Hot smoked chicken at home. Smoking chicken

Smoked chicken is a special delicacy for a festive table or a picnic in nature. You can prepare the marinade and smoke chicken meat yourself - it will turn out safer and cheaper than a store product. How to marinate chicken before smoking, read the article.

Universal marinade recipe

There is a universal way to marinate chicken for both hot and cold smoking. The meat will be equally tasty and soft.

Ingredients:

• chicken weighing 1.5-2 kilograms;
• four liters of water;
• three tablespoons of coarse salt;
• five large cloves of garlic;
• two tablespoons of dried herbs (you can take any herbs: parsley, dill, basil, etc.);
• half a teaspoon of cumin.

How to marinate:

1. Wash and dry the carcass;
2. Boil brine from the indicated ingredients. To make it more saturated, let the liquid boil for ten minutes, reducing the boil to a minimum;
3. When the brine has cooled, fill it with meat, put it in the cold for two days (a refrigerator, a cellar will do);
4. Remove the meat, blot excess marinade with paper towels and proceed to smoking.

Marinating chicken for hot smoking

There are two main ways to smoke meat in a smokehouse: hot and cold. Hot smoking allows you to get a more tender, soft dish. If you smoke a chicken like this, it will turn out deliciously juicy, literally melting in your mouth. Vinegar marinade is best suited for this method. How to marinate chicken for smoking in this way?

No special components are required, with the exception of spices and spices. The number of ingredients is given for marinating two chicken carcasses in a smokehouse.

Required Ingredients:

• one and a half liters of water;
• two tablespoons of 9% vinegar;
• a teaspoon of coarse salt with a slide;
• half a teaspoon of granulated sugar;
• one bay leaf;
• to taste ground ginger, black, allspice, coriander (you can take a pinch of each spice);
• a clove of garlic;
• a sprig of juniper or 3-4 odorous berries.

1. The norm of water must be brought to a boil, add sugar, salt.
2. As soon as the water boils, throw spices, juniper, spices, pour vinegar. Let the broth boil for literally 1-2 minutes, remove from heat.
3. While the marinade is cooling, prepare the chicken: remove the feathers and fluff, gut, wash, cut off the fat from the tail. How to marinate chicken for smoking? To make the meat softer, you can chop the carcass into pieces, although with the hot smoking method, well-marinated meat will turn out soft even in whole chicken.
4. When the marinade has cooled, the chicken should be placed on the bottom of the pickling pan, pour the marinade over. In order for the meat to be better saturated with aromatic liquid, it is necessary to set oppression, then send the chicken to a cool place. The recipe assumes a long marinating period - four days.
5. Dry the prepared carcass or chicken parts by hanging in a draft, and then cook in a smokehouse.

How to marinate cold smoked chicken

Cold-smoked chicken turns out to be denser, with a characteristic pattern of fibers on the cut. Such a product is stored longer compared to hot-smoked meat, despite the fact that the marinade is prepared without vinegar.

Please note that this pickling method is longer. Before sending the meat to the smokehouse, it will have to be salted in a dry mixture, and then in brine for several days. The amount of curing ingredients in the recipe is indicated for 2.5-3 kilograms of chicken meat.

Ingredients:

• 1.6 kilograms of coarse salt (half a glass for pre-salting, the rest for brine);
• 20 grams of ascorbic acid;
• three tablespoons of white sugar (one for pre-salting, two for brine);
• a tablespoon of black peppercorns;
• three bay leaves;
• nine liters of water for brine.

Cooking sequence:

1. Grate the prepared chicken meat with a norm of salt, sugar for dry salting, sprinkle with peppercorns, shift with bay leaf.
2. Put the chicken in a tall pot, cover with a lid, put in a cold place for two days.
3. Cook the marinade according to the recipe from water, salt, sugar, ascorbic acid. Let the liquid boil, wait until the grains of sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
4. Pour the chicken meat with the cooled brine, leave to marinate for another 10-11 days.
5. Remove the meat from the brine, wash with cold water, dry and dry on the refrigerator shelf for 6-7 hours.
6. After that, send the dried dried meat to the smokehouse, cook until a shiny dense crust separates from the carcass.

How to quickly marinate smoked chicken

If there is no time for a long marinade, you can use the honey marinade recipe. The meat is quickly soaked in sweet juice, which gives it an excellent taste. One thing - this option is more suitable for a hot smokehouse.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey;
• two large lemons;
• half a glass of vegetable oil (it is especially delicious to use mustard or flaxseed);
• three tablespoons of any spices, spices to taste;
• three cloves of garlic;
• ground allspice, a mixture of hot peppers (about a tablespoon).

Pickling sequence:

1. Chop the carcass into pieces - wings, thighs, back, breast.
2. Squeeze fresh juice from lemons (should get about 100 ml).
3. These ingredients must be mixed well and rub each piece with a honey-spicy mixture.
4. Put the pieces of meat in a plastic bag, put them on the refrigerator shelf at night.
5. In the morning, take out the meat, clean it from herbs, spices and send it to the smokehouse.

Can anyone remain indifferent to an appetizing and fragrant piece of smoked chicken? It can be easily found on the counter of any store, but, unfortunately, the quality of such products leaves much to be desired every day. In order not to risk the health of your family and not deny yourself your favorite delicacy, you can smoke chicken at home on your own. An important role in this will be played by brine for smoking chicken.

Soak the meat for at least two hours. Hot smoked chicken brine can be prepared with water, red wine, oil, soy sauce, or sour cream. It is complemented to taste with spices and herbs. To better soften the fibers add mustard, vinegar or lemon juice.

If you add a little sugar or honey during cooking, then the chicken will have a more golden crust.

How to prepare a chicken for smoking?

1. First, the carcass of the bird must be lowered into boiling water. After this treatment, feathers and down will be removed much easier.
2. Then you need to singe the carcass, rinse and remove all the insides. Make sure that the skin does not burn when singeing, otherwise it may spoil the taste of the finished product. To create a protective layer, you can spray with flour.
3. If the carcass is large, then cut it in half lengthwise.
4. Place the chicken between two cutting boards, then beat lightly with a mallet. This will soften the bones and large joints, so there will be no redness of the meat, and flat pieces will be smoked easier and faster.
5. Place the carcass in a container of suitable size and fill it with brine.

Tip: If you buy a finished carcass in a store, take chilled meat. The chicken should not be sticky or slimy, have a bluish skin, or have an unpleasant odor.

How to get the right brine?

To prepare the brine, use this recipe:

1. Add salt to boiled warm water (for each liter of water you need to take half a tablespoon of salt), chopped garlic, allspice and a few bay leaves.
2. If you like, you can add some juniper berries.
3. Then add three tablespoons of 30% vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar.
4. Make enough brine so that the chicken carcass is completely covered with it.

In such a brine, you need to keep the meat as long as possible, preferably up to two days. From time to time it is necessary to turn the chicken over so that it is completely saturated with the solution from all sides.

After soaking in brine, hang the meat in a cool, ventilated place to drain and dry. Make sure no flies land on it. Ideally, the meat should hang for two to four days at a temperature of 10 ° C. If this is not done, the bird will be tough after smoking.

Never use the so-called "liquid smoke" used for smoking chickens in haste to prepare the brine. Such a desire to quickly process products is harmful to the body, since "liquid smoke" is considered a strong carcinogen. It contains toxic chemicals (formaldehyde, phenol and others) that accumulate in the cells of the human body and lead to their undesirable changes.

The prepared chicken is placed in a smokehouse and brought to readiness.

Do not forget to put alder chips or sprigs of blackcurrant or fruit trees (pear, apple, cherry) on the bottom. This will give a unique flavor to the finished dish.

Hot smoked chicken at a temperature of 130 to 170 degrees will be ready in about an hour and a half

Smoked chicken prepared in this way is very soft and appetizing, similar in structure to grilled chicken, but with a pronounced smoked aroma and taste.

Since ancient times, mankind has used the process of smoking products as a way to keep them edible for quite a long time, because refrigerators had not yet been invented at that time. People guessed to expose the meat to such a treatment with wood smoke, as a result of which an antioxidant effect was provided that suppressed the spread and reproduction of harmful bacteria and microbes. In addition, this method gave the meat an original aroma and taste.

poultry meat

Chicken is considered the most delicious and affordable for smoking, which is combined with many ingredients as components of salads, first and second courses. About how to smoke chicken at home, so that it turns out tender and refined, we will try to tell in this material.

two ways

There are two cooking methods: hot and cold. What is their difference? In the cold method, the whole chicken or parts of it are treated with smoke from a smoldering fire. That is, the temperature at which the process itself takes place fluctuates around thirty degrees. It takes quite a long period of time, up to several days. How to smoke chicken in a hot way? Here the temperature at which the processing process takes place is much higher - up to one hundred and fifty degrees. It only takes a few hours (sometimes even less). The meat is more tender and soft than with the cold smoking method.

Inventory preparation

1. So how do you smoke chicken? First, you need to get a smoker. It can be purchased at a specialized store, but you can also make it yourself. Some use a large metal bucket, a barrel, the body of an old refrigerator - our craftsmen will adapt everything! The main thing is that the structure itself is tightly closed, so that the welding seams are sufficiently tight, and smoke does not leak through them. By the way, in Rus' earlier, an ordinary Russian stove was successfully used for smoking.
2. Secondly, you will need: a cutting board, a knife and an ax for cutting meat, a deep bowl. Well, actually, the chicken itself!

Food preparation

Before smoking a chicken in a smokehouse, it must be freed from feathers and entrails, then rinsed under running water, cut off the head and lower parts of the legs. All this can be avoided by buying an already prepared carcass in the store. Next, cut the chicken in half lengthwise and beat it well between two cutting boards with an ax butt or a culinary hammer. This must be done in order for the joints and large bones to become soft. However, do not crush the bones.

We prepare the brine: a glass of salt per liter of water, spices - to taste, a little garlic, sugar, vinegar - whoever is used to anything (here, carry out the free flight of your own culinary imagination). We spread the chicken in a bowl, fill it with brine and put it away for the night (some marinate for a day or more).

After the expiration of the period, we hang the carcass on a hook, stuff it with garlic, lard into deep cuts in the meat. Now you can proceed to the process itself called "how to smoke a chicken." By the way, it is also possible to process not only a whole carcass, but also parts: drumstick, breast, wings, thighs.

How to smoke hot smoked chicken

Let's consider the first option. In just an hour, you should get fragrant and juicy meat. Before sending the bird to the smokehouse, it is necessary to rub it with salt, spices, and dry it slightly. Some cooks advise putting the carcass, sprinkled with spices, in a plastic bag for a couple of hours so that it is thoroughly saturated with them. Then we lay (hang) the chicken in the smokehouse, install a tray on which excess fat drains, pour sawdust (cherry, alder, oak). We smoke on intense fire from forty minutes to an hour. After cooking, the skin will need to be removed from the chicken. The skin of a bird, when smoked, absorbs fumes and soot from wood.

Let's move on to the second option. Before you smoke chicken in a smokehouse (this recipe also applies to hot smoking), you need to prepare the following ingredients. We will need: a glass of table salt, water, bay leaf, black peppercorns, a set of spices (for barbecue or grilling - optional).

First we prepare the brine. Dip salt, bay leaf, pepper in water brought to a boil. We expect cooling to room temperature.

We wash the chicken carcass inside and out, cut off excess fat in the tail area. We dip in the prepared brine for the night (or for a day, as an option, to marinate very well).

Rinse the bird again under cold running water, cut it into two halves lengthwise. We tie the halves with twine, for which they will be hung in a smokehouse. Pour sawdust into the smoking device (alder, cherry, oak are the most recommended), close it tightly with a lid. We put the device on maximum fire for ten minutes. Then reduce the fire to medium. We continue the smoking process for up to an hour and a half. Open the lid and take out the food. According to this recipe, smoked poultry comes out just excellent!

How to smoke cold smoked chicken

To prepare this dish, you should choose young broiler meat (not older than six months). We will need: chicken carcass, two hundred grams of bran, salt, juice of one lemon, ground black pepper. It is also worth warning that this type of smoking will take quite a long time!

We gut, wash, prepare the carcass. It is also necessary to cut it into two halves and grate with spices and lemon juice. The halves must be put under oppression for a day in a cool place.

Before smoking, roll the chicken in a mixture of bran and pepper. We smoke at a temperature of no more than thirty degrees in a cold way (in this case, open fire is not used, sawdust should barely smolder and smoke). We use briquettes: maple, oak, cherry. The cold smoking process itself lasts up to ten days.

To understand how to properly smoke a chicken, you need to follow the helpful tips of the smoking masters. Here are some of them.

Before preparing a hot or cold smoked product, it should be marinated. Legs and wings are good without a set of spices, but with seasonings they will become even tastier. An important point: for cooking you will need a special smokehouse. If not, then you can use a metal bucket or pan with a lid.

How to prepare chicken before smoking?

You need to buy fresh and large chicken. If possible, it is better to take homemade rather than store-bought. For smoking, both the whole bird and the legs or wings are suitable. The meat must be washed under water and, if necessary, gutted. If there are feathers left on it, then they should be set on fire with a lighter. Only after that it will be possible to marinate.

It is important not to store the chicken for too long in the refrigerator, but to prepare it fresh, not frozen. It retains more nutrients, it turns out more juicy. But buying a bird with bluish skin, slippery to the touch, with an unpleasant odor should not be. Old and spoiled chicken during hot or cold smoking is unlikely to turn out to be of high quality.

Marinade with ginger and coriander

You can marinate chicken in a variety of ways. This recipe is considered one of the best.

Ingredients:

• salt;
• bay leaf - 4 pcs.;
• sugar;
• vinegar 3% - 2 tbsp. l.;
• ginger, coriander, pepper, cinnamon;
• garlic - 3 cloves;
• juniper (berries) - 6 pcs.

In order to marinate chicken legs, wings or a whole chicken, you will need marinade for smoking chicken - about 3 liters. It is prepared as follows:

Pour salt, a tablespoon of sugar and spices into boiling water. Juniper berries must be crushed and also lowered into the pan. You will also need to add vinegar and garlic. Cook everything together for 5-10 minutes, then turn off the heat and cool.

Marinade on juniper berries

The bird must be placed in the marinade and put oppression on top, leaving for about 3 days in the refrigerator. It is recommended to turn the carcasses or pieces daily in order to marinate better.

When preparing chicken for hot or cold smoking, you can prepare a special brine. Thanks to him, the legs and wings will become fragrant, juicy and soft. For cooking, you will need dried dill, garlic, bay leaf, pepper, salt and cumin. You can add other spices, the recipe in this regard does not limit the possibilities.

Boil the chicken in this brine for 10 minutes.

The brine is prepared as follows: boil water in a saucepan, then put garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt and other spices into it. Cooking should be no longer than 10 minutes. Marinating the chicken is simple: the cooled brine is poured into the container where it lies. After that, the meat should be covered and left in the refrigerator for at least a day. After that, the brine is drained and the meat can be cooked in a smokehouse.

Poultry marinade with ketchup

You can marinate the bird with ketchup if you want a more piquant taste. It is possible that the smoked meat will turn out to be slightly spicy, but this will not make it worse. To prepare this recipe, you will need olive oil, honey, dry mustard, wine and ketchup. All ingredients must be mixed thoroughly.

Spread the resulting mass on the chicken so that the marinade layer is on all sides. Place the meat in a closed container and place in the refrigerator. Already after 6 hours it can be cooked in a smokehouse, and then served on the table.

Marinade for chicken on kefir

It is not news that some people pickle meat in kefir. Moreover, not only poultry, but also pork, beef, and lamb can be soaked in a dairy product. It is very important to choose the right ingredients so as not to spoil the marinade. It is best to use a ready-made recipe that will definitely not let you down.

Ingredients:

1. kefir - 400 ml;
2. sugar;
3. olive oil - 50 ml;
4. fresh mint leaves;
5. garlic - 2 cloves;
6. pepper and salt.

Marinade for smoking chicken is prepared as follows. Mint leaves need to be kneaded, garlic should be passed through a press. Mix the rest of the ingredients so that a homogeneous mass is obtained. Spices and salt should be added to taste.

The chicken should be placed in kefir mixed with other ingredients. The marinade should be on each piece of meat. The container with poultry meat is covered with a lid, now it should be put in the refrigerator for about 8 hours. After that, the meat can be used for cold or hot smoking. Done right, it will be delicious.

If you still do not know how to cook smoked chicken in, there are a few subtleties to consider.

1. The chicken can be smoked whole, or it can be cut into pieces or separated from the bones. Accordingly, the smoking time will be different. The carcass will hang in the smoke cabinet much longer than pieces of meat.
2. Much depends on the chicken. Raised at home, fed and walked in the yard, the pied bee is the owner of tougher meat than the store-bought broiler chicken that grew up on the farm. So the smoking time will have to be determined empirically.
3. Before smoking, the meat is often marinated or boiled. The choice of seasonings and spices is a delicate matter, they should set off the smoked flavor, and not interrupt it. And, of course, boiled-smoked chicken in a home smokehouse cooks faster and is less dry.
4. Smoked chicken in a smokehouse is cooked at different temperatures - the hot method is fast, with it the chicken is ready in a few hours, but cold smoking will take several days, because the temperature does not exceed 40 degrees.

So that in a few hours you get a tender, ruddy, fragrant smoked chicken at home in a smokehouse, we will properly prepare and smoke our bird.

Ingredients:

• chicken (whole carcass, gutted) - about 2-2.5 kg;
• iodized salt without additives - 1 tbsp. spoon with a slide;
• a set of spices to taste - 1 teaspoon;
• sawdust (alder, oak, apple, cherry) - about 5 kg.

Cooking

Prepare the chicken for smoking - cut off the head and legs, neck, remove the internal fat. Dissolve salt in hot water, add spices and marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least 4-6 hours. We hang our bird in the smokehouse, we fall asleep sawdust. Above them, we must install a pan for fat - if the melted fat drains onto the coals, the cinder will be absorbed into the chicken and it will turn out not at all tasty. We put the smokehouse on maximum heat and leave the meat in it for a quarter of an hour, reduce the temperature and smoke for another hour and a half. Thus, hot-smoked chicken in a home smokehouse is cooked in less than a day. If the chicken is not marinated, but boiled for a quarter of an hour in the same brine, the meat will turn out even tastier.

Chicken can also be smoked cold. To do this, we use sawdust of the same types of wood, but they will need much more.

Ingredients:

Cooking

We cut the chicken along the spine into 2 half-carcasses, salt, pour over lemon juice and leave it under pressure for 6 hours. Sprinkle the chicken with spices, bread in bran and hang it in a smokehouse. The fire should not break through - the sawdust should smolder slightly. Such smoking takes from 2 days to 4-5 days, it turns out a completely different, but in its own way very tasty chicken, smoked in a smokehouse, the recipe of which can be changed by changing spices.