason was, I was trying the "Swim Cap Method" the skin acts as a 'swim cap' for the juices, which help crisp the skin when the chicken is flipped........supposedly according to Rock Mcnealy....

    1 hour later, I pull the poultry out of the fridge and let it rest and get to room temp while i crank the webber. I decided to use a Brazilian charcoal.....

    Here is the configuration.......

    I got a bag of peach wood so i opted to use that today. ...yeah, i didn't have a big enough drip tray. ...so i doubled up. ...lucky i was 4 beers in by now and couldn't drive to get some assorted sizes......cause i would have. ...im weird like that.

    Here is a concoction i made up to massage into the breast under the skin. ...
    Jalapeno-Orange Butter Compound

    1 T orange juice
    4 T Butter
    1/2 Jalapeno (seeded and minced/finely chopped)
    1 T grated orange rind
    1 T diced chives
    Sea salt to season
    White pepper to season

    Mix all in a bowl....than masaaaaaaaage...
    save a bit of butter for later on....

    Chimney was ready now to pour over the unlit coals...

    In goes the coals, threw another chunk of peach wood over the top....let it burn for 5 minutes, placed the chickens on the grill, breast facing out and breast down. ..

    Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of when i first placed the chook on the grill, the above pic i took during a chunk and coal top up...

    I also throw a tray around 3/4 full with water over the heat to help stabilise the heat and create moisture in the lid.

    After half hour I turned the chooks over and basted the breasts with remaining compound butter...

    *Note*- the tray is only were it is cause i would of been placing a chunk into the heat...
    It otherwise lives directly over the heat....

    The cook went longer than the anticipated anticipate 60 min (90 min). So in hindsight i suppose i would of kept it breast side down for an hour than turned it over.

    After checking for temp, it was between 5-10F (sorry for the F, reading alot of yank books, just easier for me instead of converting temps when I'm deep a few brews) being cooked. I flipped the birds again (breast down) direct over the heat and cooked for another 3-4 min.......all this in an atempt to crisp the skin. ...result....

    We.Have.crisp......and a little char ;) but I'm cool with that. ..

    Happy grillin'

    Edited once, last by Felipe (November 9, 2015 at 11:42 AM).

  • to solve the breast down/breast up issue, I just sit the chook upright.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

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