Homemade Hot Smoked Chicken

Incredibly tasty, rosy, aromatic, juicy. Hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse at home will decorate any holiday table. It can also be served for dinner with the family. You can make sandwiches from poultry meat and thus offer smoked poultry for breakfast.
cook time: 50h 30 min
Lucas Halstead
Homemade Hot Smoked Chicken

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

117
Calories
9g
Fat
1g
Carbs
9g
Protein

Ingredients (8 portions)

Basics:

Chicken 2 kg

Marinade:

Water 2 l
Salt 2 tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Bay leaf 2 pc
Carnation 4 pc
Allspice 8 pc
Garlic 4 clove
Lemons 0.5 pc
Parsley to taste
Thyme, thyme to taste
Juniper berries 4 pc

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
Hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse at home? Prepare the chicken carcasses. Of course, the result from poultry will be much tastier and better than from store-bought poultry. Pluck the bird, gut it, singe off the remaining down and small feathers, and then wash the bird thoroughly in clean water.

Step 2

Step 2
Remove fat from the belly and neck, and also cut off the tail. Why is this recommended? When smoking chicken, cook at temperatures above 100 degrees, which can cause fat to drip and fall onto the coals, which will contribute to the start of a fire.

Step 3

Step 3
Prepare everything you need for the marinade. Peel the garlic and rinse along with the bay leaf.

Step 4

Step 4
Pour cold water into the pan, add salt, sugar and put everything on the stove.

Step 5

Step 5
Once boiling, add garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and juniper berries. Any of these components can be omitted according to your taste preferences. Reduce the stove to low and cook the brine for 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 6

Step 6
Remove the pan from the heat and add a bunch of fresh or a pinch of dry thyme to the marinade. Leave the brine to cool to room temperature.

Step 7

Step 7
Wash the lemon and parsley...

Step 8

Step 8
Cut half a lemon into slices.

Step 9

Step 9
Place the carcasses in a deep, large cup or pan and fill with marinade.

Step 10

Step 10
Squeeze the remaining lemon half on top, add parsley mashed by hand and chopped citrus slices. You can cut the entire lemon into slices and add them to the marinade, or, if desired, squeeze the juice from a whole lemon (whichever you prefer and is more convenient). Set the pressure so that the meat is completely in the brine. Cover the pan with a lid and marinate the bird in the refrigerator for a day or two (I usually leave it for two days).

Step 11

Step 11
Remove the marinated chickens from the marinade, dry with paper towels and leave in a draft to ventilate for 3-4 hours. It is very convenient to use a special net for drying fish; if you don’t have one, you can hang the chickens on ropes, wrapping the carcasses with gauze (to prevent dust and insects from entering).

Step 12

Step 12
Soak the wood chips in cold water. For smoking, it is better to use a sliver of alder or any fruit tree (I took cherry this time).

Step 13

Step 13
Cover the bottom of the smokehouse with foil. Light the fire and wait until there are good coals left.

Step 14

Step 14
To ensure that the smoke evenly permeates the meat of whole carcasses, place the sticks in the bellies, as in the photo. You can use wooden skewers.

Step 15

Step 15
Squeeze out the wood chips.

Step 16

Step 16
Spread the wood chips over the coals.

Step 17

Step 17
Place the chicken on the grill in the smokehouse and close the lid. Smoke chickens at a temperature of 100-120 degrees for one and a half to two hours.

Step 18

Step 18
This is what the chickens looked like after 30 minutes of smoking.

Step 19

Step 19
An hour later the carcasses were already more ruddy.

Step 20

Step 20
This is what the bird looked like at the end of cooking.

Step 21

Step 21
Cool the finished chicken and place it in the refrigerator for several hours, or better yet, overnight. The meat will become even more aromatic and tastier. Bon appetit!

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