Applewood Smoked Chicken
Brined chicken halves coated with an apple rub and smoked over charcoal and Applewood wood chips, all while being basted with apple cider.
Ingredients
Chicken and Brine
- 2 Whole Chickens Cut in Half along the breast bone
- 6 cups Water
- 6 cups Apple Juice
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 5 Bay Leaves
- 1 tbsp Peppercorns
- 2 Apples Coarse Chop
- 1 Large Carrot Peeled and Chopped
- 1 Large Onion Coarse Chop
- 3 Stalks Celery Coarse Chop
- 6 cups Ice Water
Rub
- Sweet Carol Swine Apple Seasoning Any Apple Based seasoning will work or just season with salt and pepper.
For Smoking
- 1-2 cups Applewood Wood Chips
- Charcoal Briquettes or Lump; either is fine as long as they aren't match light.
- 2 cups Apple Cider For basting or spraying periodically.
Instructions
Brine
- Add water, apple juice, brown sugar, bay leaves, peppercorns, apples, carrot, onions, and celery to a pot and bring to a boil. To cool the brine down add ice water or ice.
- Add your chicken to the brine and refrigerate for at least twenty four hours.
- Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry.
Season
- Season your chicken with the Sweet Carol-Swine Apple Rub or your favorite apple based rub.
Smoking
- Light your charcoal. Using a charcoal chimney is a great way to light charcoal without incorporating any unnecessary chemicals.
- Once the charcoal is white hot you can add your chicken to the smoker.
- Add your wood chips when the charcoal is hot and the temperature of your smoker is approximately 225 degrees. Start with one cup of wood chips in the beginning of the cook, and adding more throughout the cooking process.
- Smoke your chicken halves for approximately six hours while basting every 30 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of chicken temps at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Notes
Maintaining your heat by adjusting smoker vents is an art but with practice you will be able to smoke like a pro in no time. Using a high end smoker you may not need to add any charcoal, with an entry level smoker you may need to add handfuls of charcoal to increase or maintain heat. Once you smoke for the first time you will fall in love, it is like grilling but for ten times longer and gives you an excuse to clean the yard, drink, and tinker in the garage all day long.