Smoking Meat (14 page)

FRYING

In a large iron skillet, heat a ½ inch of the oil to 375°
F
. Brush each piece of smoked chicken with the melted butter, roll it in the flour, and place it into the hot oil. Fry the chicken pieces for 45 seconds, then turn them over and fry for another 45 seconds. Lay the fried pieces on a paper towel to drain as they come out of the pan. Repeat this process until all the wings and drumettes are finished frying.

FINAL PREPARATION

Brush each piece of fried chicken with the wing sauce—or if you want to do it right and don’t mind a little mess, put a little of the sauce and some of the chicken pieces (I like to do a dozen at a time) together into a lidded plastic bowl or a large Ziploc bag, and toss to coat. Repeat until you have coated all of the chicken with sauce.

Place the chicken pieces in a pan in a warm oven until all of the chicken is ready to serve.

Basic Wing Sauce

1 cup Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

½ cup (1 stick) butter

¼ cup light brown sugar (optional)

Place the Frank’s RedHot sauce and butter, and, if you want the wing sauce to be a tad sweet, the brown sugar, into a small pot on low heat. After the butter is completely melted, let the mixture simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Hot Barbecue Wing Sauce

1 cup thick tomato-based barbecue sauce

½ cup Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Sauce (or another brand of really hot wing sauce)

½ cup (1 stick) butter

Place all ingredients into a small pot on low heat. After the butter is completely melted, let the mixture simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Monster Wings

This is something I came up with a few years back due to my intense love for hot wings. I use regular sized chicken legs instead of the smaller portions of wings or drumettes that you would normally use. To up the ante on the meat-to-sauce ratio, I inject the wing sauce into the meat and pour it over the outside just before serving. This is truly man-food, but the ladies will probably like them just as well.

4 lb chicken legs

3 cups vegetable oil (amount depends on the size of your pan)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups wing sauce (I like Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, but other brands will work, or you can make your own using the recipes on the previous page)

PREPARATION

Rinse the chicken legs in cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a meat injector to inject about half an ounce of the wing sauce into the thickest part of each leg. Inject half of the sauce into one side, then rotate the leg 180 degrees and inject the other half of the sauce into the opposite side. Once you are finished injecting the sauce into the chicken legs, set them aside while you set up your smoker.

SMOKING

Prepare your smoker for cooking at 225°
F
to 240°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, be sure to have enough wood chips or chunks to produce smoke for about two hours.

Place the chicken legs on the grate and smoke cook for about two hours, or until the chicken is 165°
F
using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the leg.

FRYING (optional)

I enjoy the crispy texture that frying adds to the outside and I think you will too. Pour about three-quarters of an inch of oil into a large, iron skillet and heat to 375°
F
. Brush each smoked chicken leg with butter, roll it in flour, and place it into the hot oil. Fry the legs for about one minute, turn over, and fry for another minute to brown and crisp the outside. Repeat until all of the legs are fried. As you take each leg out of the pan, lay it on a paper towel to drain.

FINAL PREPARATION

Brush each piece of fried chicken with wing sauce. Or put a few at a time into a large Ziploc bag with some sauce, zip up the bag, and toss to coat. Place the coated chicken legs in a pan in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Smoked Cornish Game Hens

One of my earliest recollections of eating these little hens is when I was visiting the Dixie Stampede in Branson, Missouri, where they are served with piles of side dishes, not to mention bread and iced sweet tea—and no utensils are allowed.

I love to smoke these, and it is not uncommon at my house for these to show up on the menu for special occasions with close friends and family.

4 Cornish game hens

2 Tbsp
All-Purpose Rub

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

PREPARATION

Rinse the hens with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. If you wish to brine them (which I recommend), follow the instructionsin the
Smokeology
chapter, leaving the hens in the brine for about two hours.

After brining and/or before smoking, sprinkle each hen with approximately ½ Tbsp of the All-Purpose Rub, making sure to get some of the seasoning under the skin wherever possible.

Leave the hens on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes to come up to room temperature while you set up your smoker.

SMOKING

Prepare your smoker for cooking at 225°
F
to 240°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, be sure to have enough wood chips or chunks on hand to produce smoke for at least two hours.

Once the smoker is ready, place the hens directly on the grate breast side up. Baste the hens with the melted butter every 45 minutes throughout the cooking process.

Smoke the hens for about four hours or until a digital probe meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast or thigh reads 165°
F
. (The thermometer can be inserted at the beginning of the cook time, or you can wait until the hens have been in the smoker for about two hours.)

Place the hens in a pan tented with foil and let them rest for 15 minutes before serving. If you want To crispen the skin, see my tip in the introduction to the
Poultry
chapter.

Smoked Chicken Gumbo with Andouille

Amp up traditional Cajun gumbo by using smoked chicken. The roux is the most important component of this dish, so make sure you have time to spend in the kitchen, stirring leisurely without interruption. It’s fascinating to watch the flour and oil slowly brown to a dark chocolate color, layer by layer. As when smoking meat, patience is the key.

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 small onions, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 whole chicken (about 4 lb),
smoked
, cooled, deboned, and pulled into pieces

1 lb andouille or smoked sausage, thinly sliced

8 cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning), or to taste

1 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste

1 bunch green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced

ROUX

In a heavy pan (I use a cast iron pan), whisk together the flour and 1 cup of the oil. Heat carefully over low heat, whisking for a smooth consistency and using a spatula to keep the roux from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Slowly cook the roux until it turns the color of dark chocolate and smells toasted; this takes about one hour for a typical batch. Do not burn or scorch the roux, or you'll have to start over. Remove the roux from the heat and set aside to cool.
important:
Do not taste the roux during or directly after cooking. It is very hot and will burn your mouth or skin.

After the roux has cooled, pour off any oil that has separated, and use only the thicker roux that is left behind. This reduces the amount of fat in this dish.

GUMBO

In a frying pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions, bell peppers, and celery until just tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the heat and place them in a stockpot. Add the deboned chicken, sliced sausage, and chicken broth. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

To add the cooled roux to the pot, spoon a couple of tablespoons into a heavy bowl and whisk in 1 cup of the hot chicken broth. Once the mixture is smooth, add more roux and a bit more chicken broth, and whisk again. Continue until you’ve used all the roux, then whisk the mixture back into the pot with the rest of the broth, vegetables, and meat. Add the Cajun seasoning and Tabasco, adjusting the amounts to taste.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or with
Abi’s Classic Potato Salad
. Top with the green onions.