Cooking with a countertop indoor smoker

[rotuts]

@YvetteMT

 

just the drumsticks .

 

I plan to ' learn ' with them and move to turkey drumsticks when they go on sale.

 

I plan to

 

1 )  air dry on a rack in the refrig x 24 hrs first .  this is mentioned on better than average BBQ refs.

 

2 )  chop off an inch or so from the bottom of the leg , no meat there , might help the meat contract off the tendons 

      making removal of the tendons easy.  tip from Jacque & Julia.

 

3 )  chop off 1/4 inch off the top , for 1/2 of the legs , to see if this also helps removal of the meat

 

4 )  smoke until almost fall off the bone :  150F - 160 F 

 

save the drippings .

 

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 01:56 PM by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I made the wrong recipe.  It must be the heat.  I had intended to prepare Smoked Bluefish Pate (Delish! p24).  What I actually made was Smoked Bluefish Salad (Delish! p64).

 

Oh well, I have more smoked bluefish.  The salad is good, but I added far too much onion.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Because of the oppressive heat I did not smoke spareribs tonight.  Things have cooled off a bit and Lord being willing I shall reattempt spareribs tomorrow.  If anyone has suggestions for time and temperature, now would be a jolly good time to share them.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight's Smoked Bluefish Salad was vile.  The red onion was much too much and the salt from the smoked bluefish overwhelmed everything.  It's headed to the garbage.

 

I have more bluefish but it will have to be soaked to mitigate the salt.

 

[rotuts]

Chicken Drums , om sale , S&S :

 

 

I was surprised these were so large .  , very nicely trimmed , and not ' wet '.  CD's @ Market Basket are much smaller , and not as nicely trimmed.

 

and cost more .  go figure.

 

 

on a rack to air dry in the refrg for 24 Hr.  Ive read and seen this mentioned at several reputable BBQ sites.  first time Ive tried it.

 

note :  MC , the Cat is keeping an eye on things , knowing he will get a taste later.

 

 

after the 24 hrs.  its notable that the skin is tight m and the bare meat has no sheen.

 

I decided IDS :  200 F , rotate each hour .

 

 

1 Hr

 

 

 

 

 

2 hrs.    notes very little Jus.

 

total time  6 hrs:

 

 

I temped the jucy lookiing leg , L , thrid up   165 F .  note the jus coming out of the CB  its the shine

 

 

the tray Jus.  very little , no burning .

 

 

opened one CD up  note how jucy it is

 

 

Trimmed for the dinner wrap .  the skin and some of the dry surface  was trimmed for MC , the Cat .

 

he loved it .  I use the jus in the pyrex for the wrap , over on the dinner thread.

 

what I learned :  there is a good reason to refrigerate chicken 24 h on a rack ,  the surface tightens  up significantly

 

and the surface , now dryer , keeps a lot of the chcken jus in the chicken , not on the pan.

 

these CD were remarkably tender and very very moist .

 

a winner many times over , and  I decided to just add the cut off leg to the wrack , rather than toss.

 

and cutting of 1 inch of distal leg , made a difference in the final trimming of the meat

 

and the IDS leg trim is now Vac'd // Fz and will go in the next chicken // turkey iPot for stock.  delightful 

 

smoky aroma , not at all harsh.

 

anytime S&S has these same CD's on sale , Im loading up.

 

easy to IDS , and as tasty as it gets for Chicken dark meat .

 

dont know why recently I get a pic at the end of a post .  usually a dup

 

this is the cleaver and mallet I use to chop off 1 " of the leg.  easier , more accurate , and finger tips not involved.

Edited yesterday at 03:27 PM by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

Chicken Drums , om sale , S&S :

 

 

I was surprised these were so large .  , very nicely trimmed , and not ' wet '.  CD's @ Market Basket are much smaller , and not as nicely trimmed.

 

and cost more .  go figure.

 

 

on a rack to air dry in the refrg for 24 Hr.  Ive read and seen this mentioned at several reputable BBQ sites.  first time Ive tried it.

 

note :  MC , the Cat is keeping an eye on things , knowing he will get a taste later.

 

 

after the 24 hrs.  its notable that the skin is tight m and the bare meat has no sheen.

 

I decided IDS :  200 F , rotate each hour .

 

 

1 Hr

 

 

 

 

 

2 hrs.    notes very little Jus.

 

total time  6 hrs:

 

 

I temped the jucy lookiing leg , L , thrid up   165 F .  note the jus coming out of the CB  its the shine

 

 

the tray Jus.  very little , no burning .

 

 

opened one CD up  note how jucy it is

 

 

Trimmed for the dinner wrap .  the skin and some of the dry surface  was trimmed for MC , the Cat .

 

he loved it .  I use the jus in the pyrex for the wrap , over on the dinner thread.

 

what I learned :  there is a good reason to refrigerate chicken 24 h on a rack ,  the surface tightens  up significantly

 

and the surface , now dryer , keeps a lot of the chcken jus in the chicken , not on the pan.

 

these CD were remarkably tender and very very moist .

 

a winner many times over , and  I decided to just add the cut off leg to the wrack , rather than toss.

 

and cutting of 1 inch of distal leg , made a difference in the final trimming of the meat

 

and the IDS leg trim is now Vac'd // Fz and will go in the next chicken // turkey iPot for stock.  delightful 

 

smoky aroma , not at all harsh.

 

anytime S&S has these same CD's on sale , Im loading up.

 

easy to IDS , and as tasty as it gets for Chicken dark meat .

 

dont know why recently I get a pic at the end of a post .  usually a dup

 

this is the cleaver and mallet I use to chop off 1 " of the leg.  easier , more accurate , and finger tips not involved.

 

Beautiful result!  Do I understand correctly that the smoking time was 6 hours at 200F?

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

yes.  probably do not need to rotate every hour for the second half , every two hours might be fine.

 

very important to ' air dry ' 24 hrs or so in a refrigerator .

 

the dry surface keeps all the juices in the CD's   a very nice new finding for me.

 

and do not temp.  the whole left by the thermapen oozed juce.

 

Ill be doing this a lot, each sale from S&Shop.   very nice large drums.

[rotuts]

P.S.:  the CD's started out right out of the refrig :  36 F.

 

no seasoning , esp salt.  plain , note the lack of sheen on the CD's justs before IDS'ing

[weinoo]

6 hours ago, rotuts said:

what I learned :  there is a good reason to refrigerate chicken 24 h on a rack ,  the surface tightens  up significantly

 

I actually do this now with most all chicken I cook.  Salted lightly as well.

[Smithy]

18 hours ago, rotuts said:

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

yes.  probably do not need to rotate every hour for the second half , every two hours might be fine.

 

very important to ' air dry ' 24 hrs or so in a refrigerator .

 

the dry surface keeps all the juices in the CD's   a very nice new finding for me.

 

and do not temp.  the whole left by the thermapen oozed juce.

 

Ill be doing this a lot, each sale from S&Shop.   very nice large drums.

 

15 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I actually do this now with most all chicken I cook.  Salted lightly as well.

 

This is valuable information, and something I'll try next time I get around to cooking chicken. Thanks!

[rotuts]

Thinking about drying the chicken on a refrigerator shelf,

 

Im betting this , if known to the Cook , rarely  if ever ,  happens .

 

in modern times , as most refrigerators in the USA are chock full , all the time

 

thus no space.

 

that's why the WHPS purchased a separate unit , just for this purpose .

 

it filled up w all sorts of non-WHPS stuff :   cases and cases of soda , etc.

 

these have to be moved out when the Vader  ( its a black refrig ) is used for its intended purpose.

 

' Refrigerators Abhor Empty Space "

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

Thinking about drying the chicken on a refrigerator shelf,

 

Im betting this , if known to the Cook , rarely  if ever ,  happens .

 

in modern times , as most refrigerators in the USA are chock full , all the time

 

thus no space.

 

that's why the WHPS purchased a separate unit , just for this purpose .

 

it filled up w all sorts of non-WHPS stuff :   cases and cases of soda , etc.

 

these have to be moved out when the Vader  ( its a black refrig ) is used for its intended purpose.

 

' Refrigerators Abhor Empty Space "

 

I use a blast chiller for drying stuff -- most recently the bluefish that I smoked.

 

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

Thinking about drying the chicken on a refrigerator shelf,

 

Im betting this , if known to the Cook , rarely  if ever ,  happens .

 

in modern times , as most refrigerators in the USA are chock full , all the time

 

thus no space.

 

Let's not forget Judy Rogers, and her awesome roast chicken at Zuni Cafe...

Quote

 

The dry-brining, or pre-salting, technique became synonymous with both Zuni and Rodgers; you’ll find references to Zuni-style or Judy-style chickens and turkeys all over the internet. Rodgers learned the technique in southwest France as a young cook at l’Estanquet in Les Landes.

“The cook once told me to salt the sea bass that was left over at the end of the night,” Rodgers told me in a 2013 interview. “We cooked it the next day, and it was the best sea bass I’d ever had in my life. It was juicy, succulent. That principle popped out to me, that it’s juicier, not dry. Everyone thinks the key to juicy chicken is the marinade, but the only thing that gets inside the cells is salt. If you rub the herbs on the surface, you get the flavor just on the surface. But if you season chicken with salt and other aromatics together, the herbs are wrapped in the arms of the salt, and the flavor of the aromatics migrates into the meat. That’s why it gets so juicy and tender.”

 

 

But even years before this, if my memory would only serve me correctly, was the technique I learned from (I think) Sunset - dry brining salmon, for instance, before smoking it on the Weber - which was pretty much all that was available back in the early 80s.  It formed, I believe, the pellicle.

 

Quote

Most animal proteins can be dried by placing them on racks or by hanging them on hooks or sticks. It is important that air be able to flow around all sides. They should be air-dried uncovered, in the refrigerator or a cool room. To encourage pellicle formation, foods can be placed so that a fan blows air over them.

 

[gfweb]

21 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I actually do this now with most all chicken I cook.  Salted lightly as well.

Me too. When I think ahead enough.

 

Usually its only a few hours.

 

 

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

I have not had  the Zuni Cafe chicken in its restaurant .

 

those that have had it here ,   have deeply enjoyed it.

 

I thought about  the Z.C. technique , and have read the Rx many times .

 

the '  refrigerate 24 hrs '  +/-   i sure , in their system , might be there.

 

I will ell you this :

 

I learn every day .  some days , not so much ,  then others days , enough to notice , a bit more .

 

drying the surface of something , over night , then .....  up to you

 

was a bit  '' Revelational ''   to me:

 

revelational  ===   ' New Idea , ++ a glass of TJ's table wine du jour.

 

I do have an feal oven now

 

moght spoatcock   someting . and just see